Since I was an experienced airline traveler by this time, we decided to throw caution to the wind and book a flight. The thing is, 747’s don’t fly from Nashville to Charleston. You have to take a “smaller” aircraft. Like the kind that seats 30. Fortunately, we had a celebrity sighting to take our mind off our impending doom. Bob Eubanks from The Newlywed Game was on our flight. You know how he always looked dashing, handsome, refined and happy on that show. Yeah. He doesn’t look like that so much in person.
I don’t know what Bob was doing in Charleston but Handiman and I had plans and we commenced to vacationing like adults. There were no theme parks, no chain restaurants, no run of the mill hotel. We stayed in an historic (there’s that word again) Bed & Breakfast and it was my favorite part of the trip. It’s called 27 State Street and it’s like something out of a movie. In fact, it was in a movie. Parts of “Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil” were filmed there. (I’ve never seen it but I’m told it’s good). It’s located within walking distance of The Market in the historic downtown area. It’s also within a few blocks of The Battery which has a view of the ocean unlike any other. The B&B owners provided bikes to ride which is the absolute best way to see the city, when you’re in your twenties and bike riding still appeals to you. We spent our days taking tours, carriage rides and exploring museums and old mansions. We ate the best crab cakes and shrimp in the known world. We shopped, we ate breakfast on the veranda, we toured, we walked and Handiman got to tour Ft. Sumter and play golf at Kiawah Island where he spotted a real live crocodile at one of the holes.
One day was spent touring Middleton Place, an 18th century plantation, with the most beautiful grounds I have ever seen. Handiman was completely wrapped up in the fact that it had been the home of four generations which included the president of the first Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. I was far more impressed with the flowers, trees, ponds and wandering ducks. I felt very Scarlett O’Hara that day. And did I mention the gift shop? Very nice. Once again we compromised. He let me purchase a print of the gardens to remember the history and the beauty of it all. It was a win, win, win (him, me & the gift shop owner). It hangs in our dining room today.
Another fond memory I have of the trip was the adventure we had on Sunday morning. We decided it would be interesting to visit a church and Handiman insisted it be an historic one. We did a little research and found First Baptist Church, the oldest Baptist church in the south (circa 1682). Something was telling me there wouldn’t be a praise team and we joked all the way there about “accidentally” clapping after the opening hymn. All laughter stopped however when we walked in the (very old creaky) door and realized we were late. All 10 members in attendance and the pastor stopped to stare at us. There seemed to be a strict rule in place that no one under the age of 70 could attend. I guess they felt sorry for us because they let us stay. We made our way to an empty pew and discovered they had those swinging latched doors on them. Yep. That’s right. We then had to open the (very old creaky) latch door. It makes me wince just thinking about what a spectacle we were. We were mortified but past the point of no return. We couldn’t leave because everybody had watched us come in. I’m also thinking neither of us had a Bible and Handiman was not wearing a tie. Why they didn’t call the authorities I’ll never know. So we did what any self-respecting southern Baptist would do. We started giggling. You know what I’m talking about. When you’re trying too hard not to laugh so your face turns red and your shoulders start shaking and your eyes start watering. At that point we should have gone ahead with our original idea to clap. They couldn’t have thought any less of us. After the service they were all very gracious and a few greeted us and shook our hand, including the pastor. He seemed extremely relieved to hear we were tourist passing through. As a result of this disastrous Sunday morning we have made it a practice to NEVER visit a church while on vacation. I’m sure Jesus completely understands.
If you’ve never been to Charleston you simply must go at least once in your lifetime. It represents the very best of what the south is all about. But whatever you do, don’t take the kids. Unless you want to punish them. In that case there are enough history lessons and walking tours to do the trick. If they’re really bad, take them to the First Baptist Church of Charleston. But do not tell them we sent you.
Exploring The Battery:
Dining on the veranda at 27 State Street:
*If you enjoyed yesterday's perm and black socks, you may now direct laughter towards Handiman's glasses and hair. It's the only fair thing to do.
1 comment:
This is fun....I am loving the photos! :-)
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