Charleston Day 3

I really should be finishing my final exam for my stats class but my brain is fried! I will finish the test tomorrow. Sorry mom. I may be lucky. She probably doesn't read my blog. So to delay going to bed, I decided to add day three of our trip. Compared to day two, today was relaxing. We drove to Angel Oak, the largest live oak in South Carolina. Rumor has it to be well over 1400 years old. I'm sure scientists have done testing but I rather like the legend. After driving around on Johns Island and then James Island, we walked out to the Morris Lighthouse lookout point. Actually we were on the furthest tip of Folly Beach on James Island. The fascination for me wasn't really the lighthouse. Somewhere on Morris Island stood Fort Wagner which was featured in the movie Glory. Told you I was a Civil War geek. Before the trip I Google-mapped it and knew where it was so this spot and Fort Sumter was the closest I was going to get in seeing where the fort would have stood and where the attack began. The fort no longer exists, but that didn't matter to me. I just realized I never told my parents or aunts the fascination with that spot. Of course Annette knew. Next up was the beach. This was my first time playing in the Atlantic Ocean. The water was Lake Powell temperature and the waves were nice and rolling. However, you can only float so long in the water. We tried body surfing but the waves were weak. Not much force at all. In spite of this, I loved my time at the beach so much that I rearranged some things so we could go back another day. Later that evening we went and visited MUSC (Medical University of South Carolina). This is where my dad completed his medical residency 30 years ago. My dad enjoyed seeing all the changes and saying, "This isn't the way it used to be." Tonight we also picked up Kathrine from the airport. Now we had seven driving around in the van.

Charleston Day 2

Since I am sitting here waiting for my laundry to be finished I thought I would add another day. Our first full day in Charleston started at Drayton Hall. For the most part it has kept its architectural integrity. As you walk through the house you can see the years of change but the history fascinates me. This house is one of the few authentic plantation homes from the 1700s. During the Civil War, Sherman burned most of the homes on his march through the South but Dr. John Drayton posted yellow flags at the entrances to the property indicating that it was being used as a smallpox hospital. Thus the house was saved. After the tour we walked around the yard and the nearby swamp reading the points of interest on our map. I like walking tours because tour guides get verbose and I am not that interested in what they have to say. After Drayton Hall we went to the nearby plantation Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. The house was built in the early 1900s and cost to enter so we didn't take that tour. However, we did walk all around the gardens which were absolutely beautiful. My mom says the gardens are even more magnificent during the early spring when the both the azaleas and the camellias are in bloom. The humidity was amazing! And by amazing I mean the most I have ever sweated without working out. I did plan for this though. I expected to be sweaty and yucky the whole time which is another reason I always pulled my hair up. Thick long hair does not help the heat situation. After walking all over the plantation we went to dinner and topped the day off with a visit to a dessert cafe. I did plan on working out during the trip but we walked around so much and the heat and humidity were so draining I decided that sleep was a better option.

Charleston Day 1

I haven't posted for a while because I was on vacation. If I could do anything in the world as a career I would want to be on vacation. I love traveling and seeing new places. Charleston has been on the list since I was seven. The reason: the Civil War and North and South (not the BBC version). Finally after years of anticipation I decided I was going to go by myself. My mom not wanting me to travel alone said she would come with me. My dad heard we were going and rearranged his schedule to join us. He and my mom lived in South Carolina during his residency. Not wanting to be out numbered by the parents and because I knew she would love to come, I invited and convinced Annette to come. Then I invited my mom's sisters Janet and Christine along because I know they are always looking for a new place to visit plus I know what it is like to be single and have no one to travel with me. Finally Kathrine decided she didn't want to be left out and joined us for some of the trip. All in all it turned out to be a great adventure. I would love to go back, especially during the Historic Homes and Gardens show during the spring. The next few posts will be pictures with explanation about the trip. We arrived late in the afternoon. After checking into the hotel, we ventured to historic downtown to walk along the battery (the barrier wall between the land and sea). We saw Fort Sumter from the peninsula and amazing historic houses. Some of these were featured in the TV movie North and South. I hope you enjoy the virtual tour.

I want the fairy tale

Unknown quirk

All of us in life have little quirks. Most of mine are quite obvious. However, I have one that many have not realized. I love watching airplanes, specifically their flight patterns. If a plane flies overhead I watch it and wonder where it has been and what path it has taken to arrive at its destination. I figured out which side of the airplane to sit on for the best views of the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, and Zions when flying between Salt Lake and Phoenix. I can also tell you as we descend which side of the airport we will land. Many of you may not have realized that depending on air patterns, planes may take off or land from a different side of the runway. I love watching airplanes. Watching the sky is quite the fascination for me.