Gullah People
We leave all of our friends and guests behind and head north. In her passenger seat, Glenda has previously called and spoken to the 80 year old gentleman proprietor of the Gullah Museum in Georgetown, SC and arranged for him to give us our own private “tour” of the museum.
Off we go. Little did we know how much we would learn during our time with Andrew Rodrigues, of the Gullah museum. He awaits us, sitting in a chair outside the door of the museum with his dog (he has put a sign on the corner of the road just for us! We know this as told us that was the case 🙂 ).
Mr. Rodrigues was a veritable encyclopedia of all things Gullah. Our heads were spinning and seriously we did not get beyond 1712, but for a brief digression to Roxbury MA, his hometown, in 1940’s. What?? The digression included: stories of his Cape Verde textile worker father; Andrew’s shoe shining adventures as a kid; saying goodbye at the train station as Andrew went off to college on at track scholarship and his father accused him and his older brother of being “slick” which we gathered was a bad thing; and remarkably we then returned to 1692 and learned about African red rice cultivation. No segues provided – we struggled to keep up.
He was an amazing, remarkably informed, lovely gentleman and barely took a breath during our 1.5 hours here. He and his late wife returned to Georgetown, SC after spending their working years in the north after graduating from South Carolina State in the 50’s. She was from Gullah territory and spoke fluent Gullah (a combination of English and multiple African dialects).
We spent a fair amount of time reviewing a handmade quilt made by his wife and friends for the 2nd Obama inauguration. The quilt told the story of Michelle Obama’s ancestors who were found to be Gullah slaves on Friendfield, a SC rice plantation. The quilt is now housed in the Smithsonian Institution’s permanent collection. We both agreed that our man Rodrigues’s telling of the Michelle Obama ancestor story was very moving.
Our brains were full up with everything Gullah and when they were ready to explode, we made our excuses and slid on out. It was a one of a kind experience. Thank you Mr. Rodrigues. By the way our 80 year old host is in the South Carolina State Hall of Fame as a track athlete. Impressive!!
Georgetown Wooden Boat Show
A festival was happening down the road from the museum. It is the 28th annual Wooden Boat Show. We don’t like to miss a Wooden Boat Show whenever possible, so we check it out.
Seafood and More Grits
We make a meal stop on our way to New Bern and, you guessed it, more grits. Beautiful marshes along the way and a big gorilla.
The end. Not the very end. Yet…