Folly Fun and Festivities Are Just Fine

The old song "nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina" is proving to be correct once again. I'm in day 3 (or is it 4) of our annual Magic Circle Folly Island beach retreat and it has been fine indeed! Thus far the weather has cooperated with lots of sunshine and mild temperatures. Yesterday was probably our peak good weather as we're now predicted to have sustained winds in the 10 to 15 mph hour range with some cloud cover and occasional rain during the remainder of our stay.

Chef Richard has continued his tradition of keeping us well fed and, as I write this post today, I'm aware that my mouth is already watering with the anticipation of Shrimp 'n Grits tonight. Last night's delectable sword fish under a Balsamic Vinagrette sauce was just perfect. It's a good thing I brought the Fuji CCR3 with me or I'd be packing on the pounds.

I had an enjoyable ride today. I left Folly Island behind long enough to explore a little bit of James Island. My goal was to catch 20 miles today and to also see some of the other islands. I started to John's Island but a sign pointing to Fort Lamar's Heritage Center caught my attention. It was on my side of the 5 lane Folly Road and that helped encourage me to change plans and check out the site. After leaving Folly Road behind, I was on nice residential 2 lane roads until I arrived at the heritage site, which consisted of some parking places and 3 monuments. There may be more but I wanted to keep my heart rate up so I didn't do any foot exploring. The monument stands in honor of the Battle of Secessionville in June of 1862. According to the monuments, it was a pivotal battle that broke the Union's flank and saved Charleston.

After leaving the monuments, I headed back south and traversed Battery Island Drive back to Folly Road. Battery Island Drive runs parallel to the marshes separating Folly Island and the Intercoastal Waterway from James Island. I saw a number of marsh birds looking for food in the low tide of the marsh. Upon returning to Folly Island, the police license check/road block that I had skirted earlier was packed up and gone. Traffic was moving smoothly again onto the island. I was about 5 miles short of my goal of 20 miles so I headed toward some back roads of Folly and enjoyed seeing the residences on the marsh side of the island.

After getting back on the main road heading to the "washout" and Lighthouse, I was riding into some strong headwinds, which really gave me a good workout. It was hard riding to maintain 9 or 10 mph going directly into the wind. It was all worth it as I enjoyed riding on the big ring back to our abode at a really good tailwind enhanced pace.

I've updated the slide show with a few images from today's ride. Now, I'm thinking it is time for some serious mental preparation for supper... (read nap!)

Until later,

-- Zeke