Southern Belle

Ahhhhh. Spring vacation.

It was sleeting when we left home and headed south. Sleeting! Charleston, South Carolina was our first real stop and it was still rather cold there. But it was clear and sunny, there were rhododendrons blooming and we were off to explore. We like the quick city tours to get us started so it was off to the Visitor’s Center. There we discovered large signs proclaiming their regrets that most tours were unable to accommodate accessible needs. The one tour bus that had a wheelchair lift was out of commission. Waaah!

So off we went. Bobby loves bridges, especially suspension and we headed out to cross the New Cooper River Bridge. I thought it looked just like Bunker Hill Bridge in Boston, but Bobby said nooooo. All bridges are not created equal. I bowed to his superior bridginess.

There was a small park on the far shore called Patriots Point. There we saw an aircraft carrier and I got some nice bird portraits of Great and Snowy Egrets for my collection. We also happened on the wonderful folks from Blue Bell Creamery who were giving away free samples of ice cream to celebrate their 100 year anniversary. It’s a shame they didn’t get a warmer day for their promotion, but they’re a different spots all year. They even had a moon bounce in the shape of a giant tub of ice cream. In the cold, on the water, with the wind whipping about us we walked up for a cup of the best vanilla ice cream you can eat with a broken wooden spoon. It was deep frozen and fresh – unlike anything I’ve ever had from the grocery store. I ate it in the car with my gloves on and the heat on. Decadent.

We then drove around Charleston a bit, peeking at the old architecture and settled at Waterfront Park. It’s a lush spot with a giant Pineapple Fountain, the surrounding gardens and a pier. There are long pavilions on the dock with porch swings broad enough for five or six suspended on creaking anchor chains. We spent a lot of time there checking out the sights and photographing everything from birds to boats to benches. Yes, I noticed the armrests of the park benches had a bird motif in cast iron. That kind of functional art fascinates me.

After a fine meal at Southend Brewery & Smokehouse circa.1880 we took a strolling/rolling tour of the neighboring area snapping more pictures and noting interesting building features. It’s fun when he’ll notice one thing while I see something else nearby. We did that until the cobblestones rattled my brains.

Our best find was, of all things this R2D2 mailbox from the USPS.