The temperature dropped 25 degrees overnight and the weather turned downright arctic overnight. Hard to believe just yesterday we were slowed down to a snail’s pace every time we walked by an air conditioned store with their door propped open just to get a few milliseconds of relief from the heat.

Our first stop was Folly Island. We passed a “Welcome to the Edge of America” sign, followed shortly by a “Mosquito Beach This Way” sign. All things good to know. Hopefully, the gale force winds will not blow us off the edge of the country but also keep the bugs at bay today.

We arrived before this town woke up, and managed to find some free parking a few blocks away from the beach. We made a bee-line for the pier. After making a few mediocre photos of a wooden pier on a dreary day we declared “this is only a scouting day anyway”and moved on.

At this point, I’d had enough DIY cryotherapy and mapped us to an REI store for some last minute shopping. If you’ve followed our travels, you know that I have begun a collection of warm weather clothing from around the world; Scotland, Ireland, Montana, now North Carolina. It’s always hard to find something warm, when the stores just restocked for summer. Kind of like looking for a wool cap in Montana…in August.

Sullivan’s Island was our next stop. It is home to one of the ugliest lighthouses I’ve ever seen. When I suggested as much to Peter, he looked appalled. I guess in his mind all lighthouses are beautiful. Its unusual shape at the top is to help it withstand hurricane force winds. Which made me ponder “the wind gets worse than this?”

Peter had seen an image of a boardwalk with a leading line up to the lighthouse. We didn’t realize that what he had seen wasn’t a traditional boardwalk, but a synthetic mat used to create a pathway to protect the dunes. It was quite luxurious to walk down to the beach without getting sand in your shoes. Yes, we are seasoned photographers.

We could see Fort Sumnter in the distance, and decided a little walk through history was in order. Just down the street was Fort Moultrie that is run by the National Park Service. We spent some time walking around the canons and old batteries, talked about ammunition and detonation more than I ever thought I would, and marveled about how people lived, worked, and died.

Today’s culinary delight was South Carolina BBQ. We’ve had a lot of western BBQ, but never southern. The meat was tender and perfectly smoked, without the smoke flavor and smell hitting you in the face like a 2×4. The sides and sauces tangy and vinegary not too sweet or syrupy. I believe more research is required to properly understand the differences and nuances of South Carolina BBQ. Hell, while I’m at it, let’s just make a project out of learning more about America’s different types of BBQ.