Pawley's Island -- The Old Homestead

A few lifetimes ago I was a good ole boy wannabee in Pawley's Island, SC. I'd do stuff like eat boiled peanuts, volunteer at the local fire department (I was a Captain), and go crabbing in the marsh. Work consisted of following woodpeckers, trapping feral hogs, and banding songbirds. All of this is true.

So I was looking forward to showing Rachel around the place, beginning with dinner Tuesday night at Nance's Restaurant.
When I lived there in the 70's this place was considerably more rustic. We'd generally only go there during oyster season (any month with an "r" in the name) and scarf down loads of beer-roasted oysters.

Well, like all of the rest of the Pawley's area, Nance's is much developed since then. Surprise! It's been 30 years. But that didn't stop us, and we had 2 enormous seafood plates (1 broiled 1 fried) and left happy. I even tried to connect for some waste veggie oil (after seeing Rachel's fried fish dinner) but they had all there's in a bulk container, and I wasn't prepared to deal with that.

During the visit to Pawley's we also checked out the Midway Fire Department. When I was there it was a 2-bay cinderblock building on the main road with 2 trucks that were small enough for amateurs to drive. Not anymore.

The main stop on the visit was the Belle Baruch Forest Science Institute, located at Hobcaw Barony just north of the Waccamaw River. That's where I was employed as a Forest Technician doing wildlife research from 1976-79. Unfortunately, the only tour for the day was full, and I guess being there as a lowling 30 years ago didn't hold enough sway for a private tour. But we did watch the video in the visitors center, and I do plan to get back for a real visit someday.