So, Charleston…

…has been on our “Must Visit” list for as long as both Barb and I can recall. A city steeped in history and dripping with Spanish Moss. Well, our expectations were, frankly, unmet. Due in some part to…

Yeah, Tropical Storm Bonnie…which dumped some 10+ inches over the Memorial Day holiday. The rest just a malaise that the city just seems to carry as a chip on it’s shoulder.

It was the annual Spoleto Festival.

Which by all accounts should be a great time to be here…but it just seemed like another “Newport Wine and Seafood” gig…There were some interesting artwork to be sure like… These mosaics made on glass and the local intricate basket weaving. Nice not wow…but what do I know…

The city itself hosts some of the rarest architecture dating back to when it was first formed…

The architectural feature we call a veranda is called a Piazza…they traverse the entire floor…it supposedly encourages air-flow…Ok…

Often between these classic houses ran an ally…

We were fortunate to tour the last remaining un-altered house from the period. The Aiken-Rhett House Museum.

This pre-civil war home gave a glance into not only the architecture of the period but the interior as well. I was struck by how much of the home was not what it appeared to be?

The exterior was made to look like it was made of stone blocks but were in fact brick covered by masonry to carry the appearance. The wood doors had the wood grain painted…

But it was the interior that took the prize…

How about masonry painted to look like marble…When I asked the Docent about this pattern of Appearance over Substance she dismissed the observation claiming…

“It was common for the period, that is how the South was”…

When asked how long this tradition was maintained…she graciously smiled and moved on to another topic…

Food on the other hand does not have that luxury…Behold Fried Green Tomatoes!

Never had them before, will look for them in the future…they were delicious…

The The Hunley, the first submarine used in the Civil War…just once in battle against the  Housatonic. Was successful in sinking the ship, but all in the sub were lost returning to base… The waterfront is beautiful even in a storm

Returning to the coach we though that it would be appropriate to try another bastion of the south…the Cracker Barrel…

You wind your way through the “Gift Shop”…filled with as much complex sugars and fructose-enriched *Everything* imaginable…Truly this is a diabetics nirvana….

Beer? Wine?…NOPE: it takes away from being a “Family” restaurant…

I had chicken & dumplings…the most requested dish…according to the waitress…what arrived was this gelatinous mass with slabs of dough suspended in what I presume was gravy…with the odd chicken thrown in for garnish…Nope, never again….

Rumor has it that they are going to open one in Beaverton…Good luck with that!