Day 5: Up the Coast to the Juggling Gypsy

Immediately after leaving Charleston we started to get hungry, and were very happy to realize that the seafood place recommended to us by multiple folks was only about 30 miles outside of town. We pulled up at the Seewee restaurant with empty bellies and bulging eyes – it looked exactly like the kind of place we wanted to feed.



And the bill of fare did not in any way disappoint. All of it was breathtakingly good. We started off with Charleston She-Crab Soup, which, for folks that don’t know, is similar to a crab chowder, served with a shot of sherry that the eater mixes in to his or her liking. Divine. On the side, we had fried pickles, which were perfectly crisp and not at all greasy – clearly the Seewee fryers are masters of their craft. The main event was a plate of some of the freshest seafood we’ve ever had (and after years of heading down the Cape in the summers, that’s saying something), including four perfect oysters, bone dry on the outside but bursting with oceanic juices at the slightest disturbance of the brittle crust.



We waddled out of the Seewee with what little dignity we had left and hit the road back to North Carolina. Drove past Myrtle Beach (kind of a pit) and briefly contemplated going into a shooting range and firing off a few rounds (I was the killjoy who nixed that idea).



We pulled off in Wilmington at about a quarter to five and went immediately to the Juggling Gypsy Café. What a joint – it felt like home the moment we walked in. Funky decorations all over the place and a laid-back atmosphere. The people there were super friendly, and we sat around and watched the end of “No Country for Old Men.”



We went to meet Hunter, our CouchSurfing host for the evening, and promptly got lost looking for his place (curses on you, Maria!), but when we found it we felt very welcome. Hunter was, true to his name, a hunter, and he offered us deer sausage for the next morning’s breakfast, about which more later. He also sacrificed watching the NCAA finals to come watch our show, which was super cool. He said he’d been meaning to check out the Juggling Gypsy for years, and now had a new reason to go. We hung out for a bit, then headed back to the Gypsy for the show.

At the Juggling Gypsy, we got fabulous sandwiches and local beers (Duck-Rabbit Porter! Hoohah!), and Gabriel discovered that he’d left the power adapter to his reverb pedal in South Carolina. Oops. And there was not a one to be found in Wilmington, at least not at that hour of night.

By the time we were ready to play, a little crowd had assembled. It was a great show – Gabe warmed the audience up (we’ve been switching off opening and designated driving duties) and got ‘em into it, and then I came on. For the first time this tour, I felt like I’d really found my footing. Felt very free up on stage. By the end of the night (near midnight on a Monday) the crowd had dwindled a bit, but those left were a fantastic audience nonetheless. After the show, we hung out with Hunter, Brian and Denny (who were running the Gypsy that night), drank a couple of beers (well, not me – I was driving) and headed back to Hunter’s place.



(Live MP3 - Jared doing "Butterfly" - http://econo-graphics.com/superdupersecret/ButterflyWilmington.mp3)

At Hunter’s, we sat up for a little while, shared some of the Kentucky Gentleman we’d procured a few stops back, and met his roommate, David, who played us a couple of songs on King Alfred, my elderly archtop electric guitar, including a great rendition of Townes’ “Mr. Gold and Mr. Mudd” and one of his own originals, which was very lovely indeed.

We took some shut-eye, and in the morning woke up to a breakfast of pancakes and the aforementioned deer sausage, which was spicy and delicious. With our bellies full, we packed up and headed west for Asheville.



(Deer sausage! And it was awesome!)