My Favorite Place

My sister planned a two week adventure on the east coast for her kids and invited me to join them. Work really does get in the way of me having fun sometimes. Gratefully that week, United airlines had a discount ticket available and two days later I was in my favorite place in the states: Charleston, South Carolina. I love this place and I loved sharing it with my sister and her family. They arrived a day before me so I missed Charles Towne Landing and Fort Sumter, but I had been to both those places a few years ago which made it mostly okay.

Right after a torrential rainstorm hit

USS Yorktown

Hanging around in the market

Angel Oak

South Battery

East Battery

Magnolia Plantation

My niece and I on a ride around the plantation

Middleton Place

Folly Beach

Pavilions

My memories of May have thwarted my attempts at updating this blog many times. Even now, I want to skip this month because of the feelings these memories evoke. Here goes.

Interviews were going well and I had a flyback for a job in Charleston, South Carolina the first week in May. I had arranged to fly out on a Saturday so I could spend Sunday getting a sense of whether moving to SC was a good decision for me. I loved visiting this place. But was it a place I should live?

The answer came as I was packing for the trip. I felt restless, uneasy, anxious. I didn't recognize the feelings for what they were. It took traveling across the country to really figure it out, but I knew something was wrong even before I got on the plane. I arrived to the city rather late that day and only had time to grab some dinner before heading to my hotel.

The next morning, I felt sick. That feeling of "What am I doing here?!" and "I'm crazy for thinking I could move here. I'd have no social life!" kept hounding me. I found a local church building and was so grateful it was Fast Sunday. I needed that extra help. I remember talking to a woman in the hallway about why I was in town and I think the combination of my mom being out of the country and me needing just to talk, I ended up spilling everything to this woman. By the time I slowed down and gave her a chance to speak, she summed up all my feelings in one phrase: You already know the answer. And she was right. I knew. But I hadn't figured that out yet.

After church, I drove up to Cypress Gardens and walked around. It was kind of drizzly but I was still able to get some good pictures and have time to think about what I really wanted.

Cypress Gardens

I decided to take a drive into the city and walk around. I was thinking a lot about Elder Eyring's talk from the last general conference about pavilions and wondered what that meant for me. As I was walking along the battery, a couple stopped me. They had just gotten engaged and asked if I would take their picture. An interesting moment happened for me then. I realized the Lord was sending me a message that he was aware of me and what I really wanted in life. I had no guarantee of getting what I wanted, but I knew the Lord would take care of me, and much like Elder Eyring's daughter-in-law, I finally felt peace after months of anguish.

My pavilion moment on the battery; picture is from a trip a few years ago

The rain began falling soon after that and I ran for my car and drove to my hotel. The rain came and came and came and came, etc. I had never witnessed such a thunderstorm. Definitely a tempest tossed sea. The next morning brought blue, clear skies, so I woke up early and drove to my happy place: the beach.

Morning sailboat

Fort Moultrie

Isle of Palms

The interviews went well. In fact, a week or so later they offered me the job. I couldn't take it. I knew that before I even had the interview. So I continued forward with the job search which included a company in Arlington, Virginia. I had always wanted to live in Virginia but chickened out because it was so far from home and family. On the battery in Charleston, I promised the Lord I would go anywhere he needed me to be, that any location was on the table, so Virginia became a reality of that possibility. By the end of May, all that was left to do was schedule a flyback with this new company. They wanted me to go back the week I was on a family vacation so the interview was postponed to the third week of June.

Being silly with work friends

My sister and her husband planned on moving to California soon and I wanted one more visit to Chicago before they left. Gratefully, Memorial Day weekend gave me that chance. We had a great time seeing the city, playing at home, and eating really good food.

wiffle ball+lacrosse+bumper cars=whirlyball

Sisters - Not twins

Love this family

Restaurant entertainment

At the Chicago LDS Temple

Chicago Botanical Gardens

Chicago Botanical Gardens

Charleston Day 8

Today was our last day in Charleston. We didn't finish the walking tour yesterday so my mom said she would finish it with me. Everyone else also decided to come with us. We finished up the tour stopping at the Old Exchange Building and the Old Slave Mart. These two museums are on my list the next time I come. Afterwards we brought Kathrine to the airport and then headed to Patriot's Point. Talk to Nettie about how quickly she explored the aircraft carrier in two hours. She was a speed demon. The USS Yorktown was amazing. I can't imagine living on it though. Incredible is the only word I can use to describe it. After our quick stint at Patriot's Point we headed to the airport and traveled home. Gratefully we did not have any flight problems this whole trip. I highly recommend Charleston to everyone. So where is my next trip? I think Prince Edward Island.

Charleston Day 7

Today was the day my family decided going on trips with Thamina is not a good idea. For me I love just being part of a city. I love walking around and seeing what is there. I have a photographic memory so I literally take the views of the city with me. We stopped at the Charleston Visitor's Center and got ready what everyone thought was the Museum Mile tour. This tour brings you through the major historical center via Meeting Street. However, when I went into the visitor's center I found a walking tour of Charleston which added x-amount of descriptions to the original tour. The path was similar but I knew that my family would get tired of me quickly. So we began the adventure. Honestly, it would have gone quickly if it had been myself but when you are a group of seven everyone has their own agenda, something I needed to be reminded of constantly because I was becoming a brat about it. So what I thought would only take a couple of hours took longer. People were tired and lunch did not happen until 2:30. We only took tours of two houses: The Calhoun Mansion and the Edmondston-Alston house. I wanted to go on a couple of more tours but did not feel right making others pay for more stuff. Every house had a $10 entrance fee so four houses adds up quickly. After lunch we called it a day. We stopped at Patriot's Point to check out their times and decided to stop there tomorrow before we flew home. The rest of the time we played at the beach. I love the beach! I would love to come and visit Charleston again. This has been a great vacation!

Charleston Day 6

Today was Sunday which meant less walking. My mom and dad had a great time at church meeting up with old friends. I think they enjoyed being remembered. Afterwards we went exploring trying to find the remnants of Fort Johnson where the first shots of the Civil War were fired. We had to walk a bit but found the ruins. I would love to excavate the site! Not much has been done except a placard placed to designate the spot. We walked a bit downtown but it was raining so we came back to the hotel and played cards and watched movies. It was nice to relax especially since I knew what I had planned for day seven.

Charleston Day 5

To anyone who actually reads this I am finishing up the Charleston trip. I haven't been in town the past few weeks and when I have been it has been repacking for the next adventure. To be honest day five paled in comparison to day four. I loved day four! Today we walked around Charles Towne Landing, the first official settlement in the area. They had animals in cages and alligators not in cages. The grounds were beautiful and I love the Spanish Moss on the trees. Overall though, it was more of a park that I would visit for a Sunday walk or bike ride with the family. Do understand though, that if you are going to travel to Charleston this is a must see. Just do it before the other cool stuff so it doesn't seem as anti-climatic. Afterwards we went to Middleton Place. The gardens were very nice but I loved Magnolia Gardens better. I also think the heat was getting to all of us which made walking around outside less than desirable. Once again, Middleton Place is a must see. Every night we have gone out for dinner at some little quaint place in Charleston. If anyone wants a list of places email and I'll give you my favorites. Most evenings after we walked around in the heat we would relax in the pool at the hotel. Nice way to cool off from the sweltering day.

Charleston Day 4

Today was my favorite day. It is best described as "how much can Thamina stuff into one day." We started at Fort Sumter. You take a ferry boat out to the fort. The ride is quite nice. They tell you cool historical things that happened in the area and point out significant landmarks. It is fun to see the Charleston peninsula from the harbor. Fort Sumter is quite amazing to see. The fort functioned up until World War 1. During the Spanish-American War the gunner holes were bricked up and filled with sand and dirt and other debrie to fortify the fort. Not until 1950 did they excavate and find all these Civil War cannons. The grassy knoll you see in the pictures is the non-excavated part. Sonar testing reveals large metal objects (canons) underneath but these will probably be left alone. After Fort Sumter we went to Boone Hall, the place where my fascination began. The grounds are incredible. I love the house and the line of oaks and the slave quarters and the cotton house and the river...basically everything! I just feel like I am in another time. I have decided that if I lived in another time period I would live as a merchants daughter in the deep south prior to the Civil War. It all just fascinates me. After we visited Boone Hall we stopped at a sweetgrass shop and bought some sweetgrass hot plates. My mom has had some of these for as long as I have been alive. I love them! I didn't buy anything else because I wasn't going to play $150+ for a basket. Next we went to Fort Moultrie. We actually didn't get to the fort until after it closed but I was okay with that. We were still able to walk around and view Fort Sumter from Fort Moultrie. Right before the Civil War, Major Anderson moved his troops from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter in the middle of the night. This act infuriated the people of Charleston which just added fuel to the fire. That night we ate at Poe's Tavern, named after Edgar Allen Poe. He was stationed at Fort Moultrie for 18 months and the people of Sullivan's Island are quite proud of this fact. We decided to walk along the beach after dinner so we drove to Isle of Palms and just walked along the sand. I love walking on the beach especially when the sun is about to set. Today really was a good day and I was so happy that everyone enjoyed what I planned.

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.