Tuesday in the ACE Basin

Today was by far the best cycling day. We returned to the ACE Basin (Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto river watershed). The route was simple, 16 miles out and 16 miles back of low traffic, shady pine trees arching overhead, punctuated with rice plantations, salt marsh, and alligator-laden ponds. See if you can spot the alligator at the bottom of the picture.

We had lunch at the National Estuarine Research Center, where a biologist gave a talk on the ecology of the area. One of our guides is a biologist herself and knows absolutely every tree, flower, bird and mammal in the area. Here is a picture of me on the banks of the Ashepoo River. On the way back, temperatures reached 88 degrees, so we were hot and tired at the end.

After biking, we shuttled into Charleston and checked into the Ansonborough Inn. OMG. What a gorgeous place. There are five pieces of original art in our bathroom! I will never stay at another hotel when I am in Charleston. We had a fabulous dinner at Magnolias and called it a night (except for blogging and email, that is).