Tuesday an amazing day to Beaufort to see the Mayor.

I woke on Wednesday after a luxurious nights sleep in the Holiday Inn and languished at the breakfast buffet fueling up for the days ride.

But first being on the outskirts of Charleston I wanted to check out the city having heard good things about the town, and as a possibility for somewhere warm to establish a foothold where my loved one and I might spend some time since she doesn't like the long cold New England winters.

First impressions of the city were positive with a huge modern bridge and most important a great first class 2 lane bike path across, something not seen since NYCity.

And the downtown was cosmopolitan and charming. 

I over did the photos for benefit of my sweetheart at home so that she knows I was always thing of her and looking out for her interests. Some folks I met over morning coffee described an active art community and a gentle laid back atmosphere. 

There were great marked bike lanes, many young people, a large medical center and many folks out about and riding bicycles. It looked like a place worth investigating.

Leaving town .... there was a nice low old fashion draw bridge

 And I got off the highway and on the back roads as much as possible. The land became agricultural and I found some deserted roads that were just my style.

There were big oak trees with hanging Spanish moss. 

Mid day I uncovered what what must have been one of the old original plantations. There was no marker but I had read some of the historical markers along the way to know that in this area there were some big old plantations.

Finding such gems and enjoying the back roads so much and trusting my I-phone GPS I began to get a bit more adventurous, until I encountered this ...... on what my GPS said was a "road".

Which lead to 2 miles of this .....

..........throughs of the movie DELIVERANCE crossed my mind.

Eventually I found my way back to the highway and reluctantly suffered through a few miles of this....

South Carolina was not generous with their road shouldeqrs and what they did give you to ride on usually had a dreaded rumble strip right down the white line which is where I liked to ride.

I pressed on as the day actually turned hot with the afternoon sun. 

While crossing this bridge I saw a nice shady river side spot a perfect spot to stop for a 2nd lunch. I had on board some PB &J and bread and I bummed water from some local fishermen.

After my rest and snack and when the fishermen had left the dock, I wandered down to the water.......

The Combahee River looked cool, refreshing and clean. It was part of the Yemassee basin wildlife refuge. I was hot ..... the water looked refreshing ...... and there was a boat ramp of concrete so I could see the bottom. A swim maybe???

But there were some signs posting a lot of rules.

The one on the ground said no swimming. But for those who know me know my personal rule..... taught to me by my spiritual guide the D L. "Know the rules so that you can break them properly". 

Well that is just what I did ..... a full body emersion and some push-ups in about 3 feet of water. It felt fantastically refreshing and I peddled on toward Beaufort clean and refreshed.

It qwas getting on toward late afternoon and I had not made any arrangements for the nights lodgings.  I was closing in on beaufort, SC and I remembered that Nick's final destination was Beufort and that he was intending to stay with a friend or family there and had vaguely offered me a place to stay when we arrived.

Well I was about to arrive and when Nick's friend Kate called my phone looking for Nick, because without a phone he had been using mine, I asked her if she knew who Nick's contact was in Beaufort. She said it was the mayor ... Billy Keyserling.

Not being able to contact Nick, I tracked down Mayor Billy's phone number and called him up. He knew Nick but had not seen him since high school and after my explanation of the bazaar circumstances, and at first thinking this was some sort of a scam, he graciously offered me a place to stay and we arranged to meet for dinner after his weekly city council meeting. 

I passed city hall.

....... and arrived to find a prosperous, old, historic and charming city. Downtown was bustling with a Back Roads cycling tour, a boating crowd bring their yats north for the sommer and other well healed tourists. So i waited in the local coffee shop for the Mayor to call. 

He did call and we went out for a late and lively dinner with lots of laughs telling stories about politics and life on the road with Nick. He is a smart, funny and very generous man with endless stories about good old boy southern politics and about how a red haired, Jewish, dyslectic. ADD, liberal, Cambridge Mass. educated boy got to be Mayor of a small Southern city.

 

...... dinner with the Mayor of Beaufort.