Happy birthday to our bridge!

Grace Bride, Cooper River, Charleston, SC

This is the picture I wanted to duplicate when they closed the old Cooper River Bridge. The last cars to drive over it were to be the Model A Club cars just like the first stream of cars to drive over it.

I went with my camera and camped out on the Mt. Pleasant side waiting for the parade of cars. The catch was that the participants were having such a good time, waving, enjoying the scenery and posing for pictures that they didn't arrive in a stream of vehicles but one after another. I couldn't duplicate the shot but I did get a picture of almost every car. What a fun ride that must have been.

 Our bridge is ten years old this weekend and a lot of festivities are planned. Happy birthday!

Be Brave Brunch - Center for Women

Be Brave Brunch, Center for Women, Charleston, SC

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) -- Five Lowcountry women were honored for their bravery Thursday.

The second annual "Be Brave Brunch" event was hosted by the Center for Women to single out those who have overcome adversity to accomplish goals that ultimately benefited not only themselves but their communities. "We wanted to honor people in our community and say that we can all keep being brave and can keep doing things in our community that are important," said CFW Executive Director Amy Brennan.

 

Congratulations to:

Ella Bolton

Ainsley Green

Germain Jenkins

Lesly Rathbun

Elizabeth Steed

How hot is it?

Old Country Store, Hwy 176, SC 

How hot is it? This is a repeat entry with a few additions. Last year I made it until August before posting it but gosh it has been a warm stretch.

 

It's so hot in South Carolina that...

* A seat belt makes a pretty good branding iron....
* When the temperature drops below 95, you feel a bit chilly.
* It's so hot outside it will make you return things you never stole.
* It's hotter than a steel playground at noon.
* You can attend any function wearing shorts and a tank top.
* The best parking place is determined by shade instead of distance.
* Hot water now comes out of both taps.
* You actually burn your hand opening the car door.
* You realize that asphalt has a liquid state.
• It's so hot that it makes me want to take off my skin and sit in my bones.
• It's so hot the birds have to use potholders to pull worms out of the ground.
• It's so hot I saw two trees fighting over a dog.
* It is so hot even the sea breeze feels like a hair dryer...
• It was so hot today I saw a dog chasing a cat and they were both walking.
• It's hotter than a June bride in a feather bed.
• It's so hot that the trees are creeping around looking for shade.
• It's stupid hot!
• It is hot enough to cure tobacco.
• It's hotter than the devil's underwear.
• It's another one of those aluminum foil sweater days.
* Hotter than a whorehouse on nickel night.
• It's hotter than a ginger mill in Hades.
* It's so hot you could spit fire. But, please don't.

 These are always fun. Stay cool kids.

Happy Bastille Day!

Bastille Day festivities at Fish Restaurant, Charleston, SC 

On July 14, 1789, a bunch of French men and women fed up with the aristocracy stormed the Bastille, freeing political prisoners and the like and ultimately starting the French Revolution. Over two hundred years later foodies around the world celebrate the day with French food and fanfare. Local restaurants are joining in the fun with Bastille day-themed menus and events.

And Fish Restaurant does it best! Marie Antoinette, Napoleon, Trout al la Provençale, can can dancers and more! It was fun. Thanks for the treat Andre, Chef Nico Romo and Fish Restaurant!

Murals at Huger & Hanover St.

Mural at Huger & Hanover St., Charleston, SC  

It looks like I missed the event but the murals are still in place for everyone to enjoy. The location isn't in my prime walking route but easy to pull up in a vehicle to get a few shots. It is on the corner of Huger and Hanover St. 

The cornerstone of the installation is a new mural by Sergio Odeith, a well-known Portuguese painter and muralist based in Lisbon whose trademark 3D graffiti served as the initial piece for this installation. 

 

Teeny, tiny tree houses

McClellanville, SC 

McClellanville is a dreamy little town. Grab a book and a pillow and come on up.

Church Photo in Lieu of Attendance - Georgetown, SC

Love Chapel, Georgetown, SC 

I take more pictures of churches than I actually attend but this might be the perfect one for me. I found the Love Chapel in Georgetown, SC and the signs caught my eye. Sinners Welcome! If you are looking for the perfect church, this is not the one!

Sinners Welcome!

The South Carolina Praline Trail

Sweeties, Georgetown, SC  

I've done a couple of Thelma & Louise day trips lately (minus the convertible, the cliff and Brad Pitt) exploring up and down the coast and we've discovered that after a little sightseeing and a tasty lunch we conveniently happen upon a praline shop for dessert. Meant to be! Nothing is better than a field trip with a little brown sugar and cream treat to cap it off. Savannah, Beaufort, Charleston and now Georgetown - bingo! Pralines.

There isn't much to review since you can't really hurt brown sugar, cream and butter unless you burn it, but I am willing to keep tasting and testing until we find the best pralines in South Carolina.

Today's sample is from Sweeties candy shop in Georgetown.

 

Welcome to Sweeties Sweets. Cindy Hedrick & Skip Yeager are the Sweeties, since 1996.  Some of the Sweets we make are displayed and available on this site but to get the full effect, aroma, and feel of our products you need to come for a visit to Historic Seaport Georgetown, SC between Myrtle Beach and Charleston on Hwy 17. Come walk the Harborwalk, eat fresh seafood, relax and enjoy.  While there look for the Old Clock Tower, we are just a couple doors down at 707 Front Street.
 

Charleston - I love you this much!

White Point Gardens, Charleston, SC   

I know I have featured this little gal before but I love her. I visit her every time I walk at White Point Gardens and practically lay on my belly to get a picture of a different angle each time.

Did you have a good week? Did you get all your work done? I had a good week but was rushing like a race horse to get my work done. If you had any idea of the paperwork I have to have completed on every volunteer who works in a hospital you would...I dunno....maybe buy me a candy bar or something. It is completely unreasonable. I have over 350 good spirited folks volunteering and I have to keep current files on each and every one of them. Some days I feel like all I do is feed a data base.

Pony up to the Hat Man

Hat Man at Broad & Church St., Charleston, SC  

The blinders might keep the horse from being startled by the Hat Man mural at Church and Broad St. Boo! 
The Hat Man mural was painted around 1892 and is made up of 16 different hats in 12 different styles. It probably promoted a hat store but happily for us it remained to become a favorite landmark and is freshened up periodically. 

It's been a big day in South Carolina. May tomorrow be a good and peaceful day. 

Summertime Gifts

St. Julien Plantation, Eutawville, SC  

Yum, yum! It's hard to resist such an attractive roadside stand. I've already gobbled up my tomatoes and I made mini peach cobblers for dinner last night. This is the St. Julien Plantation roadside stand on Hwy 6. Enjoy!

Self respecting Southerners

Pro Aris Et Focis, Coming St., Charleston, SC  

Just for kicks and giggles I asked Google about "self respecting Southerners" and this is what we came up with:

• No self-respecting southerner uses instant grits
• And one thing no self-respecting southerner should be caught without a properly stocked bar.
• After all, no self-respecting Southerner would dare vote for a Northerner
• No self-respecting Southerner would hop aboard a boat wearing black slacks.
• No self-respecting Southerner would think of leaving fresh pineapples out of their Christmas decorations
• No self-respecting Southerner would ever be without cheese straws
• No self respecting Southerner makes cornbread from a box” 
• No self-respecting Southerner, I boldly say, would let New Year's Day pass without at least one bite of black- eyed peas
• No self respecting southerner would say "ya'll guys"
• No self-respecting Southerner uses any mayo besides Duke's 
• No self respecting southerner would eat the biscuits you get out of a peel and pop tube
• No self-respecting Southerner who would serve baked possum would serve it without sweet potatoes
• No self-respecting Southerner would ever put bread crumbs in their macaroni & cheese
• No self- respecting southerner would be so rude as to hang up before saying a proper thank-you, followed by a goodbye

Thank you, and goodbye!

Savannah College of Art & Design Museum

SCAD Museum, Savannah, GA 

I paid a quick first visit to the SCAD Art Museum in Savannah this weekend. I say quick because that is all it took. I was pleased to find them open on the holiday weekend but they had most of their main galleries closed for updates and offered a discounted admission. What they did have on display was pretty impressive!

Vivienne Westwood Exhibition: 'Dress Up Story – 1990 Until Now' The exhibition design takes inspiration from an eccentric English party: “A postmodern romp of a weekend party where the swells meet the activists, where the rogues go vogue, and the vogues go rogue," Talley said. Selections from SCAD Museum of Art’s Earle W. Newton collection of British and American paintings hung salon-style create a backdrop for the revolutionary flair of Westwood’s designs. Westwood added, “Our costumes are romantic and theatrical, inspired by history. We know the characters they belong to. Whoever chooses to wear them recreates the clothes in her own image, making them classics. She inhabits a parallel world — like this one but more ideal. Andreas and I have been designing for 25 years, living and working together. It’s our story. We always dress up.”
This exhibition is curated by André Leon Talley.

 

Savannah - holiday weekend trip

Savannah, Georgia

I have already made the most of my July 4th holiday weekend - thank you America! Savannah is just over 100 miles down the coast and a perfect weekend get-away. Stretching the budget we stayed at a Courtyard Marriott midtown and then found a deal for Friday night at the Inn at Ellis Square in the historic district. Good planning!

Checking my phone step counter yesterday we walked over ten miles - parking at Forsyth Park and heading all the way to the river and back exploring all the beautiful garden squares along the way. We ate a praline on the river walk, visited the city cemetery, St. Johns Cathedral, the SCAD shop and museum and splurged on the Old Pink House for dinner. This morning we did a drive through Bonaventure Cemetery and visited friends before heading back to Charleston. Thanks Savannah!

Happy July 4th everyone!

Historic Savannah

The Waving Girl statue, Savannah

Forsyth Park Fountain, Savannah, GA

Now we are three - leopard tripletts

People's Building, Broad St., Charleston, SC  

I always stop to say hello to the leopard statues in front of the People's building on Broad St. if I am in the area. I was heart broken when vandals destroyed one of them and pleased when the talented folks at the American College of the Building Arts built a new one to keep the twin company. Yesterday I learned on facebook that both of the leopards outside are new replicas and the original is safely protected inside the building.

Wikipedia: Mullaly installed the two white marble leopards at the main entrance. Carved from Italian marble by an unknown 18th-century artist, the leopards were brought to Charleston from an estate near Boston, Mass. In 1990, a plan was approved by the Board of Architectural Review which would have replaced the leopards with gas lamps, but the plan was not executed. The leopards were removed for repair in 2003 and reinstalled the following year. In June 2011, the leopard on the right of the entrance was destroyed by vandalism. The remaining statue was moved indoors, and both were reproduced in 2013 by Kevin McLean, an art student at the College of Charleston.

Facebook: Professor Simeon Warren with help from incoming freshman Josiah Vice installed the People's Building lion statue in their lobby today. Simeon created the base to house the one surviving statue safely in the lobby. (photo below from their facebook site)