Saying Goodbye to Charleston

Pam and I will reluctantly leave Charleston today after three days of high culture and Low Country food that leaves me wondering how on earth the people of this city aren’t all 300 pounds. Here is a partial list of the types of cuisine visited upon my gastro-intestinal system since I’ve been here:

#shrimp and pepper jack grits

#collard greens that have steeped all day in a huge pot full of ham

# she-crab soup with sherry

# Jambalaya

# fried okra

# boiled peanuts

# pecan pie

# gallons upon gallons of sweet tea

# mint juleps

Although we basically had great weather, it’s been way too humid for the month of May. There is absolutely no wonder why southerners walk so sloooowly. If you walk at a normal Richmond pace, not to mention a New York City pace, you would be reduced to a pool of sweat in a matter of minutes. So, you find yourself, for lack of a better term…ambling along, almost zombie-like while trying to imagine how Charlestonians ever lived in these gorgeous homes before the invention of air conditioning.

This city took two direct hits in its history, first during the revolution, then during the Civil War. It has also dealt with numerous fires and hurricanes, and yet, it endures. Charleston is simply too beautiful to die.

I will be back.