My future home.
It's been nearly a month since my last post, and nothing too exciting has happened. We haven't had time for any major home projects, and I haven't spent much money on any new decor (which is probably a good thing).
I just wanted to hop on here and give a quick run-down of our weekend trip to Charleston, South Carolina, aka, my future home. Of all the cities I've visited, Charleston is really the only place I've felt comfortable enough to pick up everything and move to. Dallas isn't bad, either.
Hurb and I have been working on average 50-60 hours each for the last seven months and we decided we needed a little break. So we packed our bags and our dogs into the car and drove down to Charleston for the weekend. Our hotel was on the Ashley River marina, and was a quick seven minutes from downtown.
We took our time waking up on Saturday, heading out around nine thirty to explore the historic city on foot. Our first stop was a community dog park near the water (because Ruby hadn't used the bathroom since before we left the house on Friday... leash-shy). We let the pups run around with the natives for about an hour, then made our way down the water on East Battery Street to Battery Park.
Battery Park is one of my favorite places to walk though. There are Civil War cannons, military statues, huge live oaks draped with Spanish moss, and a beautiful view of Fort Sumter across the water. Apparently its hunted by the souls of pirates that were hanged from the trees and left to dangle for days in an effort to deter piracy, but we didn't see any ghosts.
We continued to walk down King Street, admiring all of the architecture and old homes. I picked out at least four summer homes before we made it back to the car. After dropping Bailey and Ruby off at the hotel, Hurb and I headed into town for what was supposed to be a light lunch at Five Loaves Cafe. We enjoyed the scenery as we drove around and around and around the block searching for a parking spot. I had a vegetarian portobello and goat cheese "burger" with tomato and crab soup, he had a roast beef sandwich with potato broccoli cheddar soup. Neither of us finished our sandwiches. We were going to stop at a teeny bakery before rescuing the pups, but we saw a woman handing out parking tickets and decided to skip the sweets. We'll be checking the mail for a ticket over the next few days.
Next, we paid a visit to Drayton Hall, a preserved-yet-unrestored 18th century home on the Ashley River. We enjoyed the grounds before heading into the house for a guided tour. Most plantation homes in the area have been restored and refurnished with period pieces. Drayton Hall, however, has remained untouched. All of the original floors, ceilings, walls, and mantels remained in the home. Even the family growth chart and some 18th century graffiti have stuck around! Despite the faded paint, lack of running water and electricity, and cracked moldings, the relic is a perfect example of Georgian-Palladian architecture.
Drayton Hall is also home to one of the oldest African-American burial grounds still in use. We tried to take a stroll through the old cemetery, but the mosquitos were the size of chickens and were very clearly starving. I counted 30 bites when we got back to the car, including six on my face. We had to stop at a CVS for anti-itch cream. Here, Hurb denied me a vanilla Coke, which I was very upset about and will probably bring up in future arguments.
"Hey honey, remember that time we went to Charleston and you wouldn't let me get a vanilla Coke? THAT'S WHY I DEMAND TO PAINT THE KITCHEN GREEN!!!"
After a quick nap and nuzzle with the dogs, we dined at Eli's Table, a restauramt too fancy for taking pictures of food. We shared gouda fondue with apples, grapes, pretzels, and andoullie sausage; Hurb had shrimp and grits, and I had the award-winning duck and sweet potato waffles. Duck is by far my favorite meat, and I will never ever pass up the opportunity to savor it's tender goodness.
Sunday was a short day. We began with coffee and a carriage tour around the historic district. I learned that there is a law that prohibits the destruction of any building older than 75 years, other than by "nature or the hand of God". Old homes, churches, and businesses must be restored or they must crumble into dust, which makes for a very diverse aesthetic throughout the city. Some buildings are nothing but shells, with flora and fauna running rampant within the decrepit walls. Others are magnificent billion-dollar restorations, and remain true to the time period in which they were originally built. Another interesting fact: the majority of Charleston is built on filled land, meaning that garbage was thrown into the sea and dirt was piled on top until it was safe to build on. So those billion dollar mansions are built on literal crap and garbage. Good for them.
We had about an hour to kill after our tour, and spent it perusing the outdoor markets. We saw traditional Gullah handcrafts, local artists, jewelers, artisan bakers, and more. I almost left with a framed collection of colorful butterflies, but opted for a handmade Gullah sweetgrass wreath instead. I had ethical issues with the framed butterflies. Apparently, the man who makes them farms the butterflies and I imagine he gasses them to death in order to sell their brightly colored corpses, because that many butterflies don't just drop dead one day. I couldn't get down with that.
We left the markets and drove back to the hotel, packed up the pups, and made our way home. But before we got on the road, we made a pit stop at the James Island County Park. There was a four acre fenced dog park, complete with a dog beach, and nearly 100 locals for Bailey and Ruby to sniff and chase. Our dogs are never off-leash unless they're fenced, and they didn't really know what to do at first. They eventually got comfortable and made a few friends, but pretty much followed us around. I was surprised at how close they stayed to me and Hurb. Bailey took a little dip, but Ruby only got her toes wet. We stayed for a couple of hours, and finally got on the road home.
I love Charleston. I love the food, the atmosphere, the Spanish moss, and the history. I love the architecture of the old homes, and the solemn graveyards. If I ever get to live anywhere but where we are, I'd love to make our home in Charleston. There's so much more for us to do there, I've already started planning our next trip!
I just wanted to hop on here and give a quick run-down of our weekend trip to Charleston, South Carolina, aka, my future home. Of all the cities I've visited, Charleston is really the only place I've felt comfortable enough to pick up everything and move to. Dallas isn't bad, either.
Hurb and I have been working on average 50-60 hours each for the last seven months and we decided we needed a little break. So we packed our bags and our dogs into the car and drove down to Charleston for the weekend. Our hotel was on the Ashley River marina, and was a quick seven minutes from downtown.
We took our time waking up on Saturday, heading out around nine thirty to explore the historic city on foot. Our first stop was a community dog park near the water (because Ruby hadn't used the bathroom since before we left the house on Friday... leash-shy). We let the pups run around with the natives for about an hour, then made our way down the water on East Battery Street to Battery Park.Battery Park is one of my favorite places to walk though. There are Civil War cannons, military statues, huge live oaks draped with Spanish moss, and a beautiful view of Fort Sumter across the water. Apparently its hunted by the souls of pirates that were hanged from the trees and left to dangle for days in an effort to deter piracy, but we didn't see any ghosts.
We continued to walk down King Street, admiring all of the architecture and old homes. I picked out at least four summer homes before we made it back to the car. After dropping Bailey and Ruby off at the hotel, Hurb and I headed into town for what was supposed to be a light lunch at Five Loaves Cafe. We enjoyed the scenery as we drove around and around and around the block searching for a parking spot. I had a vegetarian portobello and goat cheese "burger" with tomato and crab soup, he had a roast beef sandwich with potato broccoli cheddar soup. Neither of us finished our sandwiches. We were going to stop at a teeny bakery before rescuing the pups, but we saw a woman handing out parking tickets and decided to skip the sweets. We'll be checking the mail for a ticket over the next few days.
"Hey honey, remember that time we went to Charleston and you wouldn't let me get a vanilla Coke? THAT'S WHY I DEMAND TO PAINT THE KITCHEN GREEN!!!"
After a quick nap and nuzzle with the dogs, we dined at Eli's Table, a restauramt too fancy for taking pictures of food. We shared gouda fondue with apples, grapes, pretzels, and andoullie sausage; Hurb had shrimp and grits, and I had the award-winning duck and sweet potato waffles. Duck is by far my favorite meat, and I will never ever pass up the opportunity to savor it's tender goodness.
Sunday was a short day. We began with coffee and a carriage tour around the historic district. I learned that there is a law that prohibits the destruction of any building older than 75 years, other than by "nature or the hand of God". Old homes, churches, and businesses must be restored or they must crumble into dust, which makes for a very diverse aesthetic throughout the city. Some buildings are nothing but shells, with flora and fauna running rampant within the decrepit walls. Others are magnificent billion-dollar restorations, and remain true to the time period in which they were originally built. Another interesting fact: the majority of Charleston is built on filled land, meaning that garbage was thrown into the sea and dirt was piled on top until it was safe to build on. So those billion dollar mansions are built on literal crap and garbage. Good for them.We had about an hour to kill after our tour, and spent it perusing the outdoor markets. We saw traditional Gullah handcrafts, local artists, jewelers, artisan bakers, and more. I almost left with a framed collection of colorful butterflies, but opted for a handmade Gullah sweetgrass wreath instead. I had ethical issues with the framed butterflies. Apparently, the man who makes them farms the butterflies and I imagine he gasses them to death in order to sell their brightly colored corpses, because that many butterflies don't just drop dead one day. I couldn't get down with that.
We left the markets and drove back to the hotel, packed up the pups, and made our way home. But before we got on the road, we made a pit stop at the James Island County Park. There was a four acre fenced dog park, complete with a dog beach, and nearly 100 locals for Bailey and Ruby to sniff and chase. Our dogs are never off-leash unless they're fenced, and they didn't really know what to do at first. They eventually got comfortable and made a few friends, but pretty much followed us around. I was surprised at how close they stayed to me and Hurb. Bailey took a little dip, but Ruby only got her toes wet. We stayed for a couple of hours, and finally got on the road home.I love Charleston. I love the food, the atmosphere, the Spanish moss, and the history. I love the architecture of the old homes, and the solemn graveyards. If I ever get to live anywhere but where we are, I'd love to make our home in Charleston. There's so much more for us to do there, I've already started planning our next trip!
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