Jan. 7

We left our two nights home in Bluffton at Habitat's volunteer house and drove through Macdonald's for a quick breakfast. The Haig ramp and launch area located across the river from where we had landed had a large parking area and no sign saying "no overnight parking" so we could leave the car there without calling to get permission from the sheriff’s office. We had agreed with Tuck Daniels and Susan Sommer to have them drive our car to Savannah on Saturday. We could not make Savannah in one day. Pat Wirth had called the Melrose Inn on Daufuskie Island to see if they might give us a complimentary room but they had declined. This meant we would need to camp. I called the Inn to see if we might stay there at a discounted rate and succeeded to get a room for $80.00.  I thought this still seemed high. But if it meant we did not need to carry all of the extra stuff to camp it seemed worth it.

We set out with the outgoing tide and reached the turn into the Cooper River just as the tide reached dead low. Turning up the river with the now incoming tide was planned perfectly. Sometimes planning ahead really pays off! I was satisfied that we had learned alot about planning around the tides.  So the 12.5 miles to Daufuskie landing went very quickly. My hands had been helped alot by the day off.

This was a leg with lots of wildlife entertainment. We watched a dolphin splashing a flock of pelicans that were waiting to share his fish. He deliberately splashed water on them to get them to go away. They seemed to play the game pretty well and were persistent in their efforts to snatch some of the fish he killed. There were lots of birds that we need to identify and list. Among the most common were our loons that seem to be wintering here. Their familiar voices were unmistakable.  But they use different calls in the summer to call themselves. They all seemed to be traveling alone fishing. 

At the boat ramp we unloaded on the dock and pulled the boat up a very slippery ramp to put it on a grassy spot near the top.  I called the Melrose Inn as requested to get them to send someone down to pick us up. We waited and waited.  I called again. A different voice said she would send someone right down. We waited and waited. A car drove in with three people who were surprised to find us there, started quizzing us about our rowing and couldn't believe what we were doing. A fourth man showed up neatly dressed with tie and a huge cigar in his hand. The driver said: "Are you taking donations?"  Heather immediately said "of course" and all of them started handing us bills.  We collected $55.00 on the spot!

A very friendly fellow named Greg came in driving a county pickup with a Dept. of Roads and Drainage seal on it. Greg sat down with us to chat. We chatted about life moving at a slower pace on the island. "Sure, this island will be developed more and become too busy some day", he said. "But then I'll move over there." as he pointed to Pine island across the river.  I guess we people that like peace and privacy will eventually be pushed to the Pine Islands of the world until they are all developed.

Finally a car drove in with the security person and another from the Melrose Inn. We loaded our dry bag and other things we did not want to leave in the boat and hopped in the middle seat. It was about 3 miles across the island to the Melrose Inn, a large and very tastefully designed golf resort situated on a famous golf course. At least that's what their literature said. Who am I to know! We entered the stately place looking like a couple traveling in a rowboat for a month.  Greeted by apologies about the late pick up, we were given our key and went to the room. With a view over the 18th hole and the Atlantic Ocean, every amenity one might conceive of including two queen size beds I began to think of the $80.00 a little differently. This was a $500.00 room in the high season.

Heather went down for a nap instantly and I showered and went to sleep soon after. After a half hour I awoke with pangs of hunger and a desire to see more of this place before dark. We ate the cheese Heather had packed for lunch with some crackers and headed out for a walk on the beach. Deer tracks were everywhere and dolphins were crowded near the shore. Lights came on to highlight all of the palms and box hedges that gave this place a splendor the likes of which is rare. I began to believe what their literature said.

Hungry as a starved oarsman after a long practice, I was ready for dinner. We proceeded to the second floor restaurant and found we were the first customers.  Our table by the window was in a quiet place until the second group came in. With a hundred other tables available, of course they were seated next to us. They were older homeowners on the resort and the two couples spent our whole meal talking loudly about their fancy houses and their memberships in this club and it seemed like every other. We ate a good meal in silence. I decided I did not need a home here.