some charleston things

 Back in November after my Wednesday morning class, I headed down I-26 to Charleston to meet up with G.  She had to attend a conference there with a couple of coworkers and I was lucky enough to be able to hang out in the Holy City with them for a couple of days.  When I get to tag along while she has to go to all day meetings, I make it an art trip.  While she listens and learns, I walk to galleries and museums.

 We're completely enchanted by Charleston.  I feel like it's beautiful there all the time.  Even a random street corner can stun you.

 Of course the history and the architecture have a heavy presence there too.  This is something you can feel while you walk around.  You can feel that you're walking through a significant place and that there's meaning all around you.  

 And the places that may not have any sort of historical significance or meaning benefit from their surroundings.  It's like the beauty rubs off on everything.  The ocean breezes deposit particles of beauty all around town.

 The light in Charleston is always great.  One of my favorite things about staying downtown is my early morning run.  The sun comes up over the ocean and casts everything in gold while I make my awkward lap around the city.

 I forget to be tired and I'm pretty sure my eyes get as much of a workout as the rest of my body.

 The Halsey Center for Contemporary Art always has cool things to see.  This place is free to the public and I highly recommend you stop in anytime you're in Charleston.  

 The Angry Bird ceramic pieces were very fun.

 I hit Redux at a bad time as they were in between exhibits but it was still a beautiful walk.

 It's always fun to look for stickers and street art as I walk around.  The Fairey "Obey" things were still up from last year, in fact one was right outside our hotel window.  But the cooler things were stuck on the back of street signs or drawn on junction boxes...or stuck on the front of street signs like the hula hoop guy above.

 I also got a chance to tour the sculpture studio at the College of Charleston.  I'm always interested to see how other studios set up their facilities to make the most of their space.  The people there were very kind and welcoming.  I have to admit I was a little jealous of their high ceilings and big footprint.  

 There's never a bad time to walk on the beach.  The temperatures were warm while we were in town and we headed out to Sullivan's Island after their meeting to catch the sunset.  There were tons of people on the beach, some in bathing suits enjoying the relative warmth.  This guy was getting some sun on his belly.

 I'm a very awkward selfie taker.  

 One of G's coworkers only recently moved here from one of those very cold northern states.  This was her first time in Charleston and it was entertaining to watch her experience it for the first time.  Especially when we got her to try chicken and waffles.  She loved it.  I couldn't talk her into the shrimp and grits though.  I guess you have to ease people into these things.