Chapel Hill is a long way from Charleston, SC. You don't really think about distances between cities until you have to drive them. I got caught up on my podcasts and even spent some time driving in silence before rolling into the Charleston area around 3:00pm.
This was originally a family vacation, a short trip to the coast to hang out and eat good food before everyone gets really busy with school and work. Those plans started to fall apart when the kids had other plans but instead of canceling, we decided to go without them. G had to miss a couple of days of our beach vacation because of dog drama and she was going to Charleston with or without us. I ended up meeting her there during a very uncommon weather event.
The event was unseasonably cool weather. I mean, a hurricane would be more common during the summer in Charleston. There was a lot of cloud cover and the occasional shower, but being in Charleston in August and not being drenched in sweat immediately after walking outside was worth the risk of rain. We had a good dinner at Saltwater Cowboys and since we didn't have any real plans, we just drove around Mount Pleasant and explored some of the historic district. We walked out Pitt Street Bridge and admired the landscape. The rain moved in as soon as we made it back to the car.
One of my favorite things to to in Charleston (or on any vacation) is to run. When we stay in Mount Pleasant during a Charleston visit, I get to run the Cooper River Bridge. This is an oddly tense situation for me because I'm a little apprehensive about driving over big bridges and I'm afraid of falling from heights. But also, Charleston is so flat and you get such a great view up on the bridge. It's always beautiful, even in a crazy thunderstorm (which I got caught running in during my last trip). Since I was missing my extra miles of cross country practice while out of town, I had been adding on some mileage during the mornings. This allowed me to run all the way across the bridge and back and it killed my thighs. Hills in Charleston!
G was owed a beach day and so on Sunday, we had breakfast and drove to the beach at Sullivan's Island. It was cloudy and we got drizzled on a little, but it was so cool and nice to be outside. I got to take lots of photos of birds and I got to pet a dog. I even walked a little, but my legs were pretty tired so I kept that at a low distance.
Again, we had no real plans and only two opinions instead of four to consider, so we just sort of winged it. After washing the sand off, we got dinner and then found our way to Shem Creek Park and found a really cool, really beautiful and really long boardwalk. This added more miles to my day but the views were worth the shaky legs.
People watching on vacation is always at the top of my to-do list. I mentioned in the last post that I was in an artistically receiving mode and that continued in Charleston. Everything was inspiring and I was noticing images of suns, moons and stars everywhere I looked. Also, for reasons I haven't yet figured out, shrimp made an appearance every day.
Monday started with a 5 mile run across the bridge and back. I almost trampled a young woman who was gabbing with her friends and not paying attention. She got scared by an oncoming bike while walking in the bike lane and as she jumped back into formation with her friends, I was attempting to thread the needle between them. This scared her more and as I apologized ahead of them, I heard lots of laughter and apologies coming from behind me.
I got to my car just as the rain started and it would continue through the morning. We had planned to make this our downtown walking day and when we found two umbrellas, we just decided to walk in the rain. I had this amazing biscuit at Callie's Hot Little Biscuit in the Market and then we walked up King Street.
Where I continued to see imagery from my drawings and sketchbooks. A sun and clouds in one of the fancy windows.
This is a Colada. It's 4-5 shots of espresso with pure cane sugar. It's intended to be for 4-5 people but it's my favorite drink at Cafecito, my favorite Charleston coffee place. It's technically not a "coffeeshop" and I used to love Kudu Coffee but I go to Cafecito every time I get to go to Charleston. The food and coffee is as amazing as the positive vibes in this little cafe. I love it so much. Please go give them your money when you're in town.
I visited my favorite thrift shop, Far Side, and found the perfect new motto for the sculpture studio.
I got waved at by Jesus. That was pretty cool.
The wave came from inside St. Matthew's church on King Street. This is also a favorite stop for me in Charleston. I used to tag along to Charleston on G's work conference trips and would spend several days exploring the city alone while she did boring things. One year, I saw the church doors open here and walked inside. It was so beautiful. I spend the rest of that trip trying to open church doors and found a surprising number of them open. I figure churches should be welcoming to strangers, especially if they're visually beautiful. Even the ones that weren't "open to the public" didn't kick me out and some even gave me a tour. St. Matthew's is one of my favorites and it's where I want to go to church if I ever move to Charleston. Also, more suns, moons and stars.
Another stop I have to make is the Halsey at College of Charleston. They always have the best exhibits and it's my dream to get to show there at some point. This is the first time I've ever found the doors closed and locked. They were in the middle of installing a new exhibit and painting the hand rails just outside the gallery, so maybe next time. That's when I found this fun little "exhibit" on the street. One of the art students left their sculpture out with the trash. Sad and totally relatable.
We let Google choose our dinner. We decided to try a completely new place and that meant spending a little time on Google seeing what was rated best on different lists of restaurants. We landed on Crave in Mount Pleasant and when I got my drink and saw the classic crescent moon in it, I knew I was at the right place. The food was really good and the chocolate we found just after dinner was even better.
Tuesday was my fifth day in a row running with the public instead of running on my private running trail. I am truly Southern and I made a point to say "good morning" to everyone I passed on the bridge. I'm sometimes baffled by the responses and this causes me to overthink while I'm running. Other runners and walkers mostly respond in kind with "good morning" or at least a smile. If you don't, I judge you pretty harshly. I don't care where you're from or what running protocol is there. You're in the city of hospitality, you can at least smile at the bald, sweaty guy who says "good morning" to you. I even had a nice conversation with another runner who had a similar pace. He was from Maryland and even if he was surprised I was talking to him, he was kind and obliged with runner banter.
In those five days of running around others, I noticed a lot of female runners and walkers and I do understand if they're not jumping at the chance to make eye contact or say "good morning" to a man they don't know while trying to exercise. I can't imagine what it's like to be a female runner and to always have to worry about safety. When they didn't make eye contact or pretended to not hear me because of headphones/earbuds, I just smiled and waved in the hopes that they would relax knowing I wasn't trying to stalk them. I'm sure it doesn't help or change anything, but if you're a female runner, you should know that some of the guys you see on your run are not bad guys. Some of them are running near you or doubling back to pass you in the opposite direction because we're making sure you are safe and that the suspicious guy we saw a few minutes ago didn't start following you. It's cool to still be suspicious. I don't blame you. But some of us are trying to help.
So after another 5 miles over water and saying "good morning" to a bunch of ungrateful party poopers, I showered, we packed up and headed out for breakfast on the Isle of Palms. Since the sun was out and the temperatures were starting to climb back to normal Charleston temperatures, we couldn't resist one last look at the beach before leaving. But again, I wouldn't just be driving home. I still had one more leg to add to this trip.
I had to go by a shoe store in Summerville to get a new pair of Hokas and if you put me near Summerville, I'm going to go by all my favorite places and try to see all my favorite people. I texted Jana and Dan while getting my coffee fix at Coastal Coffee. I dropped by the Fly Vintage place to see my new friend and check out the new arrivals. Then I went in Public Works and saw so many wonderful people. I got to talk to Jana and Linda for a while and made some plans for my next visit in a few weeks. I got to check out the new positive notes in the Vault exhibit and then finally I got in my car to drive home. The dogs aren't even sure I live here anymore.
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