Traveling from South Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida. We stopped in a wildlife refuge before spending the night at a Harvest Host Brewery.
20 November 2025 – Thursday (Catching up on prior-year travel.)
Said goodby to Greg, Richard, & Shadow.
0807 77,273 55°F Underway from Poinsett State Park, in SC
0850 77,303 58°F Summerton,SC
Only a few minutes from exit 102 on Interstate 95 is a stop far nicer than any of the freeway rest areas. Other than the ranger’s truck, we were the only vehicle in the parking lot.
A small visitor center has clean restrooms, refuge maps, and displays about local flora and fauna.
Binoculars on the deck are fun for bird watching on Lake Marion. The refuge has miles of walking trails available. We would have stayed longer had it not started to rain.
0907 Leave Santee National Wildlife Refuge
1040 77,408 73°F Georgia Welcome Center
1410 77,555 83°F Jacksonville, FL
Grace Note Brewing – Harvest Host
Enjoyed the visit and brews at Grace Note. The barkeep and owner were both friendly and welcoming.
Food is allowed in the brewery. Multiple restaurants are only a few steps away.
It would have been fun to have had some of my musical friends along to make some harmony.
Repurposing a Grand Piano as a bookshelf is creative.
My favorite brew was N2, an aged stout with coconut and ginger. Good friends know I can’t resist coconuts. Gave the owner a Harvest Host sticker to join the many others in the brewery.
Sadler Park Marina is next door, so we checked out some of the interesting boats on shore.
Even more marinas are on the other side of US 17.
We’ve visited the bottom three points either by boat or van.
Free parking for large vehicles is available under the Route 17 highway bridge. Behind the chain link fence are…
railroad tracks…
and a operating bascule bridge.
Train & Bridge Watching
CSX owns the tracks and operates freight service like this short local.
Frequent openings had me interested in the mechanics and history of the old bridge. Operating for just shy of one-hundred years, it’s a Rolling Bascule style bridge built in 1927. From a mariner’s perspective there is only 2 feet of clearance when closed, so it opens for anything taller than an alligator. For close-up photos, check out the Historic Bridges website.
Knowing the Amtrak schedules, I decided to capture a passenger train crossing the bridge.
Northbound Silver Meteor
Bridge Closing
Bridge Opening
With trains documented, we made dinner in the van. Afterwards we walked under the bridge to see the sunset.
One last view of the bridge counterweight as a boat heads home.
One Thursday a month Grace Note hosts local stand-up comedy. We were intrigued so stayed up late (for us) to hear the comedians. Unfortunately, their language was so foul we left early.
Since we are in a smaller than average RV, the Grace Note owners suggested we pull into the main lot after businesses closed. Rail and road noise were reduced and we slept better than expected overnight.
Summary:
Grace Note was fun, served an interesting selection of fresh beers, and the staff were friendly. A variety of restaurants and several marinas are adjacent. For a rail-fan, seeing trains roll through was a plus. If you aren’t a fan, then the proximity to the tracks might be concerning. I would definitely return should we stay near Jacksonville again.
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