Everything flows to the ocean…
Scenes from our vacation in Edisto Island, S.C.
May 24-June 1

Rocky Mount, N.C. Traffic flowed on I-95 southbound, but we didn’t need highway signs to tell us we were heading in the right direction. Somewhere around Richmond, cars become the minority. Pickup trucks rule. And bumper stickers, like GUN CONTROL MEANS BEING ABLE TO HIT YOUR TARGET and the cheery IF YOU CAN READ THIS, YOU’RE IN RANGE!!!

Dillon, S.C. The radio tells us, “Jesus is the answer to every question.”
Now, even we non-Christians know this to be true. For example:
Q: What’s the square root of 5?
A: Christ! How should I know!!? (Of course, if you’d asked Alex, he’d say, Jeeez! it’s 2.2360679.
But he is Geek Orthodox.)

Edisto Island, S.C. At last! Fourteen hours of driving gets you to paradise. One of South Carolina’s sea islands, Edisto is relatively undeveloped (year-round population: 650).  In fact, until the first bridge was built in the 20s, driving over beds of oyster shells at low tide was the only way onto Edisto Island.  Much of it is under conservation easements, so (fingers crossed) it will remain unspoiled.

The house we rented was on Jeremy Cay at Edingsville Beach, surrounded by salt marsh. The ocean view out front was wonderful…

…but hold the phone! Look what’s out back!

Frampton Creek, right outside our door! Our own salty ribbon that winds 3 miles through muck and mud flats and neighbors’ crab traps, spilling out into the Atlantic.

Tidal range here is about 7 feet. As it happened, we arrived during a spring tide (full moon), so high and low tides were extreme.

We launched from our little dock, winding through Frampton Creek on the ebb, out through Frampton Inlet to the Atlantic. Paddling ocean swells past Botany Bay, we rode the flood up North Edisto River. Here’s a taste of the experience. Enjoy! (Click on first image to begin fullscreen slideshow.)