short vacation in Charleston, SC

I took three days out of my busy schedule to visit a friend who lives in Charleston (sorry no pics).  Charleston is one of my favorite cities anywhere. The ocean, the bay, the seafood, the houses and history everwhere. My friend Marsha and I met in Latin class in high school. We've been friends ever since. She one of those people that I can have a conversation for three days without running out of topics. She just moved to the Old Town in Mount Pleasant, only a block from the bay. Lovely neighborhood where even the weeds flower.

 We walked around the historical part of Charleston on the first day. Hot, hot, hot. Managed about three hours of site seeing. Lunch was she-crab soup. Early dinner at the Shem Creek Bar and Grill where I've had my first dinner in Charleston every visit since my old girlfriend Sloane took me in 1991. Excellent she-crab soup.

Tuesday started with a 6:30 dog walk and a trip to St. John's Island to see a nearly 400 year old live oak called the Angel Tree.  Then it was time to visit the beach and I walked and swam for a couple of hours, then slept until dinner (low country boil and she-crab soup). We headed over to Sullivan's Island and the Windjammer to see Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. We met Erin and Mark, who had driven from Pawley's Island for the show. I hadn't seen Erin in a couple of years. A happy reunion.

Grace was in rare form. She has changed her stage show to more singing and moving about the stage. She played all my favorites. It was very crowded, much more than last summer when Rynne and I drove down to see her at the same place.

Wednesday we had breakfast and I packed up to drive home. As my car was out of commision, I was driving my step-mother Toyota Corolla. No pick up, very painful. Got lost in Columbia, SC and had to be guided out by phone by my friend, Rynne. Decided since my memory is getting so bad (lost in Winston-Salem last week, Charleston Tuesday and Columbia on Wednesday) that I ordered a Garmin 1350T GPS when I got home. As I'd reseached GPS's for my friend, Vicki, a few weeks before, I knew which offered the features I wanted.

Thursday recovery. Friday car back into shop. So far so good.

Tonight Col. (retired) Bruce Hampton at the Salvadore Deli.

Thanks for reading!