Charleston Halloween

Meeting & Tradd St., Charleston, S.C.

Meeting & Tradd St., Charleston, S.C.

Meeting & Tradd St., Charleston, S.C.

That top photo makes me grin from ear to ear! How funny. Thanks to reader Ashely who gave me the heads up to check this house for skeletons. They were perfect! Happy Halloween kids!

I've spent the day at MUSC with my friend who had the recent kidney transplant dealing with some complications but I got him settled comfortably at home and picked up a trunk full of halloween candy on the way home to take to work tomorrow. I asked our hospital Security Officers to leave a couple of their shirts in my office. That should make for an easy costume!

Painted Lady house

Tradd St., Charleston, S.C.

If the definition of Painted Lady house includes three or more colors we have a winner in this Tradd St. home. It is a sweetie. As always, I am pleased not to be the one to paint it.

Check out these image results for Painted Lady houses. Lovely!

Heheh. Bonus joke I came across while googling Painted Ladies:
I once painted a lady in the nude. I almost froze to death.

Boo Charleston! Boo!

Tradd & Meeting St., Charleston, S.C.

Thanks to the owner of this house at Tradd and Meeting St. for taking the trouble to entertain us all during holiday by decorating her house. I've featured this house before at Christmas time. Fun! This time she put a witch hat on the peak of the house. No easy job that.

Below - someone always has to play the drama queen!

This little piggie

Tradd St., Charleston, S.C.

This little piggie looks like he is ready to nibble on the greenery. These folks on Tradd St. always have a lovely window display.

In other news, I bought a rowing machine. Gulp. I've never been an "indoor" exerciser but as it starts to get dark earlier, if I let myself crash after work it is pitch dark by the time I am ready to go out marching. So, we shall see. Will I, or won't I? I've rowed for half an hour three evenings in a row. Hopefully I can keep it up. I will expect to win every arm wrestling challenge in a couple of weeks.

Places to see before you are 15

Tradd St., Charleston, S.C.

The overcast skies made my photo walk a treat this morning. This is a yard on Tradd St. that I always admire. Some people must get tired of me poking my camera over their fence. :)

Budget Travel magazine came up with a list of places that they decided kids should see before they by the age of 15. There was a lot of discussion on the page so not everyone agreed. I for one, wasn't going to drive my kids to California to go to a zoo in San Diego, but not only did they see the Grand Canyon - they hiked to the bottom and slept the night when they were nine and ten. They didn't see the Redwoods by fifteen but they have now. I still haven't seen Monticello myself. Shame on me.

15 places kids should see by age 15

Grand Canyon - Arizona
Niagara Falls - New York
The National Mall - Washington, D.C.
Williamsburg - Virginia
Walt Disney World Resort - Florida
Independence Hall - Pennsylvania
Alcatraz Island - California
Ellis Island - New York
Yellowstone National Park - Wyoming, Montana and Idaho

Redwood National Park - California
Monticello - Virginia
The Freedom Trail - Massachusetts
Fenway Park - Massachusetts
Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve - Idaho
San Diego Zoo - California

My kids saw the top grouping but not the bottom ones. What do you think? Does the list make sense?

Favorite Trees

Tradd St., Charleston, S.C.

This sweetie on Tradd St. is on my "favorite trees" list and I stop to say hello when I pass by.

While we are on the topic of trees, here is link to the beautiful journal
South Carolina Lowcountry Nature Journaling & Art by Pam Johnson Brickell. She has pages dedicated to her favorite trees. Enjoy!

Protecting the Manger Scene

Tradd St., Charleston, S.C.

Oh, I couldn't resist! I haven't really taken the "war on Christmas" crowd seriously and I am sure that isn't what this is about but the the mixed message stopped me in my tracks. They haven't taken their manger scene down yet and it is well protected.

Yay, I found an intact starfish! Most of you find them on the beach but I take what I can get.

I also found a greeting for frequent commenter William Kendall from Ottawa Daily Photo. Put a sweater on before you visit his blog. Things look a little chilly up there. Thanks for all the comments William!

Charleston beauty

172 Tradd & Rutledge Ave. Charleston, S.C.

She is a beauty, isn't she? This house is tricky to get a good shot of because of all the foliage.This might be the best time of year to catch a photo.

Edit: Thanks to a kind commenter for leading me to Carolyne Roehm's blog that includes beautiful indoor shots of the renovation and design on this home. Wowza! This will be fun to follow.

More photos here of the Chisholm Alston Home and the sale details. 

I am nodding off. I had a group of co-workers over for a celebration for a friend. I thought I had made enough food for everyone and neglected to consider that since my buddies are nurses and hospital workers they can't not bring more food. Taking care of everyone seems to be ingrained and includes red velvet cake. I have plenty of leftovers for the next few days. What a great group of ladies I work with. The mermaid insists on being in every pictures. She is such a diva.

The Queen of Marmalade

Tradd St., Charleston, S.C.

My walk this morning was bright and sunny and took me down to the waterfront around the Coast Guard Station.

I was looking out over the scene when I spotted this tiny scrap of paper glued to the top of a post and pushed the leaves out of the way to read it. It is an advertisement! The bushes were full of tiny citrus fruit, most green but a few turning orange. I wonder if any will survive the cold we've had. If they do I now know where to get a fat pint of the Queen of Marmie!

Ninety five years in service

Fielding Home for Funerals, Logan St., Charleston, SC

Ninety five years in service! That is pretty impressive track record for a funeral home. There is a nice history section on their web site:

Our Founder, Julius P.L. Fielding, began his business training with his father who ran a horse drawn livery business from the back yard of their home on Tradd street in downtown Charleston. When his father died and his mother later remarried, Julius continued training in his step-father's barber shop at the comer of Broad and Church streets in Charleston. With the help and encouragement of his mother and step-father, he attended Agricultural and Normal Institute in Orangeburg (now S.C. State University), and then to Renouard Embalming School in New York. Upon returning home in 1912, he opened the funeral home at the corner of King and Queen streets. In 1916, he married Sadie E. Gaillard Fielding, and together they moved the business to 61 Logan Street at the corner of Short Street. A large sign was placed on the corner that simply read "Julius P.L.Fielding, Undertaker and Embalmer".

Holy Cow!

Tradd St., Charleston, S.C.

What the heck? Somebody's got some 'splainin' to do. That is one well endowed bull on the roof.

Teeny, tiny houses of Charleston

Charleston, SC   

This is a sweetie in the small house series. Sadly I need help remembering what street it was on. I did a Queen, Tradd loop that day. I noted it was 88 1/2 but didn't remember what street. I always assume I will remember everything. Foiled again. 

Christmas Elves hard at work in Charleston

Meeting & Tradd St., Charleston, S.C.

How perfect was it that I was walking up Meeting St. as this glorious house was being decorated? Perfect, perfect, perfect. This scene will be in a thousand photographs just as it is at Halloween but mine will be the first because I stood on the sidewalk with the owner of the property as she watched her elves adjust the hat designed by a sail maker for her house. What a gift of joy she gives to Charleston each year with the creative and original decorations. Thank you Rebekah!

Rainbow Row

Rainbow Row, Charleston, SC    

It's one of the most likely tourist photo ops - the colorful stretch of historic houses on East Bay Street. It caught my attention on a recent walk with the addition of a new color. The pretty periwinkle shade is freshly painted and a happy surprise. 

Rainbow Row is the name for a series of thirteen colorful historic houses in Charleston, South Carolina. It represents the longest cluster of Georgian row houses in the United States. The houses are located north of Tradd St. and south of Elliot St. on East Bay Street, that is, 79 to 107 East Bay Street. The name Rainbow Row was coined after the pastel colors they were painted as they were restored in the 1930s and 1940s. It is a popular tourist attraction and is one of the most photographed parts of Charleston.

No Papparazi Please.......

Tradd & Meeting St., Charleston, S.C.

No Papparazi please....we don't have clothes on!

The sign in the window explains that it is an installation by John Dunnan for the Gibbes Museum of Art. The Museum is bringing world renowned artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude to Charleston in April 2010.

If this is a sample it looks like April will be interesting. These folks put some effort into their creativity! More here.

Charleston at Christmas

Dog & Horse, Church St., Charleston, SC   

I am getting slack. Who knew we had a Dog & Horse Fine Art & Portraiture store on Church St.? I didn't. Click the link to check it out. Dogs and Horses doggone it.

The Meeting St. Inn looks festive as always at Christmas but do you notice something missing from the frequently photographed windows on Tradd St.? The pig is gone from the window. The property may have changed hands but I don't believe city council voted to let them take the pig out of the window.

Adding to the J-Board album

Tradd St., Charleston, S.C.

For Waldo. I am building him the complete collection of joggling board locations in the lowcountry. I am now the Official Joggling Board Spotter. Let me know if I have missed one. It looks like I may need to repost a few that were included in my earlier blog.

It's been a chaotic day in the stock market: Helium was up. Feathers were down. Beef steered into a bull market. Paper was stationary. Fluorescent tubing was dimmed in light trading. Pencils lost a few points. Hiking equipment was trailing. Elevators rose. Escalators continued their slow decline. Weights were up in heavy trading. Light switches were off.

Mining equipment hit rock bottom. Shipping lines stayed at an even keel. The market for raisins dried up. Coca Cola fizzled. Caterpillar stock inched up a bit. Balloon prices were inflated. Scott Tissue touched a new bottom. Knives were up sharply. Sun stocks peaked at midday. Diapers remain unchanged.

_____________

Too much going on lately. Be proactive. Pencil in a weekend nap right now.

Best Photo Locations for Charleston Visit?

Two Meeting St. Inn, Meeting St., Charleston, S.C.

I received this email recently and thought Charleston folks might be of help. On further questioning she says they are particularly interested in architecture and nature and will be in the area March 10 - 17. Where shall we send them? I will take any suggestions from comments and FB and add them to the bottom of the post.  

I will start us off with a picture of one of the most photographed romantic Inns at the very end of Meeting St. by the Battery. Not all of us can afford to stay there but we can all take pictures of it!

Hi Joan,

I somehow found my way to your blog and was really blown away with the photos of Sheepman’s Graffiti. I am planning a first visit to your area in March with three other ladies from my local camera group. We will be staying for a week in Hilton Head and are planning to visit Charleston and Savannah. We are from Plymouth, Massachusetts.   A week is such a short time and we would very much appreciate it if you could help us out with a “must see” list to point us in the right directions. Any helpful suggestions or recommendations will be very much appreciated.

Thank you,

A 

Let's do this - I have pulled these from your wonderful suggestions in comments. I know a few of you are planning trips to Charleston this spring so maybe this will help!

I think everyone agrees that simply exploring the Charleston peninsula on foot is the best use of a brief visit. I love Queen, Tradd, Church, Atlantic St.  Go to White Point Gardens. The DASH trolley is free so you can hop on and off. King St. has the shopping and restaurants and you can't go wrong for a bite to eat. As you go down King, take the Gateway Walk on your right and visit a few of the cemeteries. 

Peninsula Charleston
Gateway Walk off King St.
Walk lower east side of the peninsula between East Bay & Meeting St. near Broad.
Alleyways St. Michael's, Bedons, Longitude Lane, Philadelphia Alley

College of Charleston campus
Aiken Rhett House tour
Nathaniel Russell House tour
The Citadel: Beautiful campus. Dress parade on Friday afternoons.
Ashley Hall School campus

Cemeteries
Sunday is a good time to catch gates open. If you are up for a drive just north of the peninsula off upper Meeting St. on the right is Magnolia, Bethany and St. Lawrence Cemetery. You won't be sorry!
Magnolia Cemetery: Mausoleums and bird Sanctuary

Mount Pleasant
The view going across the Ravenel Bridge  is breathtaking and a great walk. There is a water taxi that is a fun, easy way to get out on the water. Mt. Pleasant has a sweet, historic old village that is delightful. There is a new boardwalk on Shem Creek and Vickeries on the water front is the perfect place to watch the sunset.

Charleston Water Taxi: Great views of the bridge and Yorktown
Old Village of Mount Pleasant
Sunset at Mt. Pleasant Waterfront Park

Shem Creek Board Walk


Plantations
Magnolia Plantation: Gardens, house, petting zoo, Audubon Swamp garden.
Boone Hall: House and avenue of grand oaks

Worth considering for a drive are: 
Angel Oak
Charlestowne Landing
McClellanville
Cawcaw Park
Mepkin Abbey
Cypress Gardens: Boat through the swamp

Ron Rocz' book Seeing Charleston is a terrific photo guide to the best spots.

Charleston gates

Tradd St., Charleston, SC    

There is always something interesting to discover on a walk in the historic part of Charleston. There will always be an interesting gate to look over, an alley to explore or secret garden to see. That is my worry about our new construction. Walking upper Meeting St. with offices, hotels and new construction is mind numbingly boring. I don't know the solution. Do we have to wait another hundred years for any character to develop? 

Things are looking up in Charleston

Charleston, S.C.

I tend to take a lot of pictures of the sidewalks and ground but it's worth raising up your eyes for the details in the skies. This was from yesterday's walk along the Broad, Trumbo, Tradd St. and Battery route.

Lazy morning so far so I'll need to leap into action shortly to make up for it. I've been catching up on old Sunday editions of the New York Times and watching recorded Daily Show and Stephen Colbert programs with my tea and toast. Have a good weekend kids!