Baby it's Cold Outside

It was around 2 AM or so when the silence was finally broken. "I don't know about you, but I'm FREEZING". Truly, it was the coldest evening of the journey. We would later come to find that the thermometer dropped to a brisk 34, missing the record cold for the day by just one degree. And, when you figure in the dew point (feels like temperature), it was plenty cold, and it was a damp cold to boot. We had no choice but to put on everything that we owned, including our rain pants and jackets. We spent the rest of the night in a fitful sleep, huddled together with hoods up, burying ourselves deep within our sleeping bags, hoping that the sun would soon come up.

It seemed like forever before the sky turned light enough to venture out of the tent, fire up the propane stove and get the coffee water going. There were still hot coals in the firepit from the night before, and Matt got the fire going again, which was a welcome relief. Being from a softwood state, we're not used to burning oak. It does take a while to get going, but the fire seemingly burns forever, and it gives off a warm, even heat. We were fortunate enough to have scrounged up some discarded pieces of live oak from some other camp sites. While we had seen Live Oak trees in Virgina and North Carolina, we were awe struck by their size, beauty and grandeur in SC.

Live Oak is a large spreading tree of the lower Coastal Plain from southeastern Virginia to southern Florida and to southern Texas. It normally grows in low sandy soils near the Coast but also occurs in moist rich woods and along stream banks. The trees often support many types of epiphytic plants, including Spanish moss (which is neither "Spanish" nor a "moss") which hangs in weeping garlands, giving the trees a striking appearance. Live oak is a fast-growing tree. Sweet edible acorns are usually produced in great abundance and are of value to many birds and mammals including wild turkeys, wood ducks, jays, quail, whitetail deer, raccoons, and squirrels. The yellowish-brown wood is hard, heavy, tough, strong, and is used for structural beams, shipbuilding, posts, and in places requiring strength and durability. This is why they were so valued by the early colonists and European sea powers. In recent times, the trees have been planted in cities. providing incredible beauty and shade from the searing summer sun. Live oak ranks as one of the heaviest native hardwoods, weighing 55 pounds per cubic foot when air dry. This weight or density makes it a good fuel wood although it can be very difficult to split. They grow broad and tall, with canopy spans similar to the Banyan trees found in the tropics.

The Live Oak trees were one of the most memorable aspects of our time in South Carolina. But on the whole, we had mixed emotions about the state. We enjoyed some wonderful solitude riding through the forests and swamps, but at times it became quite monotonous, almost dull if you must know the truth. We encountered warm, friendly people along the route, but also felt (for the first time) uneasy in a few situations. It's hard to put a finger on, but it seemed clear to us that some folks would rather not be seeing bicyclists on their road. We've had very few conflicts with autos or trucks, but in South Carolina we did feel less welcome than some of the other places we have visited.

For our last planned night in SC it was going to be another cold one. We had planned to camp at a KOA in Point South, located next to Interstate 95. Not exactly our ideal choice, but the only campground for miles around. For one of the few times since we left Maine, we were not looking forward to sleeping out and camping. On the frontage road to the campground we passed by an old dilapidated motel named the Budget Inn. It was clear that the last time someone put a dime in the place was around the time the interstate highway was being built. But they only wanted $36 for a room, and since the KOA was asking $32, it was a no brainer. We cooked dinner that night in the parking lot of the motel, and dined by candlelight in our room. It was warm and cozy, and we knew we needed to get an early start to the next day. We had decided to do another "70 miler" to get into Georgia and further south. If we couldn't sleep in the cold, maybe we could out run it!

The next morning, we took off before 8 AM, wearing our winter gloves and beanies. It was like riding in Montana in the early spring or late fall. It definitely was time to be proceeding on.