On Folly Beach

Desperately needing a break from the snow, we snuck off for a couple of weeks in South Carolina.

I never get tired of Charleston.

I feel so at home in the area that I sometimes wonder if maybe I lived there in a past life!

 

When we got home, some of the snow had actually melted here in Maine.

It's beginning to feel as if Spring might be around the corner.

Our friends Anita and Fred drove up from St. Augustine to meet us in Charleston. Anita and Fred are "down-sizing rock stars". Last summer they sold their home, gave away most of their possessions,

and embarked on a "life untethered" . . . as full-time RVers. Just the five of them: Anita, Fred, and three cats!

 

Anita & Fred at Boone Hall

After Charleston, Anita, Fred, and felines are on their way out West to visit the National Parks. We'll meet up with them again in September at Fiber College in Searsport, Maine. You can follow them on their travels at Anita' blog, tumbleweeds.

In South Carolina, our home base was this little cabin on the grounds of an old plantation in Mt. Pleasant, right over the bridge from historic downtown Charleston.

Mt. Pleasant is known as the home of sweetgrass basket-making, a skill that has been passed down from generation to generation in families in the area since the days of slavery.
 

Handmade Gullah sweet grass baskets for sale

Mt. Pleasant is also at the center of  Gullah culture. Gullah families are the descendants of the enslaved people who worked on the rice plantations in South Carolina and Georgia. They still live in rural communities in the coastal region and retain elements of African language and culture. The rich history of the low-country, like Gullah culture and sweet grass basket-making,  captures my imagination more and more with each visit to the area.

View from a slave cabin on Magnolia Plantation

We spent one day on Sullivan's Island, which is right off the coast of Mt. Pleasant. The island is known for its white sand beaches, homey cottages, and quirky little shops and restaurants.

 

Edgar Allen Poe spent time on Sullivan's Island

Speaking of quirky . . .  how about this Sullivan's Island beach house with its own flock of color-matched flamingos in the yard!

 

 

I really enjoyed reading the novel On Folly Beach by Karen White. Walking along Folly Beach on a morning in March, I could almost hear "the song of the wind in the bottle tree".

 

The huge old live oaks in South Carolina continually amaze me. I'm pretty sure I drive DH crazy pointing and yelling, "Look at how big that one is" over and over as we drive. I can only imagine the history some of these ancient trees have seen.

Driving through the low-country, we often wonder about what life was like in the almost-deserted little towns we pass through in detours off the main road . . . like this one.

Almost every menu in the Charleston area features shrimp, oysters, Gumbo and She-Crab soup . . .

 

Served with a dose of Southern humor . . .
 

In casual pubs and raw bars built right on, or near, the docks.
 

And the Carolina moon each evening? 

Beautiful.
 

Since we've been home, I've been trying to get caught up on projects left unfinished when we left. Like this needle felted wall hanging  . . . still a "work in progress".

 

I did finish re-decoupaging (is that a word?) the top of an antique dressing table to pass along to granddaughter Anna.

And it was fun making little Easter treats for friends and family . . .

As well as a full-size Easter Basket for DD, who will always believe in the Easter Bunny.

 

 

 Catching up on this blog has been on my "To Do" list all week too. 

I love blogging and try to post often but, sometimes . . .

 

Life just gets in the way!

 

Happy Easter . . .