Hunting Island Lighthouse

Hunting Island Lighthouse, Hunting Island, SC    

Beautiful Beaufort By the Sea is always a good lunch spot destination for a day trip but thanks to Charleston Daily's recent photo blog of the lighthouse at Hunting Island we went a little further to explore. Glad we did! What a beautiful spot. It might be the start of a new lighthouse hunting series.

Lighthouse History & FeaturesThe first lighthouse was destroyed by the confederates during the beginning of the Civil War to prevent the Union from using it as a means of navigation. It was rebuilt and placed back into service in 1875. The purpose of this lighthouse was to warn ships to stay far away, as there are many hazards such as sandbars, wrecks, surf and treacherous currents. It was deactivated in June of 1933.

A unique feature of this lighthouse is that it was constructed using cast iron plates and designed to be dismantled in case it ever needed to be relocated. As fate would have it, due to erosion of the beach in 1889, the lighthouse was moved inland 1 1/4 miles from its original site to where it presently stands.

Push Up & Up

Push Up Challenge, Marion Square, Charleston, SC   

Thanks to everyone who did my exercise for me this morning! There were so many participants in the Push Up & Up challenge this morning I believe they took care of the strenuous exercise for all of us. I was impressed. It was a Communities In Schools benefit.

Lots of fun for a good cause. Wonder why I didn't have it on my agenda? Hmm.

April's Playhouse

April's Playhouse, Florence, SC    

I was in Florence, SC for meetings today. It was the gathering of the clan chieftains of volunteer management in healthcare. We decided to rotate our meeting locations to different hospitals around the state so we could snoop around on each other's turf and today we were hosted by McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence. I knew I wasn't going to get time to explore but perked up considerable when I spotted this little sweetie as we pulled into the parking lot. The sign reads:

"APRIL'S PLAYHOUSE" This historic cupola was part of a nineteenth century home which served for many years as the medical office of the late Dr. Joseph Sylvester. Dr. and Mrs. Sylvester later preserved the cupola as "April's Playhouse" for their daughter. The Sylvester family lovingly gave the structure to McLeod Regional Medical Center in 1997.

Then, since I was meeting with Volunteer managers I learned the most fun fact. April herself, is still a volunteer at the hospital.

The writing on the wall

Backroads, SC   

And we thought posting opinions on our wall was a new facebook thing. This farmer has it all out there. Someday I'll look back on this picture of the house and say, "Did that flag really say TRUMP?" Yep.

Bottle tree

Bottle tree, Charleston, SC

Bottle tree in the Hampton Park area. Also a Hillary supporter and owner of an interesting statue.

I am in cranky technology no man's land. Nothing works exactly as it is supposed to. Desktop, phone, tv, copier. Everything is slightly off and misbehaving in some way. I have a trillion passwords that keep needing to be changed. Aaaargh. Some days you wonder if it is all really an advance at all. 

Dinner bell

Dinner bell, Charleston, SC   

Someone ring the bell. Let's see who serves us dinner. 

Maypole?

Unitarian Churchyard, Charleston, SC  

Do you think it is a maypole? I spotted it through the gates at the Unitarian Churchyard where children had been playing.

In fact, what the heck is a maypole? I googled to find this odd song: Summerisle the Maypole Song.

Happy nurses' week to all my friends who are nurses. They were giving away these adorable cookies at the hospital today. They were yummy as well as pretty. I almost hated to eat mine. They were made by Mamee's Minis in Summerville and donated for our Nurses' Week celebrations.

Paddle on Charleston!

Dragon Boat Festival Charleston 2016, Brittlebank Park, Charleston, SC    

I don't know who won the Dragon Boat Festival yesterday but they were having a good time! I only had time to do a quick morning walk through of the event and it is hard to find teams and people in the happy throngs even when you know they are there. It is quite an impressive event and raises money for cancer research. Our health system had quite a number of participants who have been creatively raising money to support their team. Well done folks!

Farm to table

Johns Island bounty, SC

It was a perfect day for a picnic and by the look of the feast my friend Jo spent a lot of time turning farmer and husband Tom's farm fresh bounty into delicious dishes. It made for a picture perfect luncheon on Johns Island and left me feeling very fortunate. Beautiful place, good company and delicious food. Lucky me!

Teeny, tiny houses

Sutherland Ct., Charleston, SC    

Here are a couple of little cuties in the smaller scale. I walked the area around Hampton Park on Sunday and spotted them on that tiny cut through street off of Huger. The top one needs some luvin'.

What a beautiful day! I had mid-day meetings at the Mount Pleasant Hospital so got out of the office and enjoyed the freedom. It is crisp and cool at the moment and I am back on my walking routine. I had been sidetracked by a couple of sprains and heel pain but marching onward again.

TV is so dreadful now that I get so sad when I finish a series I enjoy on Netflix. It feels like I will never find anything I care about enough to watch again and then, bingo I find something. This time I latched on to The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Fun stuff. It is a change from my recent streak of Nordic detective and police reporter shows.

Open Faith, Open Hearts, Open Minds

Unitarian Cemetery, Charleston, SC  

Found wisdom on the steps in the Unitarian Church in Charleston. 

Doors of Charleston

Doors of Charleston, Charleston, SC    

I could make the Alternative Doors of Charleston poster to compete with the Doors of Charleston poster.  Trust me. I have the collection.

Boo! 

Our scented garden

Confederate Jasmine, Charleston, SC   

The scent of jasmine fills the Charleston air. It might be reasonable to fine those of us who don't have any blooming. It could be a simple check box on our tax return. Do you have jasmine in your yard? No? Bingo, pay an extra $5 to penalize you for not participating in the glory of the season. 

Colonial Lake renovations

Colonial Lake, Charleston, SC   

I parked near Colonial Lake to check on the renovation progress since I'd heard the fences were down and garden plantings in place. I spotted these couples with a baby enjoying the morning and offered to take their group photo. They were two young couples from Jordan and poured me a cup of thick rich spiced coffee from their thermos.