Iron Gates

I mentioned in an earlier post that one of my favorite things down here is the architecture. It's absolutely amazing and takes my breath away each time I'm downtown. All spring I volunteered as a tour guide for the Charleston Historical Society and I'm volunteering for a candlelight garden tour in October. I learned so much during my volunteering...about gardening and artwork and architecture. It was like a free education and I can't wait to do it again in the fall. What catches my eye the most are the intricate details of the ironwork all around town—on windows and gates primarily.

Dave and I recently bought a house and needed bedroom furniture. When I volunteered I kept thinking it would be neat to buy an iron gate grille and put it above our bed instead of buying a headboard. So a few weeks ago we were downtown and I found an old iron grille in an antique shop. We bought it and hung it above our bed.

The grille has rust on it (so I'm hoping it's truly authentic) and I love the two fleur-de-lis designs found at its center. Sometimes I stare at it and try to imagine where it was before it came into our home. I like to imagine it was handmade by an ironworker and anchored the front of a gate in an old house downtown that opened only for horse and buggies. With my luck, though, it probably is a replica that was just waiting for a sucker like me to buy it :). In any event, I like not knowing its history...my daydreamed scenarios of where it came from are probably much better than the grille's reality :).

Traffic Jam

The other morning I encountered a traffic jam here in Mt. Pleasant. I couldn't figure out what was going on because traffic jams don't occur very often around here. So I rolled down my window, which takes a lot of courage in this oppressive heat, and leaned my head out the side of the car to get a better look. Just then I saw three geese slowly making their way across the street. Then a whole group of geese followed. It was hilarious--these geese literally stopped traffic and wouldn't move out of the way! We sat there for awhile as the geese leisurely strolled across the street. They finally made it to the other side, and traffic continued on as usual.

Later on as I headed home, the ugliest bird on the planet decided to hang out in the street...directly in my path. I don't know the name of this bird, but he hangs out around our house. He looks like a mix between a turkey and a swan (and that's being kind to the poor guy). He wouldn't leave the street and just stood there. I couldn't pass because I was too close to him and didn't want him to freak out and run directly into my car (he doesn't look like a very smart bird, but I may be stereotyping here . . . what birds do look smart?). I would feel really bad if I killed the ugliest bird on the planet. So I sat there and tried to talk him out of the street. He didn't listen. Finally he decided he was bored with me and went on his merry way.

Looking Forward, Looking Back

Earlier this spring Dave and I went to a performance of "Arabian Nights" by the College of Charleston's theater group. The students were amazingly talented as they performed adaptations of One Thousand and One Nights, tales from Arabic storytellers and authors handed down through the years.

As we sat in the audience I watched as students made their way into the theater. In front of us a group of four students plopped down in their seats. During intermission I eavesdropped as they joked about the play's sexual references, teased a member of the group for sneaking out for a cigarette, and worried out loud about work they had to do. It was so much fun listening to their comfortable banter and you could tell they were close friends. I imagine they were seniors who had roomed together throughout college and at the end of the play I found myself wondering if these students would stay friends. Where would their paths lead? What would they accomplish in their careers? In life? And then I thought of my own college friends--still some of the most important people in my life.

I smiled to myself as the students walked away.

As Dave and I walked out of the theater I ran into a woman I had met the day before at a volunteer job. I really liked her because she took the time to teach me about the plants in the garden we both worked in. It was so neat to run into her at the play so that I could introduce her to Dave. She introduced me to her husband and then explained that he is a retired professor at the College of Charleston. They had moved to Charleston early in their married life in the 1950s for his job as a professor. They both were very interested in our new life in Charleston and our life at the College and asked us about the courses Dave teaches and what I do for a living. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them.

And as we said goodbye and walked away, I could feel their smiles follow us out of the room.

Where are Scully and Mulder when you need them?

The local Fox news came on tonight after American Idol. About ten minutes into the program the newscaster mentioned a possible Bigfoot sighting not too far from Charleston. Dave and I immediately stopped what we were doing--I put down my laptop and he put down his book--to hear if Sasquatch really had made an appearance in the lowcountry. Perhaps he heard that spring was a nice time to visit?

What got me about the report was not the Bigfoot sighting or even that the local news was reporting it.

What really got me was that the newscaster casually mentioned that some people think that it wasn't Bigfoot, but instead the "legendary Lizard Man." I couldn't believe my ears. I looked at Dave and said, "Did she just say 'legendary Lizard Man'?" Dave nodded, thrilled at the prospect of a green monster roaming the area.

I picked up my laptop and went straight to Google. Sure enough, there have been "sightings" of a green, scaly monster with glowing red eyes. Here's what Wikipedia has to say:

"The Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp (also known as The Lizard Man Of Lee County), is a humanoid cryptid which is said to inhabit areas of swampland in and around Lee County, South Carolina. The Lizard Man is described as being seven feet tall, bipedal, and well built, with green scaly skin and glowing red eyes. It is said to have three toes on each foot and three fingers on each hand which end in long black claw-like nails."

Great. Now on top of alligators, snakes, and the ginormous roaches palmetto bugs that fly around here, I have to worry about a bipedal humanoid cryptid. Is there no justice in this world?

This made me laugh and laugh and laugh and . . .

Dave and I really have noticed that Charleston is a laid-back kind of town. You should see the bars on a Sunday afternoon--packed! People down here really do seem to enjoy life. That laid-back attitude crops up in the funniest places. Our street name, for instance, is Vagabond Lane. Right next to us is Gypsy Court. And I keep seeing signs around town that make me laugh out loud. Like this one. I think I laughed for 20 minutes straight.

Long time gone

It's so good to be posting back on this blog! A confluence of events prevented me from updating the blog this past month...

1) My desktop computer decided to go on strike. I've now gotten a new laptop that I love! I'm no longer chained to a computer that only works when it wants to.

2) Spring has sprung here in Charleston. I am easily distracted and this spring fever I have caught hasn't helped!

3) I've been volunteering for the Historic Charleston Foundation as a docent for historic home tours and garden tours around Charleston. It has been amazing and I'm treating it like a free education. I'm learning a lot (but have so much more to learn). I've decided to enroll in a Master Gardener program (Clemson has an extension in Charleston).

On top of freelance work and some travel mixed in (I took an amazing trip to Nashville with my sister-in-law in February) it's been a busy month or so. We love Charleston, although I still get homesick once in awhile. But this city right now is absolutely beautiful. Spring here is like paradise...but I know the cruel heat of summer awaits!

Spring in Charleston:

The sea lion that wasn't

Tonight Dave got home from work a little early so he, Nomini, and I headed to the beach for an evening walk.

As I've said before, Nomini absolutely loves the beach. She runs and plays and wags her tail and, most importantly, wears herself out. Tonight was no different. She had a blast investigating the seashells and digging in the sand.

As we were walking, a thick fog rolled in and we could barely see anything ahead of us. It reminded me of the beach scenes in The Goonies. It was eerie being out on the beach and we almost expected a pirate ghost ship to make its way inland (wouldn't Dave have loved that!).

Up ahead of us at one point I saw a weird shape. At first I thought it was a large dog running around, but as we got closer it didn't look like a dog. Instead, it looked like a huge sea lion coming in out of the ocean. It was really hard to see through the fog and I immediately began an internal debate in my brain. I flip-flopped between That's not a sea lion--they don't live on the S.C. coast to That IS a sea lion and it's huge! to There is NO way that's a sea lion to OH MY GOD, IT'S A SEA LION AND HE'S COMING TO ATTACK US--RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At which point, I proceeded to scream and take off with Nomini in the opposite direction. We left Dave in the dust, or I should say, sand.

After a few minutes of calming down and listening to Dave laugh and laugh at me, we realized it was two people who were wrestling and running around. I made Dave admit that to him, too, it looked like a sea lion. I guess walking in the misty light of the fog made my imagination run wild and my legs run fast!