Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Be A Tourist In Your Own Backyard....

Well, I did know that Wild Dunes was toward the end of the Isle of Palms.

I had driven past the entrance.

Think I attended a party there once in a place that looked like a beach cottage.

WOW. My visiting daughter just spent two nights there and I was invited to join her.

Glad that I did. What a nice resort!

After a fine dinner prepared in her suite's kitchen, we walked down to the beach and passed this chair.

(Yes, I used Photoshop to take away the stairs they had climbed.)

She had asked me if there was a grocery store nearby that she could reach by bicycle?

Huh? I thought the Piggly Wiggly or Bi-Lo in Mount Pleasant at the other end of the Connector would be a very long way to pedal.

The desk informed us there was a Red & White store just before you reached the connector.

We drove there and picked up groceries.


Another thing I had not done before was take a Ghost Walk downtown.

Ooooohhhh. Eerie and spooky.

We walked back alleys and treaded carefully through graveyards.

The guide set the proper tone and, as darkness fell, we really got in the mood.

Diners at Poogan's Porch stopped conversations as we stood across the street - by the Mills House - and heard about "the lady in black.

She is reputed to "live" upstairs at Poogan's and particularly seems to like the ladies powder room.




Have you ever tried to explain a Joggling Board?

They seemed to pop up in strange places all over Charleston.

A carriage tour guide explained them best as a way that a couple could court "back in the day."

With or without parental approval.

As you bounced, you slid closer together.

Almost innocently.

Obey the Law of Gravity.


While it was not part of our night tour of haunts, we drove over to the Old City Jail.

Taking the next step to being scared.

We did not go in but had had it pointed out on an earlier carriage ride so knew it was close by.

I had recently taken the walk out on the new pier at Shem Creek so I was able to share that as well as a fine Thai meal downtown at Basil and sinful and decadent desserts at Rue de Jean.

Mais oui. Tres bien!

The ladies have flown back to Oakland and are back at work today.

It had been ten years since my daughter had visited Charleston although I've seen her in California a few times.

Out there I was the tourist.

(Click on the pictures for details.)

Even before she left, she was snapping pictures with her iphone and posting them on Facebook.

I'm not quite that adept yet but I sent her pictures today.

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posted by chuckography @ 12:40 PM 2 Comments

Thursday, September 22, 2011

99 Bottles Of Beer On The Wall .....

When you return from vacation, you have to unpack.

And put things away.

And process nearly 1100 photographs. Yikes.

This is a pleasant chore though.

People without cameras miss that chance to RE-visit.

I remember smiling when this beer was brought to my table.

"Here's lookin' at you, kid."

My Smartphone has an app called "Brewster" which lets me tally every new beer I try.

It also lets me add a check mark when I repeat one.

And it shows on a map WHERE I had that beer.

This particular one is mapped in San Leandro, a town southeast of Oakland, California.


My son lives in San Diego so this amber ale appears on the map there.

His dog Sadie was dozing while guarding the front door.

When I opened this one, she was suddenly alert and we had an instant connection.

Might say I passed a Lab test in my choice of beer.

While still up in Northern California, we headed out to "climb a mountain" for a great view of fog rolling in.

Actually you drive up higher and higher and park. It's only a short walk from the parking lot to viewing spots.

Well, it WAS at 2,300 feet elevation.

This is the Richmond-San Raphael Bridge which takes you past San Quentin prison.

It sort of reminded me of our old Cooper River Bridge which did have the County Jail beneath it on the Charleston side.

The view was breath-taking and the fog DID seem to creep in on tiny cat's paws.

My daughter pointed out you can barely see the SUTRO TOWER on Twin Peaks in The City By The Bay.

That's it poking up in the upper left.

I left 90 degree weather here so the cooler California temperatures were VERY welcome.

I had packed long-sleeved shirts, jeans and slacks, remembering Mark Twain's classic "The coldest winter I ever spent was one summer in San Francisco."

That same afternoon, we had a snack and beverages at Lake Chalet.

This is a tranquil waterside park, right in the heart of downtown Oakland.

The after-work crowd sat out on the pier under colorful red umbrellas, took rides in an Italian gondola and watched rowers glide past as the lowering sun reflected on nearby buildings.

Yes, I sampled another local beer. I put it on the Oakland map.
Of course you should click on the photos for more detail. Twice. Then you can find the Sutro Tower. It was MUCH warmer in San Diego so I had to buy shorts, t-shirts, flip-flops and sun block. They'll get lots of use back here. Thanks for tagging along on my trip. More to come.

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posted by chuckography @ 9:37 AM 0 Comments