Sorry that we have been out of touch but our new location in Blowing Rock, NC, doesn't have WiFi available for us, even with our new aircard. We're sitting on the porch at Kojay's Cafe downtown for two reasons. One is it's a gorgeous afternoon and, two, we can access the internet. For the sake of time and limited access, blogs from here will be a collaborative effort.
Note from Janie - tried to blog regarding the end of our stay in Charleston but it didn't post. So sorry.
The drive from Charleston was beautiful. Spent the night in Hickory, NC, then arrived in Blowing Rock
around noon on April 1. The last of the drive was in light snow. Not an April Fool's joke. It was real snow. Made a quick run to the grocery store, in case we were snowed in, before going to the condo. Knowing we were on the second floor with no elevator, we asked the store manager to help us find someone to unload the car. By the time we arrived at the condo, our new angel, Warren Davis, was there. Several hours later, unpacked, still snowing, we talked with Warren for some time. He invited us to his church, Laurel Fork Baptist Church, off the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Saturday was spent settling in - arranging all the "stuff" we unpacked.
Sunday, we went to Laurel Fork Baptist Church and Warren sat with us and introduced to so many of the nice people in the congregation. Enjoyed a wonderful "dinner on the ground" with lots of good food and plenty of desserts. Then we went back to the sanctuary for music by the Backroom Bluegrass Band, a group of four/F-stop mandolin, standup bass, guitar, and banjo. The bass player and banjo picker are a married couple. The banjo was custom-made by Homer Ledford, whose widow was there that day.
A young man who sat with us at lunch gave us some history on the church. He said that scenes from the movie, "The Green Mile," were filmed in the church and graveyard. Grandfather Mountain was highly visible from the church grounds.
Taking a wrong turn, we ended up in Boone, about six miles north, where we were going to explore at some time during our stay. Since it was a gorgeous day, the town was teeming with students from Appalachian State University.
Monday and Tuesday - more snow, intermittent, with some sunshine between snows. So we had a great excuse to stay warm in the condo and do nothing.
Wednesday afternoon, we rode north, intending to go to Grandfather Mountain, but it was too late as they close at 5:00. Saw some beautiful scenery, mountains everywhere.
Thursday - we actually made it to the mountain; elevation at its highest peak is around 5,940 feet. We walked across the mile-high swinging bridge, between two of the peaks. Thank goodness it was a calm day, so the light breeze didn't actually swing the bridge. Climbed to the top of the peak across the bridge. The drive up the mountain included hairpin turns where you meet yourself coming around the mountain.
Skip to Sunday - we attended First Baptist Church in Blowing Rock. Beautiful sanctuary with different kinds of inlaid woods in the baptistry. large stained glass windows, wonderful message, and very friendly congregation. We met several people that we will interview about Blowing Rock.
A person of interest - Jan Karon wrote the Mitford series here. Wish we could meet her, but she no longer lives here.
Our entire blog could easily be about the beauty of the countryside. The mountains are sometimes hidden from view, except the topmost peaks, by clouds - big, billowing, white clouds. It's awesome to be above the clouds if you're not in an airplane.
We have had some tutoring in moving pictures to the blog. So, hopefully, you will be getting pictures very soon.
To be continued............
Lou and Janie
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Revisiting America
Stopped so abruptly the last time I blogged. I believe I did finish with all of our Thursday activities.
Began Friday with a visit to The Charleston Museum, which was America's first museum.This museum is different in that it showcases a variety of artifacts that tell the story of Lowcountry cultural and natural history. Not your usual museum that focuses on paintings. We viewed everything from ancient fossils and an enormous whale skeleton to elegant costumes and Civil War artifacts. There was a wonderful "Kids" hands-on section and we hit it lucky again to be involved in some school groups, but at least these were supervised and were being questioned on what they saw and read.
Walked across to a Tea cafe for a soup and sandwich meal, then made our way to the Calhoun Mansion for a tour.
I do have a book about the mansion, it will be available when I come home, because I don't know that I can describe what we saw. I've already given some details, and I'm sure you could view it on the internet. It was a showcase, and the grounds were equally as beautiful. Parking is always what we dread because it is so limited, but this time we were able to park right in front of the house. When possible, we let everyone know we had had an interview with the previous owner, Gedney Howe,III.
We had made reservations for dinner(supper) at FIG (food is good) for 5:30, before the concert we were attending, so rather than drive home the 20 miles, rest for an hour, then drive back, we found a parking space, and just stayed in town.
The restaurant, FIG,owned by the James Beard award winner Chef Mike Lata focuses on fresh products from local owners. The restaurant has been featured in such magazines as Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, Food Network, and The New York Times. Our waitress asked the chef if he would speak to us for few minutes, so we were able to meet him and talk about the restaurant. This was our best meal so far, or have I said that before!?
Our concert, The Sound of Charleston, is produced by Charleston Musical Heritage Productions and are weekly presentations through the first six months of the year. There are variations to the schedule.
All the concerts feature a diverse musical look at the heritage of the state.
The program began with musicians from the St. Cecelia Society, a string quartet with songs by Fuchs, Pachelbel and Haydn, Civil War camp songs like, "Wait for the Wagon" "Goober Peas", "Oh Come, Angel Band", "The Yellow Rose of Texas", with guitar, banjo, and concertina, selections from! "Porgy and Bess", like "Summertime", "I Love You Porgy", sung by soprano, D'Jaris Whipper-Lewis, then an amazing piano duet of " Rhapsody in Blue"
played by a 16 year old piano virtuoso, Micah McLaurin and a college junior, Irwin Jiang. Absolutely wonderful! My favorite!
What an approiate ending to the concert to sing "Amazing Grace", written while the composer attended the very church we were in.
The church, The Circular Congregational Church was organized in 1681, became the Independant Church of Charles Towne, built on Meeting Street, named after the Meeting House built to house this independent congregation. In 1806, this unique circular building, by Robert Mills, became known as the Circular Church. In 1861 the building was destroyed by fire. The fourth and present building, on the same site, integrated brick from the 1886 earthquake into the present structure. A beautiful sanctuary.
Now, Sunday morning, church at First Baptist of Charleston. I will not describe any of the details of the building because I'm sure you've heard enough, but I will say it was very old, beautiful, having recently completed renovations and refurbishing. A K-12 school is part of the church program.
I was a little disappointed. I was ready for music like none I had heard, but there was a visiting choir, a Negro group, with guitar. Okay, but not what I wanted to hear. But the organ prelude and postlude and the wonderful sermon made up for any disappointment. It was the friendliest church we've been in, and again, mostly older couples, but children were in another service so I didn't really get a true picture of the congregation. It's amazing how the Lord uses such a variety of ways to reach people, different buildings, programs, services, music, people in so many different roles. It works!
We begin our last week in Charleston. We'll pack on Wednesday, leave Thursday, and be in Blowing Rock North Carolina on Friday, April 1.
Began Friday with a visit to The Charleston Museum, which was America's first museum.This museum is different in that it showcases a variety of artifacts that tell the story of Lowcountry cultural and natural history. Not your usual museum that focuses on paintings. We viewed everything from ancient fossils and an enormous whale skeleton to elegant costumes and Civil War artifacts. There was a wonderful "Kids" hands-on section and we hit it lucky again to be involved in some school groups, but at least these were supervised and were being questioned on what they saw and read.
Walked across to a Tea cafe for a soup and sandwich meal, then made our way to the Calhoun Mansion for a tour.
I do have a book about the mansion, it will be available when I come home, because I don't know that I can describe what we saw. I've already given some details, and I'm sure you could view it on the internet. It was a showcase, and the grounds were equally as beautiful. Parking is always what we dread because it is so limited, but this time we were able to park right in front of the house. When possible, we let everyone know we had had an interview with the previous owner, Gedney Howe,III.
We had made reservations for dinner(supper) at FIG (food is good) for 5:30, before the concert we were attending, so rather than drive home the 20 miles, rest for an hour, then drive back, we found a parking space, and just stayed in town.
The restaurant, FIG,owned by the James Beard award winner Chef Mike Lata focuses on fresh products from local owners. The restaurant has been featured in such magazines as Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, Food Network, and The New York Times. Our waitress asked the chef if he would speak to us for few minutes, so we were able to meet him and talk about the restaurant. This was our best meal so far, or have I said that before!?
Our concert, The Sound of Charleston, is produced by Charleston Musical Heritage Productions and are weekly presentations through the first six months of the year. There are variations to the schedule.
All the concerts feature a diverse musical look at the heritage of the state.
The program began with musicians from the St. Cecelia Society, a string quartet with songs by Fuchs, Pachelbel and Haydn, Civil War camp songs like, "Wait for the Wagon" "Goober Peas", "Oh Come, Angel Band", "The Yellow Rose of Texas", with guitar, banjo, and concertina, selections from! "Porgy and Bess", like "Summertime", "I Love You Porgy", sung by soprano, D'Jaris Whipper-Lewis, then an amazing piano duet of " Rhapsody in Blue"
played by a 16 year old piano virtuoso, Micah McLaurin and a college junior, Irwin Jiang. Absolutely wonderful! My favorite!
What an approiate ending to the concert to sing "Amazing Grace", written while the composer attended the very church we were in.
The church, The Circular Congregational Church was organized in 1681, became the Independant Church of Charles Towne, built on Meeting Street, named after the Meeting House built to house this independent congregation. In 1806, this unique circular building, by Robert Mills, became known as the Circular Church. In 1861 the building was destroyed by fire. The fourth and present building, on the same site, integrated brick from the 1886 earthquake into the present structure. A beautiful sanctuary.
Now, Sunday morning, church at First Baptist of Charleston. I will not describe any of the details of the building because I'm sure you've heard enough, but I will say it was very old, beautiful, having recently completed renovations and refurbishing. A K-12 school is part of the church program.
I was a little disappointed. I was ready for music like none I had heard, but there was a visiting choir, a Negro group, with guitar. Okay, but not what I wanted to hear. But the organ prelude and postlude and the wonderful sermon made up for any disappointment. It was the friendliest church we've been in, and again, mostly older couples, but children were in another service so I didn't really get a true picture of the congregation. It's amazing how the Lord uses such a variety of ways to reach people, different buildings, programs, services, music, people in so many different roles. It works!
We begin our last week in Charleston. We'll pack on Wednesday, leave Thursday, and be in Blowing Rock North Carolina on Friday, April 1.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Revisitiing America
We've had two bery busy days, not that we've tried to wait until the last to do things, but they were scheduled at these particular times. Liking Charleston more and more. Wish I could go down every street, know about every house and who lives in it, know the age of all the huge big trees, see every little thing.
Thursday morning our goal was to find Philip Simmon's home, someone related to him, and see some of his ironwork. One comment describing him, "Philip Simmons is a poet of ironwork. His ability to endow raw iron with pure lyricism is known and admired throughout, not only in South Carolina, but as evidenced by his many honors and awards, he is recognized in all of America." He is the most celebrated ironworker of the 20th century. Began to do specialized ornamental ironwork in 1938 and fashioned more than five hundred decorative pieces, gates, fences, baalconies, window grills. The ci;ty of Charleston is decorated from end to end by his hand. Our clue to finding his home on Blake street was a wrought iron fence, the only one on the block. Talked with his nephew, Carlton Simmons, raised by Philip, who had worked with Philip since a youth, taught by Philip, and continuing his work today. His shed, very small held all the tools, the 80 year old anvil, forge, and pieces of iron. When we asked him how much he worked, according to the job, how many orders, etc:, he said, "No,it's what mood I'm in". He gave each of us a small scroll-like piece of ironwork. The 'home will be opened soon as a museum and gift shop, and at the time we were there, he was expecting a tour group. All of the affairs of the business and home are managed by a foundation.
Left there in time to find the law office of Gedney M. Howe, III, prominent Charleston attorney who spent 20 years restoring the Calhoun Mansion, with 35 rooms and fireplaces, enclosing 24,000 ft. of space. We had called, told his secrtetary about our adventure, she told Howe, and he granted us the interview. We were overwhelmed with the grandeur of his office, so couldn't imagine what the home would be like. He said the roof of the home was caved in, walls falling down, total ruin, but he couldn't see letting such a treasure be demolished. He paid approximately $250,000 for the home, spent millions restoring and furnishing. He did much of the work himself, living in one room, cooking on a hot-plate, finishing one room at the time, as we ell as maintaining a prominent law practice.
After marrying, having children, who he didn't want to be raised in such an atmosphere, he sold the home in 2004, walked out, and hasn't been bonderful the ack. He gave us a CD of a dinner party held in the dining room that seats 26 at the table, to help us grasp just how elegant and wonderful entertaining could be in such a setting.
We went to Harris-Teeter supermarket hoping to taste a hot apple fritter mentioned by Kuralt in the book, but talked to the manager, and they don't serve them in the mornings anymore. As supermarkets go though, I can see why you would shop there. We each bought a box of cereal just to say we shopped at the same Harris-Teeter.
Naturally, we were in town, lunch time, and there are so many restaurants; we chose Magnolia, and of course there were magnolia paintings hanging everywhere, wonderful food, probably the best we've eaten, ( I said that about "The Fat Hen too), adorable waiter, Giles, then a walk to the waterfront to see the beautiful "pineapple "fountain, a ride along the battery in a "pedicab", and to our car to get home in time to rest a minute before our program at Our Savior church, a one woman, non-denominational , autobiographical presentation. I'll mention it later, because lunch must be prepared and I need to stop for now. Bye!
Thursday morning our goal was to find Philip Simmon's home, someone related to him, and see some of his ironwork. One comment describing him, "Philip Simmons is a poet of ironwork. His ability to endow raw iron with pure lyricism is known and admired throughout, not only in South Carolina, but as evidenced by his many honors and awards, he is recognized in all of America." He is the most celebrated ironworker of the 20th century. Began to do specialized ornamental ironwork in 1938 and fashioned more than five hundred decorative pieces, gates, fences, baalconies, window grills. The ci;ty of Charleston is decorated from end to end by his hand. Our clue to finding his home on Blake street was a wrought iron fence, the only one on the block. Talked with his nephew, Carlton Simmons, raised by Philip, who had worked with Philip since a youth, taught by Philip, and continuing his work today. His shed, very small held all the tools, the 80 year old anvil, forge, and pieces of iron. When we asked him how much he worked, according to the job, how many orders, etc:, he said, "No,it's what mood I'm in". He gave each of us a small scroll-like piece of ironwork. The 'home will be opened soon as a museum and gift shop, and at the time we were there, he was expecting a tour group. All of the affairs of the business and home are managed by a foundation.
Left there in time to find the law office of Gedney M. Howe, III, prominent Charleston attorney who spent 20 years restoring the Calhoun Mansion, with 35 rooms and fireplaces, enclosing 24,000 ft. of space. We had called, told his secrtetary about our adventure, she told Howe, and he granted us the interview. We were overwhelmed with the grandeur of his office, so couldn't imagine what the home would be like. He said the roof of the home was caved in, walls falling down, total ruin, but he couldn't see letting such a treasure be demolished. He paid approximately $250,000 for the home, spent millions restoring and furnishing. He did much of the work himself, living in one room, cooking on a hot-plate, finishing one room at the time, as we ell as maintaining a prominent law practice.
After marrying, having children, who he didn't want to be raised in such an atmosphere, he sold the home in 2004, walked out, and hasn't been bonderful the ack. He gave us a CD of a dinner party held in the dining room that seats 26 at the table, to help us grasp just how elegant and wonderful entertaining could be in such a setting.
We went to Harris-Teeter supermarket hoping to taste a hot apple fritter mentioned by Kuralt in the book, but talked to the manager, and they don't serve them in the mornings anymore. As supermarkets go though, I can see why you would shop there. We each bought a box of cereal just to say we shopped at the same Harris-Teeter.
Naturally, we were in town, lunch time, and there are so many restaurants; we chose Magnolia, and of course there were magnolia paintings hanging everywhere, wonderful food, probably the best we've eaten, ( I said that about "The Fat Hen too), adorable waiter, Giles, then a walk to the waterfront to see the beautiful "pineapple "fountain, a ride along the battery in a "pedicab", and to our car to get home in time to rest a minute before our program at Our Savior church, a one woman, non-denominational , autobiographical presentation. I'll mention it later, because lunch must be prepared and I need to stop for now. Bye!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Revisiting America
Gorgeous Day!
Had to share my encounter with another walker, actually he was running. We had already passed each other once. He stopped me and asked where the main road was, (imagine anyone asking me directions; the way to our cottage is sorta like a maze and I'm just now getting it all sorted out; whatever direction I'm walking I consider "north", and yesterday was my first time to go somewhere without "Onstar".) Anyway, he said, "I get to running, zone out, start praying, and forget where I'm going". I said," Do you pray? He said, "Oh, yes," I pray". We both gave a "thumbs up" and went our separate ways.
What a way to start a day, actually it's going to be a busy one!
Had to share my encounter with another walker, actually he was running. We had already passed each other once. He stopped me and asked where the main road was, (imagine anyone asking me directions; the way to our cottage is sorta like a maze and I'm just now getting it all sorted out; whatever direction I'm walking I consider "north", and yesterday was my first time to go somewhere without "Onstar".) Anyway, he said, "I get to running, zone out, start praying, and forget where I'm going". I said," Do you pray? He said, "Oh, yes," I pray". We both gave a "thumbs up" and went our separate ways.
What a way to start a day, actually it's going to be a busy one!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Revisiting America
As Lou told you, Sunday morning we went to the French Protestant Huguenot Church in Charleston. Not as much ritual as the Episcopal Church we attended in Key West, but much more than our usual Baptist or Methodist services. We went into the sanctuary by the left aisle. The pews were in enclosed boxes, with a solid wood divider between sections. The outside of the pew (the aisle side) had a little latch inside the door for entry. Seating for three is comfortable, but four people were a little crowded (unless all four were very small). There were four rows of boxes - two on each side of the center aisle. The prie-dieux were available but not used. There was a hymnal, liturgy, and Bible in each of the holders on the pews. The sermon was good, but short. With so much else to be done; hymns, liturgical readings, responses, announcements, there isn't much time for a sermon. After the service and a brief lecture on the history of the church, we went to the collation in a beautiful period house about half a block away. There was a dining room table with trays of sandwiches, various dips with chips, and desserts on a sideboard. Across the hall was another large room with coffee, soft drinks, and wine. Very enjoyable experience. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to attend a service in a Huguenot church.
Tuesday morning, Lou took her car to a dealership to have it checked - the steering, dashboard messages, etc. She also ran a few errands whilt she was out. I stayed here and did some of our paperwork and read. I do love to read. Thanks again, Ann, for my Kindle. There is a small library here in the cottage so I have read a few books because they were available.
Tuesday night, we went back into Charleston for the first runway show of Charleston Fashion Week. Neither of us had ever seen a runway show, and it was a lot of fun. We had to wait outside the main tent until a little after 7:00, then were admitted. We had general admission tickets, but were able to move up to the third row before the show started. Also, we were near the end of the runway so we had a good view of the models as they made their turns and posed for the photographers, of whom there were many.
We saw clothes from two boutiques, and one designer of childrens' clothes who has a boutique. The models ranged in age from about 3 to 9 or 10. Really adorable kids and clothes. The show stealer was a little boy of about 3, mop of dark hair, who walked very slowly and turned before the end of the runway. When they came out for their group walk, there was a long gap in the line because the little boy wwas walking so slowly. When the first group passed him on their way back, he immediately turned and followed them instead of completing the walk to the end. Everybody cheered and laughed. That was the first part of the show, then there was a 45-minute intermission. That was a long 45 minutes. After that, we saw four of the emerging designers in the competition. A couple of them we really liked, but two of them were a little avant garde for me. Each designer presented eight looks, complete with jewelry, hair, makeup, accessories, shoes, etc. Especially shoes. To me, some of the shoes had absolutely nothing to do with the dresses. For example, one designer's fabric was a pattern with red, black, blue, white, and beige. The shoes were a pale green. Also, some of the clunky shoes were worn with delicate, feminine dresses. Oh, well! Guess my idea of fashion is a little out of date (or a lot). Then there was a featured designer, not in the competition, who showed 20 of his designs. The inspiration was stated as coming from cathedrals and graveyards. I can't really describe this, so I leave it to your imagination. We were after 11:00 getting home, but it was worth it. Fascinating evening. If you have a chance to go to a runway show, I highly recommend it.
We are due in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, on April 1. So we have a lot to do before leaving Charleston. Some things that were in the book, and some more of our own devising. We're looking forward to all of it, but will regret having to leave Charleston, as we did Key West and New Orleans.
More soon,
Janie
Tuesday morning, Lou took her car to a dealership to have it checked - the steering, dashboard messages, etc. She also ran a few errands whilt she was out. I stayed here and did some of our paperwork and read. I do love to read. Thanks again, Ann, for my Kindle. There is a small library here in the cottage so I have read a few books because they were available.
Tuesday night, we went back into Charleston for the first runway show of Charleston Fashion Week. Neither of us had ever seen a runway show, and it was a lot of fun. We had to wait outside the main tent until a little after 7:00, then were admitted. We had general admission tickets, but were able to move up to the third row before the show started. Also, we were near the end of the runway so we had a good view of the models as they made their turns and posed for the photographers, of whom there were many.
We saw clothes from two boutiques, and one designer of childrens' clothes who has a boutique. The models ranged in age from about 3 to 9 or 10. Really adorable kids and clothes. The show stealer was a little boy of about 3, mop of dark hair, who walked very slowly and turned before the end of the runway. When they came out for their group walk, there was a long gap in the line because the little boy wwas walking so slowly. When the first group passed him on their way back, he immediately turned and followed them instead of completing the walk to the end. Everybody cheered and laughed. That was the first part of the show, then there was a 45-minute intermission. That was a long 45 minutes. After that, we saw four of the emerging designers in the competition. A couple of them we really liked, but two of them were a little avant garde for me. Each designer presented eight looks, complete with jewelry, hair, makeup, accessories, shoes, etc. Especially shoes. To me, some of the shoes had absolutely nothing to do with the dresses. For example, one designer's fabric was a pattern with red, black, blue, white, and beige. The shoes were a pale green. Also, some of the clunky shoes were worn with delicate, feminine dresses. Oh, well! Guess my idea of fashion is a little out of date (or a lot). Then there was a featured designer, not in the competition, who showed 20 of his designs. The inspiration was stated as coming from cathedrals and graveyards. I can't really describe this, so I leave it to your imagination. We were after 11:00 getting home, but it was worth it. Fascinating evening. If you have a chance to go to a runway show, I highly recommend it.
We are due in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, on April 1. So we have a lot to do before leaving Charleston. Some things that were in the book, and some more of our own devising. We're looking forward to all of it, but will regret having to leave Charleston, as we did Key West and New Orleans.
More soon,
Janie
Revisiting America
Looking back over my blog I realized I didn't comment on our dinner at "The Fat Hen", a small restaurant , in an old house; really it looks, from the outside, like two houses joined together, a porch with tables, outside seating, nothing fancy, but cloths and candles on the tables which always adds to the ambiance. My meal was a salmon steak with a bernaise sauce, potatoes, garlic spinach, and the most wonderful lemon cake(we shared a piece). It's amazing how one chef can take a piece of meat, make it so different from anything else you've ever tasted, but still have the flavor of salmon. Our waiter spent so much time with us, explaining the menu, tending to our drinks, checking on us every few minutes; he never seemed hurried, or rushed, or even like he had other tables to tend. Well, it was a delightful meal, and you'll never know how much it cost.
Janie mentioned the angel tree, which was a sight to see-she gave you the history, dimensions, etc: You see it and yet don't believe it has survived all these years. Some limbs are propped, and people are limited in what they can do around the tree-no climbing, sitting etc: The pictures will give you an idea of the size. One happy thought-it made us look so small.
Sunday, the 20th, we attended church in Charleston, The French Protestant Huguenot Church of Charleston, S.C. More ritual than our Baptist churches but yet not as formal as the Episcopal service we attended.
Beautiful stained glass, enclosed pews, chandeliers, and the best choir I've heard(up in the balcony to our back, so I couldn't see them), good organist, friendly people. Again, the hymnal, Bible, and prayer book, so I listened more than participated. Someone gave a short history of the church after the service. Then, we went to a collation, which is the same as our "fellowships", for coffee and sandwiches.
On April 30, 1680, the ship, Richmond, from London, dropped anchor off Oyster Point in the new province of Carolina, a new site, having been moved from Albemarle Point. On orders from King Carles,II, the settlement was re-named Charles Town. The Richmond also brought forty-five Huguenots-French Protestant refugees from France's continuing religious persecutions. They had fled to England and waited for months for transportation to a land where they could work and worship in peace and freedom. King Charles subsidized these skilled people in their effort to establish, on British territory, crops and industries that had been French monopolies.
This church, still standing on the original site on the corner of Queen and Church Streets was founded by these refugees, and later augmented by other groups. There is quite a history of fires, closings, different ministers, and firemen blowing up this particular church to make gaps in the flames of a fire in 1796 which started in the loft of a nearby stable, spread, leaving many homeless.
Mural tablets placed around the walls in memory of individuals helped stave off financial crisises. Many
prominent americans of both North and South who share a Hueguenot heritage have murals on these walls.
A good worship experience, different, but the word was shared.
Now to another experience, my first ever. Last night we attended the first night of Charleston Fashion Show Week. Huge white tents set up on the lawn of Marion Square, downtown, and hundreds of people, dressed every which way, some quite tasteful, others awful, basically anything you wore would be okay. We did dress up a little.
We were treated to runway showings from three boutiques and five new designers. Most of the clothes were beautiful and something ordinary people would wear, but some were outlandish, and you wonder who would buy them. The models, not one of them would weigh a hundred pounds, even those that were six feet tall, had that gaunt, pale, expressionless look, which you expect from professional models, but the clothes looked so elegant on them.
On Saturday night, a winner, will be chosen from the sixteen semi-finalist emerging designer competition
East. We were given the opportunity to pick our favorite last night-mine didn't win. It was a fun night for us, but we are sure this was not something Charles Kuralt did or wrote about in his book.
Janie mentioned the angel tree, which was a sight to see-she gave you the history, dimensions, etc: You see it and yet don't believe it has survived all these years. Some limbs are propped, and people are limited in what they can do around the tree-no climbing, sitting etc: The pictures will give you an idea of the size. One happy thought-it made us look so small.
Sunday, the 20th, we attended church in Charleston, The French Protestant Huguenot Church of Charleston, S.C. More ritual than our Baptist churches but yet not as formal as the Episcopal service we attended.
Beautiful stained glass, enclosed pews, chandeliers, and the best choir I've heard(up in the balcony to our back, so I couldn't see them), good organist, friendly people. Again, the hymnal, Bible, and prayer book, so I listened more than participated. Someone gave a short history of the church after the service. Then, we went to a collation, which is the same as our "fellowships", for coffee and sandwiches.
On April 30, 1680, the ship, Richmond, from London, dropped anchor off Oyster Point in the new province of Carolina, a new site, having been moved from Albemarle Point. On orders from King Carles,II, the settlement was re-named Charles Town. The Richmond also brought forty-five Huguenots-French Protestant refugees from France's continuing religious persecutions. They had fled to England and waited for months for transportation to a land where they could work and worship in peace and freedom. King Charles subsidized these skilled people in their effort to establish, on British territory, crops and industries that had been French monopolies.
This church, still standing on the original site on the corner of Queen and Church Streets was founded by these refugees, and later augmented by other groups. There is quite a history of fires, closings, different ministers, and firemen blowing up this particular church to make gaps in the flames of a fire in 1796 which started in the loft of a nearby stable, spread, leaving many homeless.
Mural tablets placed around the walls in memory of individuals helped stave off financial crisises. Many
prominent americans of both North and South who share a Hueguenot heritage have murals on these walls.
A good worship experience, different, but the word was shared.
Now to another experience, my first ever. Last night we attended the first night of Charleston Fashion Show Week. Huge white tents set up on the lawn of Marion Square, downtown, and hundreds of people, dressed every which way, some quite tasteful, others awful, basically anything you wore would be okay. We did dress up a little.
We were treated to runway showings from three boutiques and five new designers. Most of the clothes were beautiful and something ordinary people would wear, but some were outlandish, and you wonder who would buy them. The models, not one of them would weigh a hundred pounds, even those that were six feet tall, had that gaunt, pale, expressionless look, which you expect from professional models, but the clothes looked so elegant on them.
On Saturday night, a winner, will be chosen from the sixteen semi-finalist emerging designer competition
East. We were given the opportunity to pick our favorite last night-mine didn't win. It was a fun night for us, but we are sure this was not something Charles Kuralt did or wrote about in his book.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Revisiting America
Picking up where I left off (quite some time ago) on the way to Charleston:
Lou had eaten at The Lady & Sons in Savannah before but I had not. So we took the time to run into downtown and had lunch there. We were rushed because of our parking meter and trying to be on Kiawah Island before 5:00 pm. But it was worth the effort. We had the buffet and it was delicious.
Even with the buffet, they serve you a cheese biscuit and a hoecake before your meal and dessert after.
Lou had the banana pudding and I had Paula's original recipe "gooey" cake. Good and gooey. Quite an array of choices on the buffet line - the "fried" corn was great, a particular favorite of mine. None of the Deens were about, but we didn't really expect them to be. And we arrived on Kiawah a little after four. This week has been fun. Started with a horse-drawn carriage ride. The drivers are in grey "confederate" pants with a red sash, white shirt, and a Rebel soldier's hat. Our driver was Steve and our horse was George. George was a very big horse - lightly mottled gray - a French Percheron that we were told is spoiled rotten. Steve and George both handled their jobs extremely well. Interesting tour with a lot of the history of Charleston. The Battery was part of the drive as well as Rainbow Row, Broad Street, and several old and historic churches. Charleston isn't called the "Holy City" for nothing - 184 (guide book) to 188 (Steve) church spires are present in the skyline. Not to mention all of the churches, many of them, on the surrounding islands and in the countryside. After the ride, we had lunch at Hyman's Seafood, a Charleston "must do," but I was a little disappointed. The shrimp po' boy was good but not unusually so. From there, we drove to the harbor and boarded a ferry boat for a ride around the city and islands. We saw Ft. Sumter, Ft. Moultrie, the Battery, and lots of interesting sights including the aircraft carrier Yorktown. The state of South Carolina is named the Palmetto State because of the Civil War action at Ft. Moultrie. It seems that the fort was constructed of palmetto logs which are quite spongy. The cannon balls of the Union Army either lodged in the logs or bounced off. The Rebels would then harvest the cannon balls and shoot them back. Great story, huh? Apparently, it's true and a fascinating part of the history of the state. What other tree can claim that kind of glory? There's another tree with a claim to fame in the area. On Thursday, we stopped at Angel Oak park on the way home. Angel Oak is a live oak that is 1,500+ years old. It would have sprouted before Columbus' voyage. The statistics on the tree are amazing: its age, height of 65 feet, diameter of spread of 160 feet, trunk circumference of 25 feet, and it covers 17,100 square feet of ground. Remember the last line of Kilmer's poem, "But only God can make a tree."? And this is a magnificent tree.
Tuesday was an off-day. Then on Wednesday we went to Magnolia Plantation and Gardens - another one of the Charleston "must do"s. This one was worth it. The plantation and gardens have been in the Drayton family for 11 generations. This is the third house on the property. The first two houses were destroyed by fires. The current house was originally a hunting camp house (rather a large one) that was disassembled, floated down the Ashley River, and reassembled at the current site. We toured the house and it was very impressive. During the 20s "jazz age" one of the guests was Orson Welles. We also took the boat tram up the Ashley and saw some interesting wildlife. Moor hens, anhingas (the "snake" bird), egrets, herons, and lots of alligators, a couple of them huge.
Thursday was Charleston City Market day. Several large, open, brick buildings lined up one behind the other make up the market. Inside the buildings are "stalls" selling everything from jewelry to the famous sweetgrass baskets. Art, carvings, photography, old signs, and food were for sale. We sampled the benne seed wafers, a Charleston favorite, and they were delicious. On the way home, we ate dinner at The Fat Hen on John's Island. We had a nice window table in a corner of the glassed-in front porch and enjoyed the light and openness. Dinner was excellent and our waiter, Hy, was great. We had an appetizer of fried green tomatoes, and shared a dessert of lemon coconut cream cake. To die for. Lou's entree was salmon with Bearnaise sauce and mine was mahi mahi with a great sauce and locally grown vegetables. Yesterday and today were spent resting up for next week. We already have tickets to three evening events and will share our adventures with you in our next postings. Charleston is great.
Janie
Lou had eaten at The Lady & Sons in Savannah before but I had not. So we took the time to run into downtown and had lunch there. We were rushed because of our parking meter and trying to be on Kiawah Island before 5:00 pm. But it was worth the effort. We had the buffet and it was delicious.
Even with the buffet, they serve you a cheese biscuit and a hoecake before your meal and dessert after.
Lou had the banana pudding and I had Paula's original recipe "gooey" cake. Good and gooey. Quite an array of choices on the buffet line - the "fried" corn was great, a particular favorite of mine. None of the Deens were about, but we didn't really expect them to be. And we arrived on Kiawah a little after four. This week has been fun. Started with a horse-drawn carriage ride. The drivers are in grey "confederate" pants with a red sash, white shirt, and a Rebel soldier's hat. Our driver was Steve and our horse was George. George was a very big horse - lightly mottled gray - a French Percheron that we were told is spoiled rotten. Steve and George both handled their jobs extremely well. Interesting tour with a lot of the history of Charleston. The Battery was part of the drive as well as Rainbow Row, Broad Street, and several old and historic churches. Charleston isn't called the "Holy City" for nothing - 184 (guide book) to 188 (Steve) church spires are present in the skyline. Not to mention all of the churches, many of them, on the surrounding islands and in the countryside. After the ride, we had lunch at Hyman's Seafood, a Charleston "must do," but I was a little disappointed. The shrimp po' boy was good but not unusually so. From there, we drove to the harbor and boarded a ferry boat for a ride around the city and islands. We saw Ft. Sumter, Ft. Moultrie, the Battery, and lots of interesting sights including the aircraft carrier Yorktown. The state of South Carolina is named the Palmetto State because of the Civil War action at Ft. Moultrie. It seems that the fort was constructed of palmetto logs which are quite spongy. The cannon balls of the Union Army either lodged in the logs or bounced off. The Rebels would then harvest the cannon balls and shoot them back. Great story, huh? Apparently, it's true and a fascinating part of the history of the state. What other tree can claim that kind of glory? There's another tree with a claim to fame in the area. On Thursday, we stopped at Angel Oak park on the way home. Angel Oak is a live oak that is 1,500+ years old. It would have sprouted before Columbus' voyage. The statistics on the tree are amazing: its age, height of 65 feet, diameter of spread of 160 feet, trunk circumference of 25 feet, and it covers 17,100 square feet of ground. Remember the last line of Kilmer's poem, "But only God can make a tree."? And this is a magnificent tree.
Tuesday was an off-day. Then on Wednesday we went to Magnolia Plantation and Gardens - another one of the Charleston "must do"s. This one was worth it. The plantation and gardens have been in the Drayton family for 11 generations. This is the third house on the property. The first two houses were destroyed by fires. The current house was originally a hunting camp house (rather a large one) that was disassembled, floated down the Ashley River, and reassembled at the current site. We toured the house and it was very impressive. During the 20s "jazz age" one of the guests was Orson Welles. We also took the boat tram up the Ashley and saw some interesting wildlife. Moor hens, anhingas (the "snake" bird), egrets, herons, and lots of alligators, a couple of them huge.
Thursday was Charleston City Market day. Several large, open, brick buildings lined up one behind the other make up the market. Inside the buildings are "stalls" selling everything from jewelry to the famous sweetgrass baskets. Art, carvings, photography, old signs, and food were for sale. We sampled the benne seed wafers, a Charleston favorite, and they were delicious. On the way home, we ate dinner at The Fat Hen on John's Island. We had a nice window table in a corner of the glassed-in front porch and enjoyed the light and openness. Dinner was excellent and our waiter, Hy, was great. We had an appetizer of fried green tomatoes, and shared a dessert of lemon coconut cream cake. To die for. Lou's entree was salmon with Bearnaise sauce and mine was mahi mahi with a great sauce and locally grown vegetables. Yesterday and today were spent resting up for next week. We already have tickets to three evening events and will share our adventures with you in our next postings. Charleston is great.
Janie
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