BLUE MONDAY: BLUE SOUTHERN SKIES

Today I am participating in Blue Monday to showcase all the beautiful pictures I took on our trip to South Carolina and Georgia. To see more of Blue Monday offerings, visit Sally, our sweet hostess.

I am finishing up where I left off last week when we were in Charleston. We just had the most wonderful time there, so much to see and do. Three days was just not enough. We arrived on Easter Sunday so the city was very quiet, something I would miss in the days following. As I mentioned, we stayed at the Francis Marion Hotel, named after The Revolutionary War General (also known as "The Swamp Fox"). Our room on the fourth floor faced Marion Square and we could look out over the huge park and see well over the buildings to the harbor. The windows didn't open so I couldn't get a picture, but it was a beautiful view. The following pictures were taken in Marion Square.

As usual, Blondie was able to bring bad weather with her to Charleston as you can see by these pictures! Always looking for a better deal, we were soaked to the skin the second day there before The Husband was able to find a place with $5.00 umbrellas. He wasn't very happy with me either as I stopped every twenty feet to take pictures!

This is the Sweetwater Cafe where we had lunch the second day. This is also where The Husband began his quest for the most perfect "she~crab" soup in the South. In the end he deemed the Sweetwater Cafe of serving the most superb. I no less, had my first taste of shrimp in brown gravy served over grits. There were many names for this dish and just as many variations. Most surprising was the fact that it was often served in some form for breakfast, lunch and dinner! I was in shrimp heaven! And I am now in search of the most perfect recipe!

My sweet blogger friend Sheila, better known as The Quintessential Magpie recommended trying Magnolia's, where she had dined several years before and wasn't sure if it was still there. Well Mrs. Magpie, it sure is. Unfortunately, with all good intentions of having dinner there the second night, the rain and wind picked up so badly that even an umbrella wouldn't have helped. The rain was blowing up, down and sideways! Instead we ate at the hotel restaurant, aptly named The Swamp Fox and it was quite good. So Sheila, rest assured one of your favorite restaurants in Charleston does indeed still exist!!

Before the torrential rains came we moved on to the French Quarter. This is the only area where the original cobblestone streets and sidewalks exist. We walked down this beautiful alleyway. On the right is a former cotton factory and on the left is an estate whose owner preserved this original alley.

We stopped in this gallery which featured the works of many local and transplanted artists. Charleston is great inspiration and many of these artists' works have been featured in large cities both national and international. Oh, how I wish I could afford just one tiny little painting from this gallery!

This is a little park along the harbor where we stopped to rest. If we had had the time I would have loved to have taken a cruise or trip across the water by way of one of the many bridges. I read a few articles in 'Charleston', the magazine in our hotel room about the islands across the way. How much fun would that be?!

This pretty pier had a wonderful seafood restaurant that I tried to coax The Husband into trying until he reminded me that we had just had lunch an hour before. I do think the idea of a warm bowl of she~crab soup was tempting him though!

I love the natural state of the grasses blowing in the wind. It almost looks more picturesque on a rainy day.

It is now Wednesday and we have driven two hours to Savannah. Below is a picture of The Mansion On Forsyth Street which is now a hotel and where we stayed. It is part hotel, restaurant, art gallery and cooking school. You basically didn't need to leave the place! But we finally had great weather as you can see from the blue skies, so off we went!

Naturally, the hotel faced Forsyth Park which was just an incredible place to visit. Spring was definitely in the air and I had to take some pictures of the beautiful trees.

This fountain was exceptionally beautiful...

Once we stepped out of the park I took some pictures of the beautiful homes. Not many though. We had every intention of visiting Gaston Street with it's stately homes and ornate iron~work but once again, time got away from us.

Many of the homes were hidden by beautiful old trees but the sense of their enormity could not be denied.

Finally we are on the river. The buildings on the left were factories at some time. Now they house mostly restaurants and bars. In this picture you can see the trolley tracks.

This is a picture of one of the many cruising boats on the river. I love the Southern charm of this boat. She is definitely a queen!

We saw many of these horse drawn carriages on our trip. I will say on a negative note that the traffic was crazy. Cars sped up and down these residential streets as if they were highways. I was really scared crossing the streets! We also saw a lot of ped~cabs, which are bicycles with a seat for two in the back. And to think I feel bad for horses and sled dogs!

The second day we headed off the beaten path for two reasons. One being this graceful blonde twisting her ankle on one of the old cobblestone streets the night before and the second being The Husband's search for the perfect pair of pants to wear with the perfect sports coat he bought in Charleston. I'm going to digress a little to say that on this trip The Husband outfitted himself with enough new clothes to warrant another suitcase. Blondie came home with five books. Go figure. Anyway, the sprain wasn't bad but I didn't want to make it worse so we went to a mall. I was dropped off at a bookstore while The Husband went to Belk's. I want to mention here that I have read about some of my Southern blogger girlfriends going to Belk's, Ross and Chik~A~Fil, none of these which we have in the Midwest, so it was sort of cool to see them everywhere. The Husband said that Belk's is very similar to our Carson Pirie Scott store. While hobbling around Waldenbooks I saw a big display of Paula Deen cookbooks. I thought well, of course she is popular in her hometown. Then I saw a sign that read she would be signing books at 5:00! Wow, this was better than going to The Lady And Her Sons! In spite of the fact that I am one of THE most patient people in the world, I was not going to watch my poor ankle swell up for another three hours and then wait in line to see her! Had it been Harrison Ford, my all time dream man, things would have been different!! :-)

Anyhow, I took a picture of the restaurant where we had lunch. I loved the waterfall and the old crabhouse look...

...but the funniest thing was after the young waitress took our order she asked if we were from around there. We replied no, we are from Chicago and with that she said "I thought so. You talk funny!" We almost spit out our sweet tea!

Does this not look like the honeymoon suite? I normally don't take pictures of hotel rooms but this is our room at "The Mansion"! The Husband said, "Blondie, you sure know how to book a trip!"

The style of the hotel is traditional with a modern twist. Now get this: After seeing this bathroom with the walk~in shower and separate commode, The Husband actually went out, bought a tape measure and spent a good amount of time on the phone with Resident Carpenter at the house on the lake. You see, his design for the master bath up there very much mimics this bath. I could not believe the sight of him crawling around the bathroom taking measurements! It was straight out of a Woody Allen movie!

And look at this huge soaking tub! I am normally adverse to taking a bath in a hotel but this baby was beckoning. I wasn't crazy about the shutters opening into the bedroom, but I did enjoy a nice bubble bath and the best thing was I didn't have to clean the tub myself afterwards!


















Finally, or "about time," you say, we are back in Myrtle Beach where we flew in to. We did not go to Hilton Head as originally planned as the airfare flying in to Charleston and out of Savannah was outrageous. We did have a fun two days in Myrtle Beach, it brought back many good memories for The Husband who went on a golf outing there for ten years in a row. He was able to show me some of the great sights and we ate at some top notch restaurants. I will say I have had my fair share of seafood and am looking forward to some great Midwestern beef tonight!

We stayed at the Hilton on the beach. These pictures were taken from our balcony.

I don't know these people getting married but I saw the wedding getting set up that morning and I arrived back at the room just in time for the ceremony. It was beautiful. I cried as I always do at weddings and I truly hope Jennifer and Mark have a wonderful life together!

A few pictures from a shopping trip at the Dockside, a group of shops in and around a lake connected by docks. It was really cute. In this dog bakery (it really smelled quite good inside) I bought bandanas for Milo & Layla that say "My parents want to Myrtle Beach and all I got was this lousy bandana!" Ha Ha. They love them by the way.

I leave you with pictures of the beach, the bluest of skies and the bluest of water. I am so sorry if this post has taken you days to read. Just be happy Blondie did not take a European vacation!

And by the way, after all the gastronomic delights I sampled in the South, I have officially started my diet today. I would have included a picture of the Hilton, but I think I ate that too!

Happy Blue Monday everyone!

xoxo

Jane