Monday, June 9, 2014

Frankly, Scarlet ... I Don't Want to Leave

This is our last full day in South Carolina. We flew down for our grandson's graduation from Army basic training at Fort Jackson and treated ourselves to four vacation days here in Charleston.


What a beautiful area...gorgeous beaches, lots of vintage "junk" shops, fascinating history, interesting people, lots of low country culture and crafts, and hot sunny days.



I enjoyed watching the local Gullah women weave sweetgrass baskets. The baskets are sold at farmers' markets and roadside stands along the South Carolina coast...


As well as at the historic Public Market in the city of Charleston.


At Boone Hall Plantation, you drive  through this stand of 300+ year old Live Oaks to enter...I felt like a modern day (albeit slightly older) Scarlett O'Hara!

 
The live oaks are everywhere down here and they're massive. Their wide-spreading branches provide shade year round...they are actually an evergreen variety of oak, something we don't see in Maine.

This tree on the outskirts of Charleston is called the Angel Oak. It's over 1000 years old and its branches twist and spread to cover an acre of land. We just couldn't stop staring at it!


In Charleston itself, the architecture is beautiful and there is Civil War history everywhere. It reminded us a bit of St. Augustine with its narrow cobble stone streets, small shops and pubs, diverse culture, and busy harbor.


 The best thing about the low country though was the food...she-crab soup, gumbo, grits, crabs, shrimp, fried green tomatos, and...


 Every kind of oyster imaginable.


 Did I forget to mention the Margarita's and Corona with lime?
 
One of our favorite places was Red's Ice House in Mount Pleasant...right on Shem Creek.
 
 
 

While I enjoyed Red's spicy boiled shrimp, Hank was captivated by a family of dolphins playing in the creek right below our table.


He was very patient and finally scored a photo of one of them...see him? (hint: he's right in front of the pelicans).

 
 Tomorrow we fly home but I know we'll return to the low country of South Carolina again...
We loved it!
 

3 comments:

  1. those trees . . . the grillwork . . . the baskets . . . the food . . . I want to go there!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love your photos that took me back to our visit there a few years ago. We just spent a day there but I said I would love to go back and spend a week. So much to see and do!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beautiful! I hope we get to enjoy our short time there this weekend.

    ReplyDelete

I hope you'll leave a Comment . . . they make this blogger's day!