Wentworth Mansion

Wentworth St., Charleston, SC  

It's difficult to imagine that this beautiful hotel used to be an insurance building. Now it is the Wentworth Mansion and has won many awards for luxury inns of its size. I had dinner at the restaurant a couple of years ago and they let me snoop around a bit. You can check out some of the rooms on their web site. It is a beautiful building and I'm happy to see it being well used.

Time for me to get my lazy self out for a walk.

Charleston Pride Parade - 2015

Pride Parade, King St., Charleston, SC  

Have you ever seen such a joyful, colorful parade? Perhaps they can be put in charge of all of our parades. I am glad I got to town in time to grab these happy photo ops. More photos uploading here. Help yourself!

August 1st - theme day: Bicycles

North Charleston River Front Park - Sculpture

There are "Daily Photo Blogs" featuring cities all over the world and on the first day of each month, many of them participate in a theme day photo. The August theme day topic is to feature a "bicycle in your city". I can do that!

This colorful bike sculpture delights me and I had to track it down after I saw a picture of it. It is part of the outdoor sculpture competition at the Riverfront Park in North Charleston.

This is the link to information on the National Outdoor Sculpture Competition information. They are currently featuring fourteen sculptures by established and emerging artists from across the nation and are on display for eleven month. I learned that the colorful bike art is by Meuller & Charzewski and that I missed some described on the site and will need to go back. Thank you North Charleston!

Click here to see Bicycle Theme Day photos from around the world. There may be one from your city!
 

Zodiac Women - which one are you?

Grayce Perry, Canada  

When I was in Canada in June I was tickled to catch the end of my sister Grayce's show in artsy Elora, Ontario. Grayce has worked in different mediums but her most recent work is in collage and features the women of the zodiac. Each one is original and to a certain extent I believe can be personalized. You can check samples of your own sign in her work at this site: Zodiac Series. What a great personalized gift.

The show was a hit and I imagine she sold out of most of them but we can make her create more, right? I have no idea how shipping charges work from Canada but I am sure it could be worked out if you were interested in a Perry original. Her contact info is on the biography page. Tell her you know me :).

My Sign - Aquarius! 

Old Navy Base - Quarters H-I

Charleston Navy Base, North Charleston, SC   

My last post left everyone so sad seeing the fading glory of the building on the old Navy Base that today's photo is intended to be a more positive view. This is the neighbor of yesterday's photo.

Lovely! In my recent visit I noticed that the walkway and driveway at Quarters H-I was all new, the landscaping was fresh and lovely and the building looks in good shape. Happy day!

This particular building was often featured in the series Army Wives. Here is a 2012 article from the Post & Courier by Robert Behr:

Old Navy Base's Best Building Renewed: It may be the finest architectural work on the former Charleston Naval Base, and a $1.5 million renovation is putting Quarters H-I back into use after remaining vacant for more than a decade.
Built in 1905, this Renaissance Revival work is a highly eclectic blend of classical, arts and crafts and Italianate flourishes -- a Beaux Arts beauty built of first-rate materials.
While the old Navy base has industrial buildings far grander in scale, none of them match this for attention to detail, befitting its original use as the offices of the Commandant, his staff and for the Captain of the Yard.
Its grandeur also fits its prominent site. The 8,000-square-foot rectangular building sits atop one of the base's most prominent hilltops and on axis with the Cooper River in Frederick Law Olmsted's Chicora Park design (Charleston briefly created its own equivalent to New York's Central Park here before President Theodore Roosevelt and the U.S. Navy got interested in the land).

Old Navy Base - North Charleston

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Something is different every time I walk at the old Navy Base property in North Charleston. Some buildings are gradually getting fixed up, sidewalks and parking lots pop up and new businesses move it. Other buildings sadly fall into worse and worse shape.

In other and unrelated news, I have been watching an odd but entertaining BBC series called A Young Doctor's Notebook starring John Hamm and Daniel Radcliffe on Netflix about a young doctor in Russia in the early 1900's.

Before & After - Coming St.

Coming St., Charleston, SC   

Here is a colorful transformation. Wowza! If you saw this house on it's own you probably wouldn't immediately guess that it was in downtown Charleston.

A few years ago when I was selling and aiming to downsize I knew where every small house was on the peninsula on my walking route. At that time this mess above was for sale for $515,000. I have a sneaky feeling they did not get their asking price!

Room for one for the night?

Eutawville, SC  

It doesn't quite fit the new tiny house fad but almost. I didn't get inside to give you a proper photo tour but as I understand it, it is the old one room jail. I hope there weren't too many crimes committed at once in little Eutawville by the Lake since it isn't very roomy. Y'all behave now.

I've lazed around long enough after work, eating leftovers and watching recorded Naked & Afraid shows. Time to get outside and get a good walk in before it gets dark.

Royal Stamp Photo Party

Queen Vera, Charleston, SC 

Ohhh, I have been neglecting the blog for the quick thrill of facebook posts lately. I toss a picture up on FB and get so many immediate responses. Then, I feel like half my audience has already seen the image and I hesitate to backtrack and post it here. Shame on me. On the other hand, do feel free to join me on Facebook.

Once I realized that an individual is allowed to design and make custom legit US postage stamps from Zazzle.com I couldn't let it go. I was a childhood hobby stamp collector. Why should only the royal family be allowed to have royal stamps? I decided I could take care of that.

I ordered a tiara and bought a roll of red ribbon for a sash. I brought home all the shiny gold pins from various awards and events that I used as push pins on my bulletin board at work. I googled Queen Elizabeth stamps and decided my mother's old navy woolen nursing school cape would suit. I stopped at Joanne's Fabrics and bought a couple yards of blue background cloth to hang in my sun room and tossed out a Royal Stamp Photo invitation on Facebook.

What a silly fun afternoon we had! I downloaded the Last Night of The Proms so play as background music. I didn't come up with suitable tea party menu since I ordered pulled pork from my neighborhood pork dealer - Swine & Swig, but we did have them in cute little slider buns.

My friend Laura came prepared with lots of shiny bling - necklaces and earrings and two mink stoles! Thanks to all the ladies who made it an afternoon that will go down in royal history.

Cheers kids!

Queen Rebecca of West Ashley, Charleston

Meeting St.

Meeting St., Charleston, SC 

 

I posted this picture last night and then fell to sleep. Busy days, kids!

 

Every once and a while you just need a pretty Charleston picture because that is what we fell in love with in the first place, right?  

Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye

Crown Royal Whisky tasting, Charleston, SC 

The only thing better than a Charleston daily photo is a photo with whisky in it, don't you think? I was invited to the Crown Royal Whisky tasting at Stars Rooftop restaurant.

Crown Royal Canadian Whisky recently expanded its portfolio with the announcement of two new variants. Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye, the brand’s first-ever blended rye whisky, and Crown Royal Hand Selected Barrel, paying homage to the brand’s signature smoothness. Acclaimed Master of Whisky, Stephen Wilson, led a guided whisky tasting and showcased Northern Harvest Rye cocktails perfect for the summer season.

While the other attendees took the time to savor and describe all the subtle flavors and spices they detected I simply sipped and thought, "hmmmm.....THAT is nice". I was invited because of my social media presence so I gave them double exposure by inviting fellow blogger Chuckography along with me. He didn't mind at all.

Cheers!

This is a cake!

Chuck tries a Crown Royal contail

Now this, is a tree!

McLeod Oak, Charleston, SC 

I have a new favorite tree (as I often do)! This one is the McLeod Plantation Oak tree and is estimated to be 600 years old.

McLeod Plantation

McLeod Plantation, Charleston, SC  

I finally made it out to McLeod Plantation, the latest addition to the Charleston County Park system. I've driven by it so many times and stopped to take pictures from the street. It's wonderful to be able to explore and learn about this historic and significant piece of property. The New York Times has already done a write up on it.

In this case the picturesque row of white cottages were slave quarters and you are invited to take a look inside most of them and walk the avenue of oaks down to the river.

Established in 1851, McLeod Plantation has borne witness to some of the most significant periods of Charleston’s - and our nations - history. Today McLeod Plantation is an important Gullah/Geechee heritage site carefully preserved in recognition of its cultural and historical significance. The 36-acre plantation is a peaceful, moss-draped oasis sheltered from the hustle and bustle of James Island, just across the Ashley River from historic downtown Charleston. The grounds include a riverside outdoor pavilion, a sweeping oak allée, and the McLeod Oak, which is thought to be more than 600 years old.

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.