On Wednesday we spent a few hours in the morning packing up the camper, and then about two and a half hours driving to Charleston. We got there, resolved the reservation issue, parked, and spent awhile unpacking. Then we watched Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith, and Sean and I got online, and Cheryl made pork chops (I tried to help but that kitchen is tiny), and that was pretty much the extent of our first day.
On Thanksgiving we got up reasonably early, had some cereal, and headed to downtown Charleston. Once Reid decided where he wanted to park (quite a feat), we walked around looking at buildings and shops. The first real sight was the church of which Cheryl and Reid have a painting in their dining room.
After that, we had lunch at a cool Irish pub/grill called Tommy Condon's (and you know what I originally thought it said).
We saw some neat stuff in an open-air market, reminiscent of the one in Savannah. I tried some pralines at a candy shop. We walked down a long pier that extended into the bay.
And I got some decent architectural shots. This one's my favorite:
As evening approached, we headed back to the truck. I got a neat picture of a brick building; Sean said, "Why are you taking a picture of the garbage?" Because it looked neat I tell you! (I also got a shot of the other side of the building.)
Back at the camper, we set about fixing and eating Thanksgiving dinner, after which we watched Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Sean and I stayed up a little too late on the Internet after that.
Yesterday was pretty much a waste of a day. Cheryl and Reid let Sean and me sleep in for far too long. We finally got up at 11:45. Sluggishly, we took our showers, only to discover that Cheryl and Reid hadn't taken their showers yet either...so with all the preparation and waiting for the hot water tank to refill, we didn't actually leave the camper until 4:30 pm.
Absolutely ridiculous.
I'll admit to some fault for not setting an alarm, but they could have, you know, at least gone ahead and showered. And why didn't they ask us "Do you really want to sleep in this long?" instead of just assuming?
Bah.
Anyway, we left at 4:30, and this time we headed to Folly Beach.
It was really beautiful with the sunset and all, and I didn't mind the freezing cold (though Cheryl certainly did!). We walked out across the sand and looked around and took pictures. Sufficiently chilled, we piled back in the truck and drove around the island a little, looking at the houses. Then we headed back to the camper, where we ate hotdogs and watched Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones (and I noticed some story tie-ins with the third movie that I hadn't before).
And that was our whole day.
Only two days of exploring, one of which almost totally wasted.
Today we got up around 8 am, did not take showers (much to my chagrin; my hair always looks terrible when I don't wash it in the morning), packed everything up, and left. On the way home in the car (thank goodness we took our own vehicle), I ended up bitching quite a bit to Sean, and finally I just burst into tears. He told me it wasn't worth crying over, and I suppose it really wasn't, but I think I needed an emotional release after everything I've been through recently. It had been a long time since I'd felt comfortable enough to cry.
Yes, I was frustrated about going to a beautiful city and hardly seeing any of it, about not having enough time to do the things I wanted to do, about none of my suggestions being even considered, about sleeping in a very small and uncomfortable bed in an extraordinarily chilly camper, and about being guilt-tripped into quasi-agreeing to go on the same trip again in two years (Thanksgiving being with my family next year). But I think it was a "last straw" scenario. (I also think that living with the in-laws is starting to wear pretty thin.)
But I have the best husband in the world, and he listened to me complain and rubbed my leg and neck and held my hand while I cried in the car, and then got me a nice meatball sub for lunch. When we got home we took a shower together and napped together and made love and I started to feel human again.
I'm not sure what we'll do when Thanksgiving 2007 rolls around. Cheryl is pretty set on going to Charleston every year (perhaps for the rest of her life!). So if we end up going, we may get ourselves a hotel room to avoid some of the problems of this trip.
Regardless, I hope someday I get to take some real time and see more of Charleston.
8 comments:
Well, I thought that annoying lack of consideration for daughters-in-law (referring to the comment about your suggestions not being taken into consideration) was only in Pakistani culture. Must just be an in-law thing in general. Anyway, I've lived with my in-laws, and I can totally relate. I think you should do all your holidays with your folks since you live your everyday life with your inlaws, making them far luckier. Also, you could tell them that you're all for giving them every other year, but that you'd like them to just come to your home for dinner, then do a quick getaway to wherever the heck you want the rest of the weekend.
Okay, obviously an emotional hotpoint for me. Enough meddling and getting upset.
But still, when I remember the story about the pancakes.....grrrr.....
I thought the problem with Pakistanis was that they thought mini-marts and gas stations were the awesomest things in the world. To try and say that in-law related issues only have something to do with sand monkeys is pretty racist.
You're in luck, Heather Meadows!! :D I'll have you know that I know a LOT about Charleston, and ANY TIME you'd like to go, if I can swing it, I'd be MORE than happy to be the unofficial tour guide!
For example, that "church" in your pictures is St, Micheal's, one of the oldest Anglican churches in the US, having being established in 1751, and it made it through the civil war. If you stand at the far end of the street, and look directly at the steeple, it's slightly off, where all the civil war explosions and things going on around it, knocked it off kilter. The cemetery behind it (and the church itself) is one the national registry of historical places, as being two of the oldest places in the US.
That cemetery makes for great wandering around at dusk, too, and is a VERY popular area for that, too. Kind of funny that you can walk through a cemetery, and say "Hi," and "Good evening" to people, because there are SO many in there!! -Living, that is. :P
Did you notice the wrought iron, too? Of course you did, there's no way you can't in that city. The wrought iron in Charleston became a large market, and developed into a major art form, as well; antique Charleston wrought iron is gorgeous, and highly collectible, if memory serves.
Okay, enough rambling about Charleston (can you tell my family went there each summer for years and years?)I'm packing up my bike, and heading towards the Canal..
And you guys didn't even get to the old market, I bet.. PITY!! The market's always SO MUCH FUN in the summer.. :D
See you in a few, Hea. :)
Jazz, I would love to do all our holidays back in Kentucky. However, Cheryl doesn't have any other children, and she says she feels lonely when Sean isn't here on holidays. (Back when we were thinking that we wouldn't go to Charleston with them, but we'd still go to Kentucky for Christmas, she said that was unfair because then she wouldn't be able to see us at all. I thought that was hilariously ridiculous, but didn't press the issue.)
I do like that idea of inviting them to our place for the meal. I will definitely have to think about that.
(Switching the holidays every year was actually my idea; I thought that would be the most fair to both sets of in-laws.)
AJ...just...geez :>
Brooke, yay! We'll definitely have to plan a trip, then! (And stay in a HOTEL...)
We went to a market, with long stalls full of vendors just like in Savannah. Is there another one?
I like your photos. I've never been to any of these places but the warm colors and homey atmosphere really make me wanna check it out.
Thanks, Miklos! :)
If you went to the market not far down from St. Michael's, then you went to the one I'm talking about; there's history about THAT place, too, seeing as it's always been a market area, but it was actually the SLAVE MARKET way back in time.
Were the older ladies there at the ends of each building, selling and weaving the sweet grass baskets? Used to, when I was a little girl and we were down there, they'd be there in the summer, weaving sweet grass baskets, and talking gullah.
Yeah, that's the one.
The market was kind of sparse, because we went on Thanksgiving. I don't think I saw the ladies with the sweet grass baskets.
I did see a guy selling cool charcoal drawings; he'd do your portrait for $20. I was sorely tempted. There was also a guy selling statues and bowls from Africa--he showed me Malawi and South African masks too. Sean and I liked the bowls and almost got one.
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