Sights, Sounds, and Smells of Charleston

 Allison's much-anticipated appointment is over.  We've been waiting for it for so long that it's hard to come to the realization that it is already past.

Her appointment was in the afternoon, so a morning drive wasn't too much for the four of us.  We left early, so we enjoyed cool, foggy weather for quite a bit of the trip down there.

 The sun shining through the fog created a cool, calming beauty.

Allison wasn't too thrilled with the early morning ; ), so she was thankful for the opportunity to kick back and relax sleep. : )

Boy! were we glad we weren't going in the opposite direction!

The Lord blessed us with safety and no traffic jams.  We were so thankful to get there early enough to check in to the hotel and freshen up before venturing out to find the hospital. : )

"I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye."
Psalm 32:8

It was delightful to find that our room had a waterfront view!  (Can't you hear the sarcasm?)  It wasn't that bad . . . we just found a lot of humor in our deck that was maybe 1 foot off the ground with a rail that you could reach out and touch upon opening the sliding glass doors. : )

Just as we were getting ready to leave for the hospital, the cable guy decided he needed to mess with the TV in our room.  (sigh)  So we stayed another 15 minutes while he did what he needed to do.

Paperwork is the most dreaded thing on earth.  Really... what exactly are they asking and do they really want a 3 page list???

The clipboard goes back and forth several times during the process. : )

Just overjoyed to be waiting. : )

Spread the cheer! : )

I've waited long enough!

Just kidding.  She's a patient patient. : )

(Hmmmmmm . . . wonder if there is a reason why they're called that???)

We were probably having a little too much fun, but, hey, it's better than just sitting and staring at one another....... although that would be enough to make Allison laugh. : )

Then came the fun part.  We knew there would be labs, but this many?!?

Monday evening, she had 15 vials drawn for unpronounceable tests.

The guy drawing her blood made up for it.  He was super nice and gentle.

You reckon she has any left???

Still smiling!  (And, yes, the clock says 5:20 . . . we'd been there over 3 hours!)

Keeping the pressure on . . .

Just one more . . .

And there's nothing like chocolate to sooth the wounded. : )

Tuesday dawned nice and clear, but it was hard to drag our weary bodies out of bed.  Allison had to start her 24-hour test, but didn't have to be bound to any one place.  Eventually we loaded up and headed to Folly Beach.  Our intention was to see the lighthouse, but found out there would be a 1/4 mile walk.  We weren't sure the battery on the wheelchair would last, so we opted for a handicap access to the beach.

Soaking in the cool breeze and salty sea air . . .

It fooled us!  Apparently there had been a flood recently, so the end of the ramp was gone.  We teased about playing real life Mario Karts, but Allison wasn't game for that. : )

Collecting seashells . . .

We were staying right beside the marina, so practically everywhere we went required crossing a bridge.

This was Allison's lot all day Tuesday.  She was absolutely thrilled that every time she turned around, someone was reminding her to "Drink some water" or "Be sure to take a sip" . . .

Well . . . maybe not . . . : )

Then she got a hold of the camera . . .

"As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God."

Psalm 42:1

That evening had something special in store.  We headed into downtown Charleston and frantically searched for a parking spot.

As long as you follow the horse and buggy, you will stay in Charleston.  And you will eventually end up back at the downtown market.  Can't guarantee how long it will take to get there, but eventually . . .

We didn't actually test this theory to make sure it was foolproof seeing as how we had an appointment to keep.

We were trying to keep this a surprise for as long as we could, but we couldn't figure out exactly where we were supposed to be.  She found out just before we found a parking place. : )

Christina treated us to a ride in a private horse-drawn carriage!!!!

Our driver/tour guide was excellent.  Lots of information mingled with a good sense of humor.

The downtown market.  Lots of hustle and bustle.  One of the absolute busiest places in Charleston.  It used to be the Slaves' Market, but as our guide explained, it's equivalent to our Farmers' Markets today.  They didn't buy slaves at the Slaves' Market any more than we buy farmers at the Farmers' Market. : )

The Old Powder Magazine

Built with very thick walls and a tin roof.  Their reasoning was that if it blew up, the pressure would blow the roof off (the path of least resistance), and the explosion would go straight up instead of damaging the buildings around it.  Of course, they never tested it out seeing as how the building is still there. : )

Downtown

Just dreaming of a horse and buggy . . .

There were wrought iron fences everywhere . . . literally.

And there were about as many churches.  At least one for every block in the center of town.

Elwood, "our" horse, was so funny when he came to a stoplight.  He didn't understand the concept of the light, but he did understand that he didn't like the big truck behind him.  Since he had blinders on and couldn't easily see behind him, he would turn his whole head around to look at that loud beast who dared to get behind him.  Our guide, Matt, was turned around talking to us, and Elwood took that opportunity to step out.  Matt clucked at him and told him to come back . . . it wasn't time to go.  As soon as he turned back around to resume where he had left off, Elwood decided to take off again.  This continued for several minutes until Matt decided to legally run the stoplight by turning right and doing a U-turn. : )

Allison enjoyed herself immensely.

We all enjoyed her surprise! : )

The Ashley River

and the houses facing it.

Way over $1 million homes.

If you look closely, you'll see the ivy on the fronts of the steps.  Every detail of Charleston is so elegant!

Most of the porch ceilings are painted a haint blue.  The superstition was that when the loved ones died and their spirits came to visit, they would see the blue and think it was the sky.  Instead of entering the house and getting trapped inside, they would go up.  Of course, our guide also pointed out that Charleston had the reputation as the most haunted city.  Whatever will sell the most tours . . . : )

This is a request for the house that we build . . . a piazza!  We loved the fake wall with a door at the end of the porches!

Another piazza . . .

A peek over a privacy wall . . .

 

The market is extremely busy until 6:00.  Come 6:00 everybody packs up and it becomes practically deserted.  We found this out the hard way. : )  We had planned to take a walk through the market as soon as we finished our carriage ride, but they were all packed up by the time we got there. : (

That is on our agenda for next time.

This is a common sight.  There are horse and buggies (private) as well as wagons (not private) going around town constantly.

And this is the barn where "our" horse belongs.

He even has his own little name plate.

The only things that mar Charleston are the vehicles and the power lines.  It's busy, but laid back.  Fast paced with a leisure kind of air to it.  And definitely with a hospitality only the South can boast of. : )

See what I mean?  Totally desolate.

After we went shirt shopping for Allison, we had a photo shoot in this picturesque walkway.

They even have bike taxis.  Tons of them!  Wonder how much they charge! : )

Restaurants were crowded full to overflowing.

This guy really struck us as hilarious.  He was sitting there with the keyboard playing one of its programmed tunes while he tried to act like he was the one playing it.  At a glance, it was obvious to us that he wasn't even touching the keyboard except for hitting a key here and there.  But tourists were actually throwing money in his basket!

Our evening downtown was very relaxing and SO much fun!  At the end of our carriage ride, we got a call from the nurse informing us that the doctor had ordered more blood tests that he wanted drawn the next morning.  So Wednesday morning, we were at the hospital a little after 9 to drop off her test and to get more labs done.  It ended up being 10 more vials.  The ones drawing the blood were impressed by the rarity of the tests.  So rare that some of them weren't even in any of their catalogs.  They had to write the codes in.  Two hours after arriving, we were able to head back to the hotel to grab the remaining bags, etc.

Although we had an excellent time, we were glad to be on our way home back to the rest of the family . . .

. . . and back to our own beds. : )

"I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.  He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed."

Psalm 37: 25-26