Kayaking in South Carolina's Low Country: A Road Scholar Program

Palm Key, located on Knowles Island in the South Carolina's Broad River, is home for this Road Scholar (Elderhostel) program. Accommodations are comfortable cottages close to the meeting/eating building.  We kayaked four times, three times on larger rivers and once on Cuckhold Creek, a tributary of the Combahee River.  This narrow, intimate blackwater creek is seen below, where we saw several gators, several nesting ospreys, lots of fiddler crabs, and a variety of other wildlife...

The black water designation refers to the dark color of the water caused by tannins in the leaves, and the result is the gorgeous mirror-like reflections as seen below...

Here's a shot of an one of the ospreys taken by David from our group...

The three larger rivers, Broad River, Beauford River, and Boyd Creek, all gave expansive views as seen below and provided us glimpses of pelicans, heron, egrets, and at least nine dolphins, some within yards of our boats (watch the video at the end of this post to see the wildlife shots)...

One evening we were treated to a wonderful theatric presentation by Kim Poovey who authored Truer Words, a fictional account of Emma, "A strong-willed, independent woman who is not afraid to stand up for what is right. Raised on a wealthy plantation in the Lowcountry of South Carolina during the Victorian era, Emma's life is not as simple as it appears. Her family holds a secret that could cost them their lives if discovered. But for Emma, doing the right thing is worth the risk." Below is a photo of Kim as she performs her hour-long dramatic portrayal of young Emma...

Another evening was a presentation by accomplished sweetgrass basket maker Michael Smalls whose exceptional baskets represent an art form brought here by his ancestors 400 years ago from Sierra Leone in West Africa.  In fact, his creations are so artistic that one is on display at the Smithsonian Institution. Below, David is getting a closer look at the artist in action. Michael explained how the grass is harvested and is only found in a few locales, and how dozens of hours go into smaller baskets and larger ones far more time.  He also voiced his regret that he can't find any young people interested in learning the craft to keep it alive in the next generation.

Meals were served in the common building, starting with Sunday night's South Carolina specialty, Low Country Boil, also known as Frogmore Stew, seen here with shrimp, sausage, corn-on-the-cob, and potatoes...

A concurrent Road Scholar program was running here at Palm Key too, "Savory Southern Barbecue," and as we kayaked each day, they learned about this fine culinary art and shared their day's efforts with us at dinner, as we all partook of chicken, ribs, and pulled pork on three successive evenings.  Wonderful fare! The video includes brief footage of this group and their week's activities.

All five mornings of the program offered 50 minute sunrise hikes, attended by about a dozen hikers each morning...

The two other evenings featured a geologic and geographic introduction to South Carolina using maps, and on Thursday evening an oyster roast and shucking followed by a campfire with sing-a-long.

Thursday afternoon was a special treat as we drove to Beaufort, South Carolina, where we took a buggy ride tour of this historic and scenic town, and then had some free time to wander the waterfront park and Bay Street shops.  Below is the historic First African Baptist Church, site of the church scene in "Forrest Gump."  In fact, over 40 Hollywood films have been shot in this town.

Here's our group of stalwart paddlers who braved the gator infested waters and survived the strong headwinds and crashing waves and incoming tides all week:

(L to R, (kneeling: Joyce and April (guide)

Standing: David, Renate, Chuck, Nancy, Tom, Adelaide, Ed, Jody (guide), and Dick

Below is a video chronicling our week's activities on this program.

More photos available here (and they can be downloaded)