E-ma's Bloggy Blog: april 12 - 18th...south carolina here i come

sorry i'm late with this post. but since i got home from our trip i've been so busy and have simply not had the time to organize these pictures as i would like to.

the story.....diana, lida and i hit the road early thursday morning and drove through to statesville, n.c. where we spent the late afternoon and evening walking around town taking in the culture and architecture. we are at a delightful restaurant and spent the night in a nice hotel.

statesville ~ april 12th


lester's chamber of books

our very first stop in statesville was this bookstore. we had a blast talking with the gentlemen who were watching the store. then we met lester who (sadly i didnt' get a picture) was a very colorful old southern gent. very eclectic selection of books.

delicious food, great atmosphere and very friendly staff. worth a stop here if you're in statesville...it's the place to eat. definitely the highlight of our stay in the small historic town.

columbia ~ april 13th

we rose early and drove two hours to columbia, s.c the home of university of of s.c. where diana's granddaughter ramona is a freshman. we stayed on campus in a beautifully restored old hotel and spent the afternoon with ramona walking around the big and beautiful campus (one of the oldest in the u.s).

antebelum style house typical of the area

lunch at mr. friendly's

now that's a yucca

here is our foursome

ramona's love dylan

rare shot of me

main campus area called the horse shoe

diana enjoys a bloody mary at hotel reception

charleston ~ april 14th - 16th

the next morning we woke early and drove into charleston s.c. with raymona (now we're a foursome). raymona's mom lilly met us for lunch at a a fab vegetarian restaurant she recommended called black bean company. it was in an area of charleston that is being restored so it's quite the blend of beat up old houses and nicely restored ones. black bean was awesome. the food was excellent the the atmosphere was very earthy and green.

walking from our car to the restaurant was fascinating. so many kinds of buildings in varying states of restoration/disrepair

diana and mona

even though this house needed much tlc to restore, still i found these houses to be very charming

lida, mona, lilly & diana in front of black bean

budha water installation black bean co.

after lunch lilly took us to the farmer's market (it was the first of the season) where we walked around and enjoyed the weather and colorful atmosphere. there were lots of vendors selling a variety of food and crafts and fine jewelery.

walking to the farmers market

charleston is a bicycle friendly city

shopping for treasure's in the farmer's market

after we finished exploring the market we happened upon a youth harp concert in a historic church.
it was a magnificent old building with lovely stained glass. we sat and listened to the harpists and rested our feet for a bit

diana & mona (with french braids)

i spent some time out on the church grounds. beautiful old trees and gardens. i was fascinated by a palm plant that had this crazy centerpiece of coral beauty.

close-up of center of palm plant

free tram for tourists to get around city

after the concert we said goodbye to lilly and the four of us went to check into our hotel and regroup.
we found out where to catch the free trolly from our hotel, and then after a little siesta we headed back into the historic district to tour and have dinner.

we toured an old plantation, an old historic mansion, saw the battery and walked along the big stone pier. then wander through the historic district that was filled with charming manions with pillars and porches and gardens and rod iron work. oh...it was breathtaking.