Hopsewee Plantation - Tea Room

Hopsewee Plantation, S.C.

What have I been thinking? They serve a proper afternoon tea at Hopsewee Plantation and I've never been there?  I remember trying once but the gate was closed and sometimes they have special events so best give a call before you head up the coast towards Georgetown. I made it in yesterday and dodged flocks of  mosquitoes the size of hummingbirds to get these pictures and it was worth it. Seriously. Take bug spray.

I didn't take the formal house tour but enjoyed lunch in the tea shop (below). Check out the menus here. I'd like to go back with enough time to explore the property.

The party that won't end

Coburg Cow, Hwy 17, Charleston, S.C.

Party ain't over until the Coburg Cow moos and Bessie hasn't taken off her tattered and stained Spoleto festival tutu yet. Party on, kids!

 

Sermon on the Wall - Avondale Murals

Avondale Murals, Charleston, S.C.

Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself.

One of my favorites is even better with natural greenery overgrowing it. I had an early after-work dinner at Taste of India last night and walked behind the Avondale shops to introduce an unsuspecting friend to the murals. I called it our Friday Art Walk.

I am off to walk before it starts raining again. Where shall I hike this morning?

Sun between the storms

Birdcage, Hampton Terrace, Charleston, S.C.

It's been tricky staying a step ahead of the thunderstorms lately but these are a few shots from a recent walk around Hampton Park and neighborhoods. A few of these made it to Facebook but not the blog.

At least we have been getting dramatic skies between the cloud bursts. Sadly it looks like rain ahead for the weekend as well.

Joggling in the rain

Joggling Board - mine!

I still take pictures of joggling boards but I have my own now. These are the pretty blue glazed containers that I bought with my Mother's Day gift certificate to Hyam's Garden center. Lucky me!

Rain, rain. Tornado warnings and hail. My yard is a pond again and we may have more on the way. Stay safe out there kids. I am going to get fat and soft if it keeps raining during my walking time.

Travel Tuesday - Lima, Peru

Lima, Peru

On Travel Tuesdays we take a trip off the Charleston peninsula and dip into past travel albums.

Lima, Peru. We landed here, me without luggage for a day before heading to hike into Machu Picchu. My brother Bob happened to visit me once when I said that was a trip I would be interested in doing if I had someone to do it with. Sucker! Both Bob and my sister-in-law Elaine climbed the Andes mountains into Machu Picchu with me. It was a tough climb but wow, how glorious.

These picture are from our first walk around Lima on arrival. We had our fanciest dinner of the trip at the end of the dock in the photo below and wandered through the market place. The picture I took of them smooching was featured on the "stand by your statue" blog.

Murals - The Charleston Pour House

Murals - the Charleston Pour House, Maybank Highway

I am late to the game checking on the colorful murals painted on the Charleston Pour House. The Pour House is a popular music venue on Maybank Hwy. They have added a restaurant called the Lot that has been getting very good reviews and that I need to get in to try as soon as possible.

It looks like the murals are the result of a mural painting contest held last year. They wrap all the way around the building and are a brilliant addition to my collection of lowcountry murals. Check the web site for some of the artists names since I didn't get them all included in my photos.

Sunday Brunch Farmer's Market - Riverland Terrace

Musicians at the Sunday Brunch Farmer's Market

I think it is a fairly new and growing Farmer's Market and since it is on a Sunday it is billed as Sunday Brunch Farmer's Market. It is on Medway Road just off Maybank from 11 - 3 and there seemed to be plenty of parking. The morning's offerings included fresh peaches, berries, eggs, pasta (yum), a coffee truck and a couple other food trucks as well as artists, creative folks and photographers. The young musicians had an even younger audience. Give it a try.

Rio Bertolini fresh cut pasta and frozen meals

Mearrings by Mira

My earring purchase didn't hurt the budget too badly - all Mearrings by Mira cost $2. I bought the prettiest pair - the blue ones.

Photography by Adam Chandler

Salty Loungers

Salty Lounger, Charleston, S.C.

I walked by a yard sale in my neighborhood this morning and as often happens, the only thing that caught my eye was the one thing that probably wasn't for sale. I told the owner that I had often admired the chair he was sitting on. It turns out I hit the jackpot and had happened upon the craftsman who made the actual chair. Ha!

They are called Salty Loungers and I bought two from his work shop. They are already delivered and in my yard. They fold up nicely and come in optional stains and paints. They have a Facebook site at Salty Loungers. Turns out my exercise walks aren't always without cost but in this case I got lucky.

 

Bottle Cap Clyburn

James Clyburn, Bottlecap Art, Charleston, S.C.

Is it the ultimate status symbol? Are you really a "somebody" when someone makes an image of you out of hammered bottle caps? If so, U.S. Congressman James Clyburn has arrived. I spotted this one inside an MUSC building yesterday. This piece is by artist Molly B Right who used 2,500 to 3,000 bottle caps for each image.

No one has offered to make me in bottle caps yet so perhaps I should start saving them myself in case I need to do a self portrait. Heheh.

Urban Farm - MUSC

MUSC Urban Farm, President & Bee St., Charleston, S.C.

I have to thank Dr. Susan Johnson for including me in the invitation to tour the Medical University of S.C.'s Urban Garden. I had been hoping for an excuse to check it out. Look at this lush, green garden right in the center of town!

The MUSC Urban Farm provides a place where students, faculty, staff, and the Charleston community can come together to learn about the connection between land and food. The .5 acre Farm, located on the corner of Bee & President Street hosts workshops, seminars, volunteer workdays, and tours for local schools. Participants are educated on the value of incorporating vegetables into their diets through cooking and nutrition lessons and will experience a unique opportunity to engage in hands-on learning about sustainable urban agriculture.

Vintage red dot, dot, dot store

Meeting St., Charleston, S.C.

It looks like a vintage shot doesn't it? I took it over the weekend. When I took my camera out of the cool car into the heat and humidity it ages the picture nicely. People are endlessly fascinated by the red dots on liqueur stores in South Carolina.

Red Dot Stores AKA Liquor Stores

Ever wonder why in South Carolina liquor stores have red dots as their sign? It started with Jesse Fabian a liquor store owner from Charleston and his sign man Alford "Doc" Wamsley. In 1945 the legislature enacted the requirement that sign lettering for a liquor store sign could not be any large than six inches high and four inched wide. After painting the correct size lettering on Jesse's store, they thought the letters were too small to be seen. Inspired by a pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes, Doc painted a red dot around the lettering. It spread all across the state. The reason you see a lot of stores using three dots with the letter A, B and C (one letter on each dot) is it stands for Alcohol Bureau of Control, the agency that oversee liquor stores. If you ask a local for a red dot store or a ABC store, chances are they will know what you need.

Wow, we had a thunderstorm this afternoon! I didn't miss having to navigate the rushing rivers of the streets of downtown Charleston. I understand people were stuck in traffic for hours. I do however miss being the one with the best action flooded street photos. Oh well. It is nice to be safe and dry.

Garden decorating ideas

Garden art, Charleston, S.C.

True. I was looking for garden ideas. I think those ducks are heading to the lake.

Hampton Park

Sunflowers in Hampton Park, Charleston, S.C.

I often feel like I go out hunting with my camera and feel good if I get a little exercise and bag at least one good picture. It gets me out and about noticing things around me. This weekend I parked at Hampton Park and walked the neighborhood and park for an hour. The flower beds were in their glory and I am stealing ideas left and right for what might work in my neglected yard.

I wasn't the only one enjoying the warm morning and it is clearly a comfortable spot for homeless and street people. There were blankets claiming spots under the wide tree branches and I was startled a couple of times by movement in the shadows. I marched on briskly through certain parts of the park. 

Zoom, zoom, zoom!

I spotted the colorful vintage cars at the Coastal Carolina Corvette Club Car Show at the Ashley River Baptist Church parking lot on Savannah Highway yesterday when I was heading to Harris Teeter. In honor of fellow blogger Lowandslow I had to back track and walk through. Luckily they had more on display than Corvettes. I love the real oldies.

I hope everyone has had a good weekend. I've been so busy lately it was delicious simply to be off. I had a $150 gift certificate to Hyams Garden Center that my son had given me for Mother's Day burning a hole in my pocket and I was there first thing this morning. I bought two large blue glazed ($$) containers for plants. I haven't done much to my yard yet so this is a step in that direction.