Day 99 - Taste of Beaufort

We were at the marina office at 8:00 am to be first in line for the courtesy car.  The plan was to drive to West Marine to pick up the sump switch and to the Piggly Wiggly for a few grocery items.  On the way back, we drove along Carteret Street, the other main retail street in Beaufort besides Bay Street.  There are many homes built in the Gullah or “T” style, with “wings” extending out from the center of the home on either side.  Back on the boat, I cooked breakfast and Laurie and Greg did the clean-up.  This was the routine we had established and it worked quite well.

 

It was time to hit the town.  It turned out that Beaufort had a number of charming and affordable shops and Laurie and I were lucky to find several things we liked.  However, we moved way too slow for the guys, and their eyes started to glaze over long before we were through.  There were a couple of places we all enjoyed, starting with the Low Country Urban Market. It was a market and restaurant featuring local food such as homemade salads, salsa, gumbo and baked goods.  Pictured below is the kind of “Barnyard” that Laurie and I were salivating over (rather than a huge plate of meat at the Q on Bay)!

 

The Chocolate House was another hit.  Laurie made sure each of us had a coupon for a free chocolate sand dollar (hoping that one of us might not want to eat theirs but give it to her instead – no such luck!).  My sister loves chocolate!  Captain Randy bought more taffy as the crew (especially Laurie) had made a dent in his supply.  The Armory was constructed from 1795-1799 and was used during both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.  Greg and Randy spent some time in a Civil War Museum, and then went back to the boat while Laurie and I continued shopping.

 

The craft show part of the Taste of Beaufort was in full swing as we got back to the harbor.  Laurie and I strolled through, buying some corn salsa from Chef Anne, who had worked for Clint Eastwood.  She gave us a taste of her shrimp ceviche and gave us her recipe since we bought the salsa – delicious!  The food trucks/tents were still setting up so we went back to the boat for Happy Hour.  Captain Randy had just finished installing the sump switch with Greg as his assistant.  The guys had Dark and Stormies, made with dark rum and ginger beer while Laurie and I opted for wine.  Several new boats had arrived from Charleston for the Taste and the captain was able to get lots of “local knowledge” for our voyage to Charleston the next day.

 

At the Taste of Beaufort we sampled soft shell crabs, mahi mahi, curried chicken, Tito hand- made vodka, and Bruster’s ice cream.  The Carolina Soul Band (Temptations/Motown sound) provided the entertainment and we could still hear it on the boat as we settled in for the night.