The Sentimental Journey- Up the Coast

On the Road to Charleston 

As we drove toward Bluffton and then to Charleston, we crossed the Moon River. I, of course, burst into song: "wider than a mile, I'm crossing you in style". In an effort to shush me Michael said, "It's not THAT Moon River." But it was. Johnny Mercer lived (and mostly drank) in Savannah & wrote Moon River. And it is wider than a mile...

So Much History...and Humidity

Charleston is a gorgeous city. And it has a very complex, conflicted history. To its credit, the city does not shrink from the reality of its reliance on slavery. We toured a house owned by a family that grew rich on the slave trade and spent an educational, yet depressing hour or two in the Slavery Museum. It was brutally hot and humid. Imagine working in a rice paddy inhabited by poisonous snakes in that weather. The thought evokes so many phobias I can't even enumerate them.

A mural on a wall in Charleston reminded us of some of the murals in Ajijic.

One of the very interesting items in our tour was the building architecture.

St. Michael's Anglican church was completed in 1761 & is the oldest existing church in Charleston. Both George Washington & Robert E. Lee worshiped here.

The interior had several stained glass windows dating back to its construction.

The base of the pulpit was damaged by a shell during the Civil War.

Around the walls of the church were several inscriptions regarding persons interred at the church. This was one of the oldest.

A view of the graveyard from the church...

with gravestones, many of which were so worn by the elements over the ages that the inscriptions on the headstones were no longer legible.

The Nathaniel Russell house was built in the Federalist style in 1808 by a slave trader and merchant. He had his initials included on the ironwork on the middle balcony.

The three story floating staircase in the house was magnificent

The home was furnished in the neoclassical style...

as were the ceiling and door moldings.

This medallion is on the South Carolina Society Hall which dates from 1804.

As we were going to dinner to meet Ben & Lindsey, we came across the stables for the carriage horses with this description of "20 Things".

Happier Times

Featured Guests: Ben & Lindy

Length of Relationship: About 10 years.

Background: We met Ben & Lindy in Ajijic through LCS (Lake Chapala Society). Ben was President and Michael was Treasurer while Lindy and I were on the same LCS committee. Our friendship grew over the years. Several years ago they moved to Arizona and then landed in South Carolina. They drove to Charleston for a "dinner date".

Inching Up the Coast - Wilmington, NC

Featured Guest: Marilyn

Length of Relationship: Approximately 30 years

Background: Marilyn & I worked together at Boston Technology. My kids were little and Marilyn saved me numerous times by taking long business trips for me to places like China. Truly a pal. Marilyn became a neighbor after adopting Tom from Lithuania.

Anecdote: We took Tommy, fresh form the orphanage to a u-pick it farm. He was 3 years old. I pulled a carrot from the ground. Astonished & thrilled Tommy pulled a dozen carrots before we moved on to other vegetable adventures. He  grew up to be a fine man.

Tracy, Michael, Marilyn & Deirdre after our wonderful meal.

Wilmington was our first day of rain on the trip. This thwarted our planned beach day at Wrightsville Beach. Marilyn soother my soul by lightning round shopping, wherein we hit a variety of stores in less than two hours checking off most of my North of the Border shopping list.

We met up with up with Marilyn's pal Tracy for a laugh filled dinner after a stroll along the Harbor Walk in downtown along the Cape Fear River. I was wearing Marilyn's Red Sox ball cap when two young men passed by and yelled "Go Sox". I gave them a thumbs up and they stopped to chat. They asked if we lived in Boston and we explained that we lived in Mexico and outlined the Sentimental Journey. "Damn", one said, "When I get really old I want to be like you guys and not just sit around the house." Really old? Really? A truly backhanded compliment, but I guess it's nice to be inspirational --- I guess.

We left the next morning to head to D.C. Marilyn loaded our ice chest with enough food to last us through our Delaware River stop. Now, that's a real friend.

Upon our arrival Marilyn presented us with this marvelous charcuterie board.

An amazing display of flowers along the boardwalk by the Cape Fear River.

 

We did not go into the Museum of the Bizarre (listed in Atlas Obscura)...

but just marveled at the oddities listed as being in the museum.

The battleship North Carolina in Wilmington on the Cape Fear River.

On our way to Wilmington, we stopped at the Hampton Plantation in McClellanville, SC established in 1735. It is one of the finest examples of a wood frame Georgian Plantation House and is listed as a National Historic Landmark.

Some interior details of the plantation house.

This tremendous tree predates the establishment of the plantation and dwarfs Deirdre standing next to it.

When the Wheels Came Off the Bus

We reached DC on July 3rd and moved into our VRBO rental on Capitol Hill - conveniently located 2 doors from our longtime buddy Suzanne. The apartment was large & beautiful which was a good thing - you'll see why in a paragraph or two.

Featured Guest: Suzanne

Length of Relationship: 52 years

Background: When Michael & I were in College and newly in love we both worked in a small retail mall called Canal Square in Georgetown. Suzanne was my boss at a store called Port of Call. She tolerated our moony-eyed romance ND long lunches and became our friend of 'lo these many years.

Suzanne & Deirdre outside her house in DC.

Celebrating July 4th in D.C. reminded us of why we never went downtown on July 4th when we lived in D.C. It is a zoo! It is worse now since the Capitol and the White House are totally barricaded off. Bus travel - no. Cabs or Uber - $25 from the Mall to Capitol Hill (2.7 miles). Heat 95 degrees & humidity - 95%.  I had obtained tickets to the African American History Museum for July 4th.We found our way through the crowds, various police lines, heat & humidity. We entered and realized we only had one mask. Masks are optional. Michael gallantly offered the mask to me and we entered the world of The Middle Passage. This museum is magnificent You descend below ground and start to climb via ramps upward both through space and history - about five centuries of history. And it is not a pretty history. By the 1700s I was awash in white guilt, by the 1800s I was smiling apologetically at all my black museum neighbors and by the time we got to the resurgence of the Klu Klux Klan I was simply done in.  They also had great exhibits of art, music and culture that were a bit less weighty. We left the museum and were unable to find any motorized transport so hoofed it back to the apartment. Suzanne had graciously invited us for a July 4th cookout. So we stumbled into her house sweaty, exhausted and riddled with post-museum guilt where Suzanne rejuvenated us with libations and burgers & dogs.

We had tickets for the Holocaust Museum for the next day. I was leery of a second day of human misery, but figured I couldn't get much more depressed. That visit was not meant to be however. Michael woke up with a definitely scratchy throat. Uh, ah. Yep. Covid. It is so much fun calling your friends (Marilyn, Tracy, Suzanne) and telling them you may have shared a potentially, dangerous disease with them. Not to mention all those folks at the African American History Museum. As if we didn't feel guilty enough already. Amazingly no one else (including me) got it. Well, not sure about the museum goers...

Michael was lucky however. As he says, " I have had colds that were worse than this." Runny nose, tired, little cough and over in about 3 days. Due to contagion the remainder of our days in D.C. were quiet. We'll take you on a photo tour of a drive we did down memory lane. 

While Michael was fine, his Covid did upset some visits and plans. But we'll delve into all that in the next blog. We're halfway up the East Coast and going strong(ish).

One of Suzanne's eclectic neighbors decorates for the holidays & other special occassions.

On July 4th the food trucks are lined up to handle the hoards.

The WWI memorial was something we had not seen since we left DC.

The security in DC was very tight for the 4th with many dump trucks with snow plows used to restrict vehicular access to many of the streets.

On our way to the National Museum of African American History and Culture we encountered the tail end of the July 4th parade.

This portrait of Harriet Tubman done in cotton, silk & velvet quilted and appliquéd was quite striking.

 It was titled: "I Go To Prepare a Place For You".

This piece titled: "Ghetto Krater" uses something common in ancient Greece to depict the plight of the black man in the ghetto.

This piece titled "St. John the Baptist" inspired Leonardo da Vinci's St.John the Baptist

 1513-1516, which is in the Musée de Louvre.

This is Chuck Berry's Cadillac.

The Mothership on display is one of the most iconic stage props in the history of popular music.

On The Sentimental Journey we visited our alma mater Georgetown. This is Healey Hall at Georgetown with its distinctive clock tower.

On the way to our former residence in Glover Park we passed this impressive looking building which was not there when we went to Georgetown. This is the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Georgetown.

This picture of our former apartment building does shows that it hasn't changed since we lived there 48 years ago with the exception of the window air conditioning units.

That's it for this round.  By the time we left D.C. Michael was feeling better but still testing positive.  Dodging humans we sealed ourselves in the car and headed North.