Charleston, Day 3

Day 1 | Day 2

Day 3 came pretty early and C, K and I all headed back to Folly River to try our hand at Stand Up Paddleboarding. You're basically standing up on a surfboard (paddleboard) and you have a paddle which is operated in completely the OPPOSITE direction of a kayak or a canoe. I was DEAD certain that I was going to end up in the water in seconds flat. I'm notorious for my poor sense of balance (don't put me on a bike). It was actually quite fun except when I tired my arms out because Mother Nature decided to have some fun with us and kick up the wind. 

We joined S & S back at the house and cleaned up in order to head to the Charleston Tea Plantation - where Bigelow teas are from. We sampled and purchased some delicious teas as well as became educated on the tea harvesting procedure. We also enjoyed a tranquil moment on their porch in wooden rockers, looking out over acres of tea plants. 

All tea-d out, we headed back towards home, making a stop at the Angel Oak - the oldest live oak (type of oak). According to Wikipedia, it is supposed to be over 1500 years old, is 65 ft tall and 28 ft in circumference. All I know is that it is huge and majestic. While basking in the magnificence of the Angel Oak, I noticed a white creature across the way. As it turns out, it is a white squirrel. Not albino, like I originally thought. For more info try here 

Next up, Catch up on Photo Project 2012!

Charleston, Day 2

Day 1 | Day 3

Day 2 was the "City" day. We headed into downtown Charleston and Marion Square for the well-sized and populated farmer's market. We found many savory dishes to tempt our palate. I had one of the best fruit juices (freshly mixed) and fought temptation to buy up every delicious fresh vegetable and fruit that I saw. 

  

   

From there, we headed to the extremely historical and long City Market. Reminded me of St. Louis' Soulard Market - filled with vendors of food and wares a like. Almost everyone was selling sweetgrass baskets like these:

After that, I think we headed back to James Island (where we were staying), and K and I prepared ourselves for our new adventure - sea kayaking. It was a sunset kayak adventure on Folly River. It was exceptionally fun - I've never been kayaking before. I used to canoe in middle school and had been dying to do something water related for awhile - the paddling system was completely different. It was a peaceful, fun adventure with a brief stop on a sandbar to learn about the tides, oysters and fiddler crabs. See the white bits in the picture below? Each one is a fiddler crab. They're skittish as all get out but if you stand still enough, you'll catch them. 

Sadly for me, I missed out on a great night out in Charleston because the sunburn the day previous plus the kayaking sapped all my energy. But K and C had a royally good time - having gotten adopted by locals and did a little bar hopping. 

Charleston, Day 1

My sophomore year college roommates and I got along so well as random roommates put together by university housing, that we've stayed good friends since our respective graduations. About every two years, we get together somewhere in the country and hang out for a long weekend. First was Vegas, then Ft. Collins/Denver, Miami, Washington D.C. and now Charleston.

Charleston was a great choice from top to bottom. Beach, city and everything in-between plus C decided that a vacation rental would be the way to go - and we had a great house for the weekend on James Island - very centrally located.

Day 1 was spent at Folly Beach, in order to avoid the weekend crowds. The water was warm and we definitely spent the bulk of the day wave-jumping vs laying out and getting tan (or in my case, sunburned). I swear I applied the sunscreen liberally but alas, I ended up a little burnt on my nose and decently burnt on my shoulders and back.

We also met these tiny little crabs in all the debris piles:








Sometimes you enjoy just the natural beauty of the street upon which you (temporarily) live:





and sometimes, inspiration just hits you, for art's sake:





More to follow tomorrow - Days 2 and 3, plus eventual catch up on the 52 Week Project!