On Saturday morning we reluctantly left the cozy home and warm fellowship of our friends in Lancaster, SC and headed to Myrtle Beach. We had never been there and wanted to say we had seen the beach. Unfortunately, the press of humanity (most wearing masks outside?) kept us from seeing very much of the water.
The saving grace of our stop here was the variety show "One" at the Alabama Theater following a delicious dinner at the Flying Fish.
Sunday morning, we left our hotel with a bagged breakfast consisting of an orange, a small bottle of water and a packet of instant oatmeal. Go figure! How each hotel we stayed in handled the complimentary breakfast was interesting and we concluded some took the Covid restrictions as a cop-out. But, we did not go hungry, I assure you, as breakfast is our favorite meal of the day.
Charleston, SC was our special destination and we used our time to see as much of the historical section as possible.
Our hotel was so conveniently located and once we parked the car, it didn't move it until we left.
After checking in, we enjoyed the view of this amazing engineering feat from our window.
After getting settled we took a Grayline tour of the historic section so that we could get an overview and know where we wanted to spend the next day.
We love the classic Charleston architectural style with the side porches.This one held some fun seasonal touches. Can you find them?
I won't bore your with all the history behind these amazing old houses, but the wealth associated with them was astounding to us.
Monday morning, we got an early start by taking a trolley down to Broad Street where we had determined we wanted to start our walking tour. It would eventually take us to the harbor.
This was a window in the old city Courthouse and I loved the American flag reflected there.
When we turned a corner across from this stately old church, the sun was hiding behind the steeple and sharing its rays with us.
The entry steps on this gorgeous three-story home naturally caught my attention. It was the most spectacular arrangement we saw in the city. I love the composition and colors.
How about these window baskets? There were varieties of coleus, sweet vines, and grasses.
This post Civil War, Italianate Williams Mansion, is Charleston's largest private residence with over 24,000 sq ft. It was constructed in 1878 at a cost of $200,000. It is also a museum but currently closed.
These huge three-story homes face the harbor and were part of some fascinating facts of history.
I couldn't keep from noticing the intricate gas-light chandeliers hanging on each of the porches and wondered the finery they might have witnessed entering those doors.
This house has the only cupula in the city and is owned by a millionariess whose son we learned is an actor. Don't ask who, I couldn't tell you if I tried.
This little tiny house has an interesting history. It was a project given to students by a professor many, many years ago, to see if they could build a residence on this narrow little lot amongst these mighty mansions. The winner of the project got to live there. It has changed hands many times since then.
I said at the beginning of chronicling this journey that the most memorable experiences were those that involved interaction with people.
We met the man who lives across the street from the tiny house and struck up a conversation. When he learned that we were from Louisiana and had once lived down in Houma, he claimed us as kin. He invited us into his garden which was exactly what I had wanted to do.
As I walked around this small oasis among miles of concrete, he told us the story of how he and his wife had come to own this, the only coral house in the city.
It was a fascinating account but the amazing thing is, they only paid $300,000 for it years ago. Unbelievable!
He told us the story behind this little frog. He found it at an antique store many moons ago and knew he would one day use it in a water feature. Many years and many dollars later, the frog holds the limelight of the garden.
In this picture, he is telling us about the orchid that grows attached to a tree, seen below. Since Charleston is a tropical environment, these temperamental plants grow almost wild.
Needless to say, this was the highlight of our day and the memory of a friendly Charlestonion who had Louisiana roots will be a treasure.
The ferns hanging off this side porch were the largest I have ever seen. The baskets themselves were massive but seemed thwarted by the immense size of the house.
The city of Charleston is known for its historic houses of worship.
The French Protestant (Huguenot) Church was undergoing extensive work and one of the workers asked if I would like to take his picture. Who could pass up this cutie who was so eager to pose.
We can honestly say that Charleston has the friendliest people. Folks who recognized us as tourists stopped and offered suggestions and interesting tidbits about the city. We loved seeing this wonderful, beautiful, old city up close and personal.
Our hotel was near King St. which is the shopping and dining mecca of the historic section. We ate but we didn't shop. What a lovely day, with more to come on the morrow.
We were leaving Charleston for Savannah this next day but before we left the city, I had arranged to meet a fellow blogger and artist for breakfast.
The Mash & Mercantile restaurant was within several blocks of our hotel so we decided to walk it. We might not would do that again, but at least we got our steps in for the day.
It is in the old Cigar Factory down near the waterfront and has its own fascinating history.
I started following Kerry Steele's blog and Instagram several years ago, and found her paintings to be inspirational and so near the style I envisioned myself painting one day. She was kind enough to meet us which provided me the opportunity to thank her for what her love for painting and interior design had meant to me through the years.
Yes, it is the personal interactions, the lives that touched yours that make memories so endearing and worthy holding on to for a while.
I have one more installment before finishing up this trip, so check back tomorrow for a glimpse of Savannah.
