It’s a Wrap

Well, it is Saturday morning.  Sleeping beauty is still getting his beauty sleep, after all it is only 10:00, and as Eddie reminds me daily, that is only 9:00 at home.  I am in the dark, composing my what will be probably my last travel update for this trip.  

The hotel we are staying in is big on southern hospitality and believes that cookies and sweets can cure anything.  By 4:30 everyday there has been a cookie fairy in our room with an assortment cookies (always), cakes and brownies, served on a plate with a doile and sprig of parsley (have not seen that in years).  I am sure this is meant to be a tea time snack.  When we return to our room in the evening, there are biscotti cookies on yet another doiled plate.  Right out side our door there is a buffet servers with coffee, tea, juice and in the mornings pastries and fruit.  Your coffee or tea is in a cup with a saucer, no mugs here, this is the south, we do things properly...cloth napkins that I assume have been used long before we got environmental aware to the use of paper napkins and plastic straws.  While I dress to dart in and out of our room retrieving coffee, most other guest don the plush one size fits all white terry robe to shuffle back and forth to the spread.  FYI-one size does not fit all.  I have to wonder if the camera monitors in the ceiling of the hallways are catching the show.  It is an early morning eye opener.  Eddie has his gym short uniform, but why do that when I bring him his morning coffee and paper. ...and here you thought there would be an Eddie story..in a too small robe...maybe next time.  Here again, this is a quintessential Southern town, you read a printed paper, we can select from one of four.  Bless the hotel industry, it is keeping the print papers in business.  Kinda of like the holiday catalogs, election crap and Amazon is keeping the Postal  Service afloat.  

Being from the Deep South, Ed and I like to visit a sampling of the Plantations when we come to southern town...that and Civil War battlefields and forts.  Typically, just as in Europe, the finest homes or plantations are along the rivers adjacent to port cities.  New Orleans, all along the Louisiana coastline, Natchez, Memphis, If there is water to navigate, there is usually rich soil to plant crops of some sort, the big homes follow.  Charleston is no exception—-it is surrounded on three sides by water, the Ashley, Cooper rivers and the Atlantic Ocean.  Talk about PTSD, they have hurricanes and flooding storms more often than we do.  I got butt tingles just thinking about  it.  All I could think about when looking at the homes in Charleston is the fact that they on the banks of the rivers was how vulnerable they were to those waters.  They must be from hardier stock then I am.  While the Civil War destroy many of these fine homes, some remain intact from Before the Revolutionary War-Drayton Hall.  As in England, holding on to this much land for centuries with an increasingly multiplying number of relatives is difficult.  Most properties along the River Road are in Historical trust or Foundations and generate income to preserve the home and gardens.  We walked the grounds of 1,000 year old oak trees, century old camellia bushes, azaleas, magnolias and sculpture gardens...like Houston Fall does not mean bright colored leaves-the trees were still leaf covered and green.  The camellias were about a month from blooming, except for some sunny spots in the garden area...I assume that springtime is beautiful. The homes had furnishings, silver, China and paintings that survived the war as they were elsewhere or buried in trunks or were returned by Yankee soldiers families generations after the Civil War.  Each place has been restore to an era that no longer exists...and some would like to erase from history books.  I am glad these foundations and such are passionate about their protection of these things and sharing it.  

Once Sleeping Beauty arises, we will gather our belongings and make our way to the boat launch were we will hope to take the ferry to Fort Sumter.  Hope—well, you see that tar baby known as Tropical Storm and Pickle travel is alive and well.  We left home with Tropical Storm  Nestor and are return with Tropical Storm Olga.  If the skies are threatening, or seas choppy we will probably rethink our plans.  It could even be a bumpy flight home...and I so enjoy that...not.  We will be home before the end of the 4th Astros game....and will be able to watch it on TV...finally.  While the Hotel carries FOX, it is blackout during the World Series.  Looking forward to another winning evening tonight!  Go ‘Stros.  Until the travel bug bites us again....or our Christmas tree needs more ornaments—-five new ones this trip.  Just for the record, I think that Houston food is more “happening” than the Foodie stop of Charleston.  Every Chef here want to be considered special, all want to elevate their style, cooking show or whatever....they are overthinking the “local ingredients”...a butter bean or a pod of okra just that...I had no idea you could charge those prices for those ingredients...talk about elevated/inflated.  

Low Countrying

Whew!  My step counter is in shock...we walked the streets of Charleston, visiting the Museums/Houses in what is billed as Charleston Museum Mile.  My body and step meter says that their mile and my mile are slightly different.  We walked over 8 miles yesterday...then went to the beloved Oyster Roast and BBQ and stood up for 3 hours with our familiar plastic name tags hanging round our necks.  Like I said, throwback Thursday.

There are homes that are part of different Historical Society, Foundations, and independently operated homes, it is obvious that each group thinks their homes are the finest and their docent led tours are the best...one group even have the folks from the Williamsburg archeological society here taking down plaster walls to discover rats nests with fabric samples and threads to determine the color or stylings.  Good grief...and being news, if I join their Instagram accounts, I can get live feeds of the next rats’ nest discovery.  The docent was so excited she was giddy...I think I will wait until I get home.  No need to scare TSA or airline stewardess/attendants with squealing video of century old rats discoveries on our way home.  

To say that folks from Charleston are proud of their founding families, homes, history is a bit of an Understatement.  The roots of these family trees are deep, long and intermixed (as in they marry cousins).  Despite the loss of wealth post Civil War, these folks have managed just fine...the number of historical homes with the all too familiar permits tapped to the windows, various craftsmen painstakingly renewing and restoring places and the general lack of abandoned properties says Charleston economy is thriving. 

Having traveled with Eddie for so long, I know him well.  He depth of knowledge on the Foundering Fathers, colonial times, and Civil War could move him to the head to the trivia games here, or at least give him a job as a docent in one of the homes...except for the not well air conditioned part.  Thank goodness we have most of the authors or historical stuff at home....the bookstores are just full of load more books for Eddie to buy and conquer...alas, we are in small rolling suitcases, per Eddie.  

On to the Oyster Roast.  I thought I has pretty much had seen it all in eating with your fingers.  It takes the cooking equipment, tents, tables and buckets of a crawfish or shrimp boil and kicks it up a notch with protective gloves and oyster knives...add booze, country music, no see um gnats...now that is a Low Country  Roast.  So, here we are on the banks of the Cooper River Marsh lands, in a lighted tent, with my cute top that I did not Preshop for and along with 400 other plastic name tag folks, popping shells, dipping the half steamed oyster in a cocktail sauce, slurping it down and toss the shells into a 5 gallon bucket by your feet.  Not wanting to look like a total tourist, I watched and modeled after the people lined up near us. The roasting hopper looks like a fairly large commercial crawfish boiling rig, only you don’t submerge the oysters.  About two sacks to the basket, steam then throw on the tables.  The steam should be some new spa facial thing...like “organic pearl steam”or something....hair and makeup were lost out here.  You grab the oyster with your gloved hand looking for the partial popped opening, insert your knife and twist...be careful, there is water in most of the shells....stab your steamed oyster with the knife, dip in your sauce and eat, wash it down with your drink of choice.  Hmmm, I think I will wait for the bbq portion of the offerings.  Eddie was at the table for a good hour....as were most of the other native South Carolinian folk.  Sure enough, the bbq lined open and most folks moved from the tables to the bbq-queue.  Only the die hard remained as the oysters kept coming.  The bbq was from local Rodney Scott, the 2018 James Beard SE chef of the year.  Yeah, it was probably the best I have ever had.  Their fresh pork cracklings were outstanding.  All served with collard greens, Mac and cheese, chicken, salad, cornbread, and banana pudding...if that does not say Low Country, I don’t know what does.  After doing what lawyers do, talk about court cases and other lawyers, we returned to our hotel for the night, but not without pick up our party favor-an oyster knife with a leather looped belt holder...for each of us.  Guess we will be checking bags on way home for sure.  

Creatures of habit

Old habits die hard.  As I sit here in our lovely room on E Bay Street over looking the cruise port, I realize that we do have a pattern when traveling.  Eddie has been here, done that, so I let him select the hotel.  When we travel within the US, he prefers smaller boutique hotels, bed and breakfast homes or historically significant properties...road trip, anything that Priceline has when we get ready to stop is fine by him.  He had previously stayed at several of these type places in the past here in Charleston but most were booked for the weekend, which would have meant a change of location mid stay-nope, nope, nope...Eddie tends to nest when he settles in...cruise style, unpack bags...no living out of suitcases.  He selected a smallish hotel, centrally located with a 5 star rating..old habits die hard...he still likes his powder puffing.  Since I did not look at an overall map, I was surprised when the GPS led us down the road marked “cruises”.  It is right across the street.  However, 5 star comes at a hefty prices, even with Expedia discount points, I am doubtful that the cruise folks that may board in Charleston are staying here pre or post cruise.  However, the adjacent Charleston Market has cruiser bait written all over it.  The Charleston Market is converted warehouse buildings that stretch from E Bay Street to Meeting Place Street (main drag through town).  You can get your shop on as each stall/area has something to look at and buy, clean, well lit, out of the weather, fairly cool and not too crowded.  Figure Friday to  Sunday are the big days...or when the ships come in...so we decided that now rather than later was good.  As we are in small suitcases, our purchases were smallish...to include Christmas ornaments that are flat.  

As Eddie is our restaurant snob, his job is to plan for dinner each night.  We tend to eat a late breakfast and early dinner and skip lunch...cruise/old habit.  I select breakfast place, based on what and where we are going, he selects the dinner location based on the top rated restaurants.  He had done zero preplanning prior to our arrival Tuesday afternoon.  So,to light the fire under him, I exclaimed “there is an IHOP next door and Burger King just across the street” when we arrived at 4:15....not the tacky freestanding, but understated in old renovated buildings.  Guessed it work because by 4:45 he had reservations at the top three restaurants in Charleston.  Speaking of food snobs, according to “they” Charleston has replaced New York as the food capital of the US.  Hmm, with New York, New Orleans, San Francisco always in that conversation...”they” maybe just making that up...could this be the Fake News we hear so much about?  After two nights of #2 and  #3, pretty sure they are making that up.  Crab cakes are good, not much filler, honest fresh lump crab meat, no sauce...have been to several places in Houston-with sauce that could better these in a blind taste test.  Fish-flounder and grouper...dry enough for Eddie to say something.😐Beef dishes too much sauce.  Vegetables too much garlic.  The meals start strong with good soups (she crab with sherry) or salads Fried Green tomatoes with greens but only manage to get a “B” rating on the Pickle scale.  The one thing Charleston has managed to do is match prices with New York.  Talk about eating your money...BK and IHOP are looking better all the time...would you like fries with that?  

The original 13 colonies have a rich history that has a true European feel to it.  Older buildings or sections, tales of the Revolutionary or Civil Wars-people, places and things which does not really extend westward.  Yeah, the rest of the states have totally different histories with unique favors, but for history wonks like us, Charleston has it all and has kept it intact.  Not sure whether it was the plantations (rice and indigo), the people who settled here (Charleston College is one of the oldest in the country) or something else, but the entire peninsula that is Charleston does not have a bad side of town.  Preservation is still alive and well.  It is a well run money making machine.  As Eddie is keen on saying Charleston is what New Orleans aspires to be.  Carriage rides, you betcha, (yeah, we did that) with 5 different companies and a bingo machine to determine each of the carriages route.  Random, controlled, city provided poop patrol with GPS location technology for the horse waste. Yeah, New Orleans could learn a few lessons here.  The Holy City aka Charleston has 1 church for every 250 people, the skyline is more about steeples than tall buildings so you can see everything from a roof top bars (yeah, we did that, too).  Yesterday was overview and museums, today is touring homes here in Charleston and the Oyster Roast.  Hope it is as good as Eddie remembers it...being it is Throwback Thursday and all.  

Oh yeah, Eddie decided to get a haircut yesterday while wandering around since between the College Campus and the Citadel there are plenty of old fashioned barber shops—-well, can you say Baptist Preacher?  Eddie fits right in here in the Holy City—-maybe today we will pick up that seersucker suit and straw hat.  

Charleston-Birthplace of Sweet Tea, y’all

🎵🎶On the road again🎵🎶Just can’t wait to get on the road again🎶🎵yes friends, your gypsy wanders are at it again.  Of course, I am waiting for Fast Eddie to get hisself ready and out the door, which at before 10:00 AM is a tough job.  Me, I hit the floor ready to roll.  Fast Eddie becomes his mother, Maxine, and shuffles, groans and otherwise farts around for a good 3 hours...don’t even get me started about packing....and there was an early morning (8:30 in school traffic) trip to Lowe’s as we have a worker bee on the patio painting the ceiling.  

We are headed to Charleston, South Carolina-the gentile southern city that is heavy on history (think Fort Sumter, Miss Scarlett & Civil War), seafood and southern cuisine (Pass the oysters, pulled pork and fried green tomatoes and I will have the Peach Cobbler for dessert) and men in seersucker suits, ladies bows in their hair (Bowheads per my sister’s nickname) named Muffy and Sis.  What’s not to love?  A little background on why Charleston—- particularly when the Astros are World Series bound, and the weather does not get any more special than it is this morning-one of the 10 days a year the Chamber of Commerce pitches as “delightful Houston climate”.  Well, after our spring cruise to Iceland and the United Kingdom, we made a decision to press “pause” on cruising...we were paying a hefty price for Fast Eddie to come down with pneumonia...and the 6 week post cruise recovery period at home was a souvenir that we no longer need.  We (rather I)came up with a list of places in The US and Canada that would scratch our travel itch and complete all the scratch offs on our global map (thanks Toni C).  While Eddie has been to all 50 states, I lack 16 to make our map complete.  While I have driven through some of these 16 states, I have not “visited” the states.  No cheap drive through for me will make the scratch grade.  I want a bona fide visit...taste the cuisine, sleep in a bed and breakfast or nice hotel-no tents-I like the mint on the pillow and hot shower-extra points for fancy bubbler tubs, explore what makes the state unique...and heck, get the Christmas ornament for our travel tree.  Prior to pressing “Pause” we were booked on a cruise that left this week out of New Orleans that would have completed our Caribbean Island portion of the map..we planned on a couple of days in New Orleans for the cuisine part...so, pressing pause we decided a four day trip to Charleston might be a good alternative....Never want to stop wandering and exploring....we might grow mold if we stay 365 in Houston.

While I am a planner, Eddie has become a more a Last Minute Lucy...fly by the seat kinda thing, game day decision.  I repeatedly asked about various restaurants, things to do, should we get the Tour Pass questions, but he was not feeling the urge to plan.  Sunday,  during the Texans game, he looked at the various restaurant options and decided that $3 oysters were a little high, really.....especially since he holds the record at Pappas for 11 dozen in one sitting (but they were $3.95 a dozen, then).  He looked at the 10 day forecast which includes rain during a large part of our visit.  Can you feel the excitement in the air...I know I certainly did.  He also decreed that we would be using our “small suitcases” and walking them on and off...which will not happen since our tickets are on a United Express plane-read gate check, small plane no overhead bins.  Small suitcases are fine by me.  I can wear my tennis shoes, take some lightweight casual shoes for “dress up”, a couple of extra shirts, and a pair of long pants...along with my rain jacket and umbrella.  So, Monday I had my stuff packed by 10:00 and was out the door for a pedicure.  I left Eddie at home alone, unchaperoned....he  decided to “reach out” to a Charleston attorney friend that he has known and worked with for almost 40 years and see if they ( meaning lawyer and his Bowhead) want to do dinner while we are there.  4 day notice...smooth,  Mr. Eddie.  Well, by the time I had come home and go up to my office to print the tickets, get my travel folder and make last minutes notes...Eddie receives a response from said Lawyer.  Eddie was sooo excited that the firm’s annual Oyster roast —-with 5,000 free oysters—-and bbq is planned for Thursday night (and we are now invited) that he journeyed upstairs to share the news.  Side bar-Eddie has not be upstairs more than 5 times since we moved back downstairs post Harvey-PTSD?  So, what does one wear to a high Southern BBQ and Oyster Roast—Eddie says-think Blue Jean casual only nicer.  What the heck is that...reminds me of when we use to go on “business trips” (read boondoggle with golf)...they had a dress notation called Country Club Chic.  I always missed the mark-either too dressy or not dressy enough.  I always would spend days shopping prior to those trips attempting select the right outfits and shoes for the three nights (which I called “Business Rush Party”—-Ed was the corporate person (rushee) and the lawyers from the various law firms (frat boys or the more PC-Frat persons) would smooze  during the coke party (cocktail buffet with open bar) evening, theme party (another buffet and costumes affair with the food and entertainment fitting the theme) and finally pref night -a dressy dinner affair with a band and lawyers dancing -always on my list of favorite things to do.  The Frat boys would try to get the Rushee to commit (or pledge) Shell’s business to them.  So glad we hung up our Rush Week traveling.  So, this will be a Throwback Thursday event...without the Pre shopping...and as a Shell retiree, Eddie is no longer a highly prized rushee.  The afternoon was spent rethinking my Wardrobe selections, trying on shoes and “cute” bbq attire (since my closet is just brimming with “cute”, and all) I hope this hotel has an iron available as my clothes currently look like I slept in them-small suitcase and all. We also had to pack some of the industrial strength bug spray that Eddie had purchased for our trip to North Carolina.  You see, South Carolina has a particularly type of gnat, called a No-see-em.  They love Eddie...and he is allergic to them.  The gnat bites look more like angry boils.  All potential Instagram or Christmas card pictures of us will be made prior to said Oyster Roast.  As he has been to this Oyster Roast many times in the past, guess we will be bring home a new souvenir ailment/medical issue.  And we all know Ed suffers in silence so well.  

We are currently wheels up in Houston...after checking our small suitcases, surprise!...Four days...so little time, so many adventures.  Until then Go ‘Stros!