Charleston

I spent a long weekend with my girl, Mel.  I flew to Columbia, SC, where she was spending a couple weeks doing her patriotic duty at Fort Jackson.  Paying back the Army for dental school.  Taking care of the GIs' teeth.  She had Monday off for Memorial Day, so we decided to head to Charleston.  It's about 120 miles from Columbia.

We lucked into a hotel room in the downtown historic district.  Pretty amazing since the Spoleto Festival had just started and it was a holiday weekend.  Great rates, too.  More about that later.

Mel had rented a convertable, (just for me), so when we finally figured out how to put the top down, we slathered ourselves in sunscreen and took off on our big adventure.

There's so much to tell now, but unfortunately, no time.  I'm still catching up from being gone.  For now, though, here are a few things I remember fondly:

Shrimp and grits; peeking into all the beautiful courtyards, like the one above; the old cemetery tucked away in the heart of the city; walking along the waterfront; taking the water taxi across the harbor and getting caught in a sudden rainstorm, getting soaked, and drying off from the wind before we got to the other side; room service (too many times) of sliders and fries and the densest chocolate cake in the world; hot stone massages and pedicures; wandering through the historic district for hours; venturing out for a late night dessert at a really cool restaurant; getting a free dessert since they brought pots du creme instead of the chocolate pate we'd ordered; and of course, lots of shopping in funky little shops and a huge, open air market.

We packed a lot into a few short days, so I have more to tell about, plus some great pictures.  For now, though, I need to run.

More later...