Trip to Charleston

The weekend in Charleston was relaxing and trying all at the same time. The drive seemed excessive for a weekend trip. Five hours may cross the line. When we got into Charleston, we were informed that the Family Circus Tennis Pro Tournament was in town and all the hotels were booked. Finding a place to stay quickly became a concern. It worked itself out and we eventually found a place to sleep.

We got out to a quick start Sat morning. An early stop at a corporate natural foods store got us the daily food and it was off to the farmers market. I found some nice pre-seeded basil, cilantro, and parsley plants. Otherwise the farmers market was kind of a bust, aside from the amazing parking spot of nabbed.

Then it was off to Folly Beach. This was the first mistake of the trip. Apparently, this is where all the cool kids go on the weekend. We sat in nearly 3 hours of traffic and traveled only 7 miles. At the time, we thought it would still be worth it as we wanted to get to the Sand and Sea Festival. Once we finally got there, mid-day, the festival was garbage. The beach was filled with clowns. The salvation was two part. First, the pier was huge and unpopulated. We spend some time out there and the weather was great. The second part was a crab. As we walked onto the beach, a large crab came up through the sand and pinched someones foot. The crab then was showing off for peoples cameras. It was one of the craziest things I have seen on a beach.

Back to Charleston to get into the Haunted Jail Tour. Although these tours tend to be very hokey and boarder on lame, the buildings are always interesting and the stories of half truths are entertaining. This tour was no different. The jail was amazing. Depressing and astonishing at the same time. Sadly, my camera battery died before we entered and this is the end of the pic we have for the trip.



Sunday was the Strawberry Festival. The actual festival had very little to do with strawberries. It was also extremely small for all the patrons/matrons. We did get a tour of the plantation from the back of a tractor. This was by far the highlight of the trip. The tour was gorgeous and full of information.

We headed back for a long drive to Atlanta early in the day. We saw a U-Pick strawberry place on the side of the road. After picking a bucket, we grabbed some food and hit the road again. We were happy to be back home and Tato was happy to see us. Today it is back to business and then Thu or Fri we will be in Florida. Should be another nice weekend as long as the weather is just as nice as it was when we were in Charleston.