1/5-1/7 to Beaufort, SC and Kazoos and Steak

Thursday 1/5, we left Thunderbird, GA and headed north to Beaufort, SC.  We saw some skinny water in Fields Cut.  We moved fairly slowly through the remaining marshes.  We passed Parris Island Marine Base.  Parris Island is where the Marine recruits start out.  The water tower there does not say Parris Island.  Instead, it proudly proclaims, "We make Marines". 

But we had our eyes on the weather.  It was predicted to get cold and rainy.  We made dock reservations at Lady's Island Marina.  What a neat place.  We are going to stay until Monday when it will warm up to the high 40s.  The sunset was stunning.

Beaufort, SC is pronounced Bu fort.  The city of Beaufort, NC is pronounced Beau fort.  Yes, they are spelled the same.  We arrived on Thursday.  I got the lay of the land by walking less than a mile to Publix.  The marina folks had lots of recommendations.  Just outside the marina is The Fillin' Station, a bar that serves hamburgers and hot dogs on Wednesday and on Fridays serves a steak dinner for $14.00.  The problem was one has to put in their order for the steak dinner on Wednesday and pay in cash.  I walked in and prevailed on the proprietor by telling him I knew of the special but had just cruised into town.  I was granted a waiver and paid for our steak.  Friday night, we went back for our steak dinners.  When you arrive you go out to the deck overlooking the creek.  Your order is confirmed from the hand written list and he asks how you want your steak.  There are several grills on the deck and the steaks are cooked to order.  Go to the bar and order a drink and a huge perfectly grilled bone in steak, baked potato, and veggie will be brought to your table.  It was perfectly seasoned and I had some left over for lunch on Saturday

Friday morning, the dock master gave me a ride to get my hair done.  When I got back to the dock, John and I took the courtesy car about 5 miles away to the Kazoobie Kazoo factory.  What fun this was.  The Kazoobie Kazoo factory is the only one in the USA that manufactures plastic kazoos.  There was a small museum of kazoo history.  Did you know the kazoo was invented in 1852 and was patented?  Kazoos can make different sounds based on the material they are made from.  Our tour guide, Erin, showed a short film on the history and the injection molding of the plastic.  Then, she put her talents to the test playing all types of instruments based on the kazoo and various materials.  Who knew there was so much to a kazoo.  Then Erin took us to the manufacturing floor, where she explained how the kazoo pieces were put together and imprinted with logos.  At the end of the tour, we selected our colored pieces and assembled our own kazoo.   Here is John playing his red and green kazoo.

All this for the $5.00 price of admission.  This morning, when we skyped with our granddaughters in Houston, we played a duet for them.  Sshhhh, they will be getting kazoos in the mail when we get home to Wilmington.

The cold front came through last night.  The temperature dropped and the wind really kicked up.  It rained hard last night.  Today, it has not warmed up.  The skies are gray.  The rain keeps spitting on and off.  It is just plain raw.  The wind is howling.  Thank heavens, we have decent heat on the boat. It was a good day to get laundry done.  This might be the last laundry load until we get back to Wilmington. 

I can see why so many people love it here in Beaufort.  It is hard to believe we are so close to completing the loop.

Lat  32 degrees 25.19 North
Long 89 degrees 39.50 West