Charleston, South Carolina had been on my brain lately for whatever compelling reason and not just because of the possibility of sailing up that ways for a change of scenery either.
Miami is most certainly a vibrant cosmopolitan city to say the least but it is nevertheless in a foreign country and I had been imagining that it sure would be nice to set sail on back to the U.S. where English is routinely spoken.
So it was no surprise to my Lady-friend the other day when I suggested that we make a slight detour down through Charleston on our way back from a recent road-trip up in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
It also just so happens to be that I was born in Charleston over half-a-century ago and was somewhat intrigued about my birthplace since I simply didn't remember squat of that place having moved away at a very young age. The exception being all the Spanish Moss clinging down from all the tall trees back then.
The truth is, all that stringy, grey moss was my only memory of Charleston because it would invariably creep me out whenever darkness would set in at night. So I'm thinking that the one and only good thing about Hurricane Hugo sweeping on through the place back in '89 was that it blew away all the creepy moss off of the trees.
The tree leaves all grew back in no time but the moss has yet to return... which is a good thing as far as I am concerned.
My only real impressions of that city happened to be from an issue of National Geographic printed back in the mid-eighties when magazines use to be published and when Charleston happened to be featured on the cover that month.
That issue included numerous full page photos of the city and discussed in great detail the history and revitalization of that historical town that had now become a tourist destination of all things.
Well I can tell you first hand that Charleston is a charming little city with numerous exclusive restaurants and quaint shops. The city also boasts having many historical churches scattered on virtually every street corner, each having its own historical graveyard.
All of which has me thinking... Is it little wonder that there are so many ghost sightings throughout the city? Seems to me that the city has been run amok with tourists and that the ghosts can't get enough rest and consequently haven't anything better to do than to roam the streets at night along with the reveling tourists. I'm just saying...
Fort Sumter, Charleston South Carolina
The white steeple in town leans to one side as a result of an earthquake that devastated the city back in 1886.
Me getting ready to light the fuse and blow up some power boaters out in the harbor just for the hell of it... Battery Park, Charleston South Carolina
My sister Charo retrieving a cannon ball while I get the fuse ready...
I feel like an exhausted chicken looking at this picture...
Darn it... next time I'll take a cannon ball from off the top... I almost got my toes smooshed.
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