The May 2011 Trip
Before embarking on this trip, we had to consider work schedules and how we would make this trip work and get the Boykin girls to Emily’s graduation, but after some deliberation the departure date was established. We left on Friday, May 20. We needed to leave earlier, but we could not leave early because Carrie’s babies could not be boarded at the vet until 8:00, so at 8:45 we drove on to 45 to embark on our journey to Pikeville, KY.
The ride was uneventful until Carrie got behind the wheel. A car was not moving very fast, so she decided to accelerate and get in the fast lane, but on the other side in a dirt brown car was a highway patrol; 84 in a 70 mph speed zone is never a good thing. After our 15 min. detainment by the kind of cute highway patrol, we were on the road again. As we changed time zones, we realized that we were going to be very pushed for time to get Carrie and Betty Ann to the pre-graduation banquet by seven.
It was also very tricky driving up a mountain, around a mountain, and down a mountain. Elsie was not happy with the constant changes. As we started getting closer, Carrie devised a plan. Yes, I know that is a little scary, but it worked! We pulled off the road in search of a gas station with a bathroom. After Elsie jumped a “high thing” in the parking lot at the first store with no bathroom, we found a store with a bathroom. We all jumped out of the car like it was in flames, and we opened the trunk and removed Betty Ann and Carrie’s clothes and make up then Betty Ann went in to the service station and changed clothes while Carrie changed in the parking lot. (It is a feeling of freedom to be in a place where you know without a shadow of doubt that you will never see these people again.)
We continued on our journey with me behind the wheel while the Boykin girls made themselves presentable, and believe it or not, after being on the road all day and with no appliances, they looked very pretty when we finally reached Pikeville and practically threw them in the door of the banquet hall.
After leaving the girls at the banquet hall, Melissa and I started our search for the hotel. It was one of those I see it, but how do we get to it moments. Finally after a few wrong turns, we found the entrance and checked in the nice hotel in Pikeville and then proceeded to find a place to eat. I guess this is good time as any to mention my “eating schedule”. My stomach likes to eat lots of mini-meals throughout the day and never to be completely empty. This was a source of amusement for the group. Back to the food hunt, we pulled out of the hotel, and we did not really know where to look, so I spotted the police station and a gorgeous cop standing in front of it. There is just something about a man in uniform with muscles that just excites our little group. He instructed us on where we needed to go to find somewhere to eat. We finally chose a Mexican restaurant that was not that good. We all arrived back at the hotel for beer and conversation focusing on the new Saul arrival. We all wrote down what we thought the weight, sex, and arrival date of what we now know as the new Saul girl. (Mereidith and I were correct on the sex of the child.)
The next morning while Betty and Carrie attended the graduation, Melissa and I packed the car. They arrived back before lunch, and we were soon on our way to Columbia, SC.
After a relaxing trip, we arrived and checked in our hotel. We then got dressed and went to eat. We found a place to eat where the food was good and they had gum ball dispenser looking apparatus that were beer dispensers that held ten beers. We convinced Carrie that we did not need to get one. After eating, Melissa took Betty home to the hotel, and we ended up at a bar that was centrally located beside the railroad track. As we approached the bar we saw a large group of young black men in camouflage on bikes. We were informed later that they were a local gang. We sat forever and drank waiting on the band. We got to know the bartenders well. I made some great pictures of the cuties. They told us that there was a convention in town and what parts of the bar we needed to stay in if we were there later in the night.
The band was High Maintenance (I thought they were referring to me until I saw their sign). They were the best band, and one of the band members formally lived in Oxford, MS. The music was awesome! Carrie and I danced the night away, and Melissa tolerated her tipsy friends. While we were sitting at the bar, Mr. Berry spotted Carrie and decided he wanted to take her home, but she was not interested in being Carrie Berry. It was an interesting night for Carrie. While on the dance floor, she decided to do a little cheek dancing with one of the guys. His wife immediately turned him away from her then she goes to sit at her stool by the bar that Mr. Berry should have saved for her, and it is taken by a very rude young lady who made comments like “She got to sit down cause she be old”. Carrie takes her seat back and all is well. Then the husband that was on the dance floor preceded to come over and hit on Melissa. He thinks nurses are such wonderful people.
The next day we are Boykin, SC bound. We head in that direction to find the beginnings of the Boykin clan….. We finally arrive to see the three buildings and Ma Boykin’s antebellum home. Boykin Mill, Boykin Pond, and a Broom and Craft Store were in the center of town. There was a pretty lake behind the buildings that had a peaceful tranquil look dominated by old trees hugging the banks.
The people renting one of the buildings were friendly, and they gave us directions to the Boykin cemetery. Unfortunately, I was the only one listening; we left the Boykin buildings and headed toward hopefully the cemetery. On the way we saw a very old church. We finally found the cemetery we thought and as we were pulling in we saw a very well dressed black lady enter the church then we knew this was where all of Carrie and Betty Ann’s black relatives were buried. There is nothing like being in a cemetery in the blazing heat on a Sunday morning and hearing beautiful soul gospel music. Thank God for racial harmony in SC. They ignored us and enjoyed their Sunday service.
We decided to stop at the old church and look around. A sign out from identified the church as Swift Creek Church 1782; it was a very tall straight structure that was sitting very close to the highway. We wanted to see inside the church, and Carrie and I both tried to open the door. Carrie decided that she would give me a boost, and I would look in the window and report back on the interior of the structure. She made a cup with her hands and I managed to get up, but I could not pull myself up to the window if we had only been videoing these two former athletes. While we were playing cheerleader, Melissa goes and opens the door…. Imagine our disbelief as she walks in the church. We entered the church, and we were shocked and how well preserved the old church was. It was very Puritan in style with the bare walls and wooden benches. A wooden cross hung behind the pulpit, and a square balcony circled the second floor. It was decided that if any of us every got married, we would come back to Boykin and get married in that church. Our relatives do not need to start saving their money for the trip!
We left the church and headed to Charleston, SC. We arrived in Charleston after lunch and realized that our room was a few miles from the historic part of town, so we decided to cancel that room and find another one. We found a room after driving around for an hour that was $300.00 a night, and it was a nice hotel with the sitting area on the bottom floor and two queen size beds on the top floor. We left the room to find food and to look around.
We walked down to the harbor, and it was a pretty view then we started walking back to the room and we found a bar called Squeeze. It was a tight squeeze. It was maybe 12 feet wide. We found Betty some crab legs, and she was excited, but they were a little pricey. We visited Aromas which had a good two piece band that we sang along with for a while. We went back to the room and went to bed.
Snake- sake- Saki
We decided that we would check out of our hotel and head to Savannah. I think we could have found more stuff to do in Charleston, but I think we were tired and wanted to land somewhere for a while. Loading the trunk and wagging luggage and the heat was taking a toll on our fun–loving spirit.
The trip to Savannah was a good one. We felt no pressure to arrive at any time, and we took our time and stopped at interesting places along the way.
Stay tuned for part 2- Savannah
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