May 4, 2022
The ocean's roar is music to the soul
Charleston bike day
Today was our last bike ride in the area and we picked the lighthouse on Folly Island as our destination. It was already in the 70's and humid when we got up with a higher chance of rain later, so we moved a little quicker so we could be done before any storms moved in.
By 9:30, we were on the road under cloudy skies. There was also a SW wind right in our faces when we were in the open and away from the trees.
We followed the same route we'd done the other day through the canopy road and out onto the main highway that went to Folly Beach. Once on the island, we hung a left and soon left the traffic behind as we rode along a road that went along the beach.
We could see peeks of the water between the homes that were fronted on the ocean. To actually get to the beach you had to walk over a dune at the parking lots.
But the wind was behind us now and the sun was out, so we just enjoyed the ride. Mockingbirds were singing and it was fun looking at all of the homes, some of which had cute beachy names. I think many of these were probably rentals.
At first the road was one-way, then we had to jog over to a 2-lane road which still didn't have much traffic. On one side the homes backed up to the marsh and on the other, the ocean.
Many of the ones on the marsh were several stories tall with a top deck or room that likely had a view of the sea. But I imagine the ones truly on the beach were the expensive ones, but also were the ones most vulnerable to a hurricane.
Speaking of hurricanes, this is supposed to be hurricane preparedness week in Charleston. I'm hoping we're off the coast before any of that happens!
Eventually the road ended at a gate where the pavement still continued most of the way to the lighthouse point. What was weird was that there was all kinds of chalk/spray paint graffiti covering the asphalt. We wondered what that was all about.
A short distance further, the pavement stopped at a sandy walk way. So Don waited in the shade of a tree while I trudged through the soft surface in my bike shoes over to the beach where I could get a better picture of the lighthouse.
The Morris Island Lighthouse is a defunct light located on an island just off the coast at the entrance to Charleston Harbor. It was built in 1876 and is 161 ft. tall. Its Fresnel lens was powered by lard oil and once guided ships safely to shore.
The lighthouse was damaged by a cyclone and earthquake in the late 1800's but it was the constant erosion of the water that continued to threaten it. In 1962, it was deemed too close to the shore and was closed. The light was replaced by a new light located at the north end of Sullivan's Island. Restoration efforts continue.
Pictures taken, I did a little shelling along the water, then returned to the bike where we retraced our route back to the campground. It was quite windy by now but we enjoyed the tailwind as we headed north from the island. We were cruising at 17 mph!
Our early start worked well as it was only 1:00 when we returned. Around 2:00, it began to thunder although we got no rain at all. Likely it would have rained if we'd been on the bike!
We spent the rest of the day relaxing and trying out our new massage gun on our tight legs. It really works great! (thanks to Kelly for suggesting it).
For dinner we treated ourselves and went back to Martin's BBQ. Everything was still really good, some of the best we've ever had on a trip. I want to figure out a recipe for Brunswick stew that we can cook in our instant pot.
It continued to rumble the rest of the evening but no rain here. We know that they are in a drought in this area and need measurable rain, but we'd just as soon not have any!
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Today's ride: 27 miles (43 km)
Total: 808 miles (1,300 km)
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