Immediately after the Pickens Glow Run that we ran in October, Scott and I signed up for another 5k- this time it was a turkey trot in downtown Greenville to benefit Trees Upstate, a non-profit devoted to “planting, promoting, and protecting” trees in the Upstate. When I picked up our race packets on Thanksgiving Eve I was able to get a tree for each of us as well and came home with two Eastern Redcedars that we will plant. They are supposed to grow 30-60 feet tall!
Thanksgiving morning we got up early, finished packing for our trip down to my Aunt Deb and Uncle Floyd’s Riverhouse in Beaufort where we would head after the race, and went downtown for our turkey trot. Our festive racing outfits attracted the attention of a Fox Carolina news anchor and she asked if we would be willing to be interviewed live for the network’s coverage. Scott was a little hesitant but I enthusiastically agreed to the opportunity and we got to talk about how we came to be in downtown Greenville before 8 AM on a chilly Thanksgiving morning sporting a turkey tutu (Janna) and unicorn shorty shorts and a LED backlit blue tutu (Scott).
The race turnout was great- about 4,500 people showed up for it and the energy was high. The route went through Main Street then down into Cleveland Park and then a steady uphill climb back into town, finishing at the Greenville Drive stadium. My goal had been 30 minutes but I ended up at around 32. I was pleased to have a top 20 finish for my age group. Scott actually ran the 8k and averaged 7:22 miles and had a top 15 finish in his age group. We headed back to his family’s house to shower and have breakfast so that we could get down to my family’s Thanksgiving festivities in Beaufort by early afternoon.
Traffic heading towards the Lowcountry of SC was thankfully sparse and we ended up arriving right on time to Chisholm Island where a Cajun injected fried turkey and smorgasbord of Thanksgiving side dishes and desserts awaited us. Scott got to meet my extended family and immediately established that he and my cousin’s husband Matt had a mutual acquaintance. Scott’s best friend Al has a son that been a graduate student in Matt’s microbiology program at the University of Missouri Rolla campus, outside of Saint Louis. It’s a small world out there.
After our Thanksgiving feast I showed Scott around the Riverhouse and the island. It was fun showing him one of my favorite places and sharing what I love about the area: the tunnel of gothic looking live oak trees heavily laden in Spanish moss that opens up to the vista of the endlessly outstretching tidal zone marshes of Wimbee Creek. We sat around the marsh side firepit with my family and chatted for a long time. I enjoyed catching up with everyone since Covid meant that we hadn’t gotten together since 2019.
Aside from the relentless pestering of the no-see-ums (the teensy biting gnats that are unique to the coastal South), the only unpleasantry of the day was when Andi snagged herself one of the neighbor’s beautiful free ranging chickens. Luckily I was able to extract it from her mouth and when I was evaluating the damage to the hen it hopped up and skedaddled into the bushes, the only apparent damage being a loss of some plumage and some emotional trauma. Sorry little hen!
The Riverhouse was at capacity since everyone except my Grammy and Uncle Geary had come for the holiday, so Scott, my parents, and I stayed at a dog friendly hotel in Beaufort, close to it’s downtown. On Friday morning Scott and I took the dogs for a walk at the waterfront in Beaufort and then found a swinging park bench to enjoy our coffee, the sunshine*, and to take in the view of the iconic Woods Memorial Bridge, the swing bridge that was featured in Forest Gump as a stand-in for the bridge over the Mississippi River and that connects Beaufort to the sea islands beyond. (*During our trip a popular refrain from Scott that I enjoyed hearing was that he couldn’t believe that it was Thanksgiving- being in the mid 60’s and sunny. He said typical weather in Chicago this time of year is in the 30’s and grey.)
After some photo ops (“Beeautiful Beaufort” and Scott Street) we took the dogs back to the hotel and packed up for our canoe adventure to Hunting Island, a 5,000 acre state park. We had thought about taking the dogs with us and our trial canoe ride with them on the Arends’ pond had gone well but ultimately we decided to leave them behind this time. The idea of them capsizing us into icy water wasn’t very appealing.
Prior to our trip Scott had talked to a local canoe/kayak outfitter and was advised that the Russ Point landing near Fripp Inlet was the best way to reach Hunting Island. We put the canoe in there and paddled under the fishing pier and into the lagoon that ended at the “Boneyard” of Hunting Island. The Beaufort County website has this to say about the Boneyard beach of the island: “With Hunting Island being a barrier island, erosion has taken a toll on the beach for a very long time. This erosion with the intrusion of saltwater has cut into the maritime forest on the island bringing down trees and creating a maritime ‘graveyard’ of sorts.”
When we reached the Boneyard, we beached the canoe and went about exploring the beach and it’s fallen trees before setting up our picnic. Scott’s foldable camping loveseat yet again was a win! During our picnic we spotted a pod of dolphins and we enjoyed watching them while we had our lunch. It was the biggest pod that I had ever seen and they stayed in the area for quite a while apparently having found a good feeding ground at the barrier island.
After soaking up the sun, and sights and sounds of the beach, we packed up and began our paddle back to Russ Point, this time a little harder, going against both the wind and the outgoing current. When we reached the dock I asked for advice from the resident paddle master Scott on how to best disembark from the canoe onto the dock. His instructions were sound and I safely stepped back onto dry ground. Scott then went to get out of the canoe and while stepping up his bare foot slipped on some marsh pluff mud in the bottom of the canoe and he ended up taking an unintentional bath in the cold brackish water of the Fripp Inlet. He was a good sport about it and rode back to the hotel in a towel and a jacket.
We went back to the hotel, changed, collected the dogs, and headed back to the Riverhouse for Thanksgiving leftovers and some socializing with my family. The next morning we had breakfast at a popular Beaufort café and Scott and I debated as to which meal, breakfast or lunch/dinner, shrimp and grits were most appropriate. (My vote is for any meal, including breakfast; Scott votes strongly for lunch/dinner.) After heading back to see my family at the Riverhouse we then headed back home- stopping to see the eerie but beautiful Sheldon Church ruins on the way out.
Traffic was much thicker heading back to the Upstate and we got back to his family’s house in time for dinner with them. I got to have some of the coconut cream pie baked by Scott’s sister Tiffany that I had been thinking about since I had seen it on Thanksgiving morning and it proved to be just as good as I had imagined it would.
The day wasn’t over yet though because the Saturday following Thanksgiving is a South Carolina state holiday… this is when the Clemson vs Carolina football game is played. Being a staunch Clemson fan as well as Clemson grad, I felt obligated to watch it even though I haven’t been as devoted a fan this year since the Tigers aren’t having the roaring success that they’ve been accustomed to the past few years. I made it to half time before calling it a day and crawling into bed, content with yet another fun trip and adventure filled few days.
