American Cruise Lines - Day 9 - Beaufort S.C. (Part 3)

In the words of Frank Sinatra, "Love and Marriage, they go together like a horse and carriage" it was finally time for our turn at the carriage ride.

Ali had us all gather together just off the ship so she could escort us back up to the top parking lot and hand us over to the carriage operators. We had one couple from the ship that never showed and a couple that booked on their own as visitors to the city but it was easy to spread out and if you wanted it, to have rows for each couple. We lucked out with continued beautiful weather with only a need for a light jacket so the open carriage setup was fine. 

To get up into the carriage, they rolled over a set of stairs that had a railing on the opposite side and nestled up against the carriage on the other side. The carriage driver would line up the stairs with one row and let those people board, then move to the next row and so forth until we were all seated. 

We learned about how all the horses this company uses are treated well and how our particular horse Maximus seemed to only bond with our driver Charlotte so now she's the only one who drives with him. The tour goes at a slow pace and is a gentle ride on paved roads so there's no issues being jostled around or motion sickness. It was cute to watch how trained Maximus was to stop at stop signs and red lights only to get anxious to start walking again. Charlotte would tell him that it wasn't time yet to proceed only for him to move up just enough to trigger the light to change. She told us he's figured out how to trip the lights now. Charlotte was a great storyteller covering everything from war history to movie sets to local lore. She kept you engaged and interested the whole ride. At one point Max decided to relieve himself and she cheered because he made it totally in the collection bag hanging behind them. She told us that whenever they don't make it in the bag, she has to call her boss to come clean it up. Charlotte joked that she's had to call so much that her boss just answers the phone with "What street?"

Beaufort's version of the neighborhood watch:

An example of the two sided staircase common in the south to enter a home. One side was for the men and one side was for the ladies. The ladies would have to lift their skirts or dresses to climb the stairs and the opposite sides prevented the men from seeing the ladies' ankles, as such a viewing would mean you had to marry her. 

We learned about the Spanish moss that is so prevalent in the area. It was first used as filling to stuff blankets, mattresses, and clothing until they realized that little bugs like to make their nests in the moss and would reward the user with rashes and bug bites.

It turns out that being the last ride of the day worked out well scenery wise because the sun was just starting to set as we made our way back to the ship. 

We followed the reverse process to use the stairs to get off the carriage and were welcomed to take pictures and pet Maximus as the owner rewarded him with a bucket of dinner.

I learned the hard way though that if you want to come up and pet a horse that's just been enjoying his snack from a bucket placed under his nose, don't leave your camera hanging from your neck at the same distance from his nose. While I'm looking him in the eye, petting his face, and thanking him for the ride, he tried to have dessert in the form of my camera lens! Thankfully I had put the lens cap back on just after snapping the above photo so it only meant spending the next 10 minutes wiping crumbs and horse slobber off the outside where I adjust the zoom level. I guess he didn't care for all the shots I got of him from behind. :)

This afternoon was also this week's Eagle Society members only cocktail party and we figured we'd miss it totally due to our assigned tour slot. Once back on board, they still had some of the food left and we helped ourselves to some sodas and water as I worked to clean off my lens. Dad was happy to see that they'd served eclairs in addition to a prosciutto and melon platter. 

There was a bin of hats by the drink table but Dad decided he didn't want one for himself. Another gentleman asked to have one but gave up when the housekeeping manager asked if he was an Eagle Society member. They had given out more wooden cheese boards so Dad grabbed a couple more of them. The housekeeping manager saw us take our drinks and snacks over to a couch and rushed over with small bowls of crunchy party mix, a touch I've never seen them offer even at cocktail hour. It was nice to see her recognize us even though the party had winded down.