Our next stop in Charleston was a hard one but I’m glad we went.
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An innocuous looking building, no?
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Perhaps from the outside .
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But its history was written in blood.
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It’s a small museum, but haunting.
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The building exists because this genteel city had to move its shameful business inside.
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There are disturbing artifacts…
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Each one worse than the last.
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And a few eye opening facts.
What are you worth?
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A guest speaker was upstairs when we were there and we sat in on her fascinating lecture.
I wish I’d thought to video it because though most of it made my jaw drop in horror, it’s our country’s history and we should all be made aware that slavery was more than the dehumanizing of a people and forced labor.
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It was a profitable business and the vast array of people who reaped the economic rewards surprised even me.
Bedroom windows complete, work moved back to the living room.
Remember when we redid the beam?
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And replaced all the stained and damaged ceiling?
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It looked so much better..
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But it wasn’t perfect.
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There was a clear line of demarcation between the old popcorn and the new.
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And though the stains had been Kilz’ed, primed and painted… they didn’t match either.
At the time our contractor had other customers waiting for work, and knowing that we’d be replacing the floor at some point…. we opted to wait to fix the line and repaint the whole ceiling then.
You can’t visit Charleston without strolling the French Quarter’s Rainbow Row.
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Rainbow Row represents the longest cluster of intact Georgian row houses in the United States. The earliest structures on this portion of East Bay Street, between Tradd and Elliott Street, were built by-1680. The buildings were constructed on lots 7 to 10 of the Grand Modell, a city plan developed between 1670-1680. Over the years, the buildings served as the shops and residences of notable merchants and planters, and fronted a cluster of wharves on the Cooper River waterfront. The buildings also fronted a segment of the eastern boundary of the fortification wall constructed circa 1704 to surround the city. Some of the houses were damaged or destroyed by fire, and the present structures date from circa 1720 to circa 1790. The homes suffered slight damage by Union artillery bombardment during the War between the States. After the war and decades of neglect, the buildings deteriorated into slums. Susan Pringle Frost, founder of the Society for the Preservation of Old Dwellings, now the Preservation Society of Charleston, began her important preservation and rehabilitation efforts by purchasing some of these properties in the 1920s in order to prevent their demolition. The name Rainbow Row was coined after the pastel colors they were painted as they were restored in the 1930s and 1940s. The rear facades and gardens of 93-101 East Bay were also used as a model for the original 1935 stage setting of George Gershwin and DuBose Heyward’s opera, Porgy and Bess. .
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In a word? Fabulous.
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The colors, the wrought iron, the charm…
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It’s selfie heaven even if your arms are too short to capture much background.
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Space is at a premium but all the homeowners take pride of place.
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History?
It’s got that too.
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It’s hard to imagine this lovely neighborhood ever being a slum.
Day 5 of our 40th anniversary trip dawned sunny and warmer.
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Which was such a welcome change I actually got the husband to participate in … and (half) smile … for a morning balcony selfie.
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On the itinerary that day? Charleston.
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By way of Toogoodoo.
At first I thought the nav system in the overpriced Lincoln was drunk…
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But no, the road exists.
Toogoodoo: The name given to the creek and the area by the Bantu (African) slaves who worked the sea island plantations surrounding it. The word translates loosely as “I have plenty/ My life is bountiful”.
A sentiment that resonated with me all day.
Charleston is a southern city I’ve always wanted to visit and in a little over an hour, we were there.
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We skirted the harbor…
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And drove down one of the most famous neighborhoods.
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Filled with lovely homes…
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All facing the water.
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Unfortunately right after we started driving we ran into a detour due to storm damage from the night before. So we zigged and we zagged in our giant monster rental and elected to ditch the traffic for a walk.
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This is the most popular park in town and thankfully pretty deserted off season.
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It sits right at the mouth of the busy deep water harbor…
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And don’t you dare let Fido off his leash.
$1087 seems like an arbitrary sum, but whatever.
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We hopped over puddles and made our way to the park’s most popular tourist attraction.
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The pineapple fountain.
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Pineapples are a symbol of hospitality and you’ll find them everywhere in this friendly city.
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This is probably a beautiful shot in summer when the sun is high…
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But I couldn’t quite capture the canopy angle properly this time of year.
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Done with the park, we strolled.
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Charleston is an old city with beaucoup traffic and very little parking. Take my advice, put on a pair of comfortable shoes and walk…
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It’s the only way you’ll get a real feel for the place.
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We were headed for the French Quarter and the magnificent Rainbow Row so beloved by Instagrammers.
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I couldn’t wait to explore, so of course my husband had to strike up a half hour conversation with this nice gentleman who had a strange car.
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In case you’re wondering, it’s a Figaro built by Nissan in the early ‘90’s. Only 20,000 were made and he said his wife had to have one. It’s a tiny little thing but after battling the in town traffic with our luxury behemoth rental, I’m sure it’s perfectly suited to life in Charleston.
Furniture shopping continues and my snarky friends are still being helpful. Their latest suggestion?
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Well, it is green.
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The dark eyed Junco is a small bird of the sparrow family that we never see until the snow flies. They’re always the first to appear after a storm and we’re not the only ones looking….
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Lord Dudley Mountcatten keeps a close eye as well.
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Well, that’s rude.
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Trim work has started on the bedroom windows which means the man cave has once again been taken over….
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And reeks of wood stain and polyurethane.
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It’s odd how sometimes you read a passage in a book and it just gets you. This choked me up the other day. I hope it’s true….
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Sign seen at a local restaurant.
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