Cooper River Bridge Run

With the start of the run at 8am and the Arthur Ravenel Bridge closing by 7am, Randy and Sabrina dropped Julie off at the starting line by 6:30 and then waited for the race to start.  The 10K (6.3 miles) started in Mt. Pleasant and went down the street about two miles before reaching the bridge which was about another two miles across and then the remaining 2+ miles wove through the streets in Charleston, ending at Marion Square.   This run has been a dream of Julie's since we lived in Charleston in 2010.    Finally, dreams would come true!  The view from the bridge was wonderful! 

The sunrise was spectacular over Charleston Harbor.

A little later.

A dolphin patrolling  the harbor!

Here comes the sun!

Sabrina, George and her blanket!

Leslie, Julie and Sabrina at Marion Square after the run!   

Want a banana little girl?

At Marion Square!

Inside College of Charleston on our way back to the car.   We enjoyed the stroll through the college and realized it was the first time we ever entered the campus.   Some really beautiful buildings housed the departments.

In the evening we found out the official run time was 1 hour 6 minutes and finishing 14, 477 or somewhere around there.   Although there were nearly 40,000 registered, only about 32,000 raced.   Fun!

Areas of Renewal

We noted this time in Charleston, some places where it looked like old buildings were being transformed into businesses or housing.   This was an old cigar factory which was supposed to be converted into some retail space but activity has stopped for a little while

Another angle of the cigar factory.

We liked this view.   I think it was on a community center.

Many of the old boarded up houses are being redone and new houses are replacing them.   Just blocks from these were newly constructed or redone houses.

These houses were set up for the aged.  These have been here but look like they are being kept up.

The gated entrance from the road.

Boone Plantation-Revisted

Wednesday afternoon, we visited Boone Plantation.   Before when we visited for the Taste of Charleston, we could not tour the old plantation house.   This time we could, but the house that is standing now is actually the fourth house.   One burned, one was taken in a hurricane, the third was torn down to build the house that is standing now.   The slave quarters that are standing on the Boone Plantation are original and now tell parts of the history of the people who used to live there.   The quilt in this photo was an old slave quilt.   

Each slave quarter had a small fire place for heating.    

This plantation is still harvesting crops and is active.   After slaves were emancipated, share croppers kept the plantation going.   This barn shows some of the old tractors used on the plantation over the years.

A new driver?

A cotton crop.   Posted were signs indicating it illegal to pick or take the cotton off the plantation as an attempt to limit damage of insects. 

This old structure was on the edge of the plantion on the way out.   Now it is most likely used at Halloween as part of the carnival on the plantation.

Friends

When we lived on Daniel Island when Sabrina was a baby, we made friends with the parents of these children.   Now the kids play together beautifully.   Sabrina talks about the little girl and what a great friend she is.    And she is a great friend who shared her dress up box.  

Dressed up as a princess.   Julie holding the newest addition to our friend's family.

Dressed as Cinderella

Dressed as a cheer-leader

All three kids: a fairy, a princess and a pirate

The new band.

This time was the best time Sabrina had on the vacation.   She enjoyed playing with this family and laughed and giggled for a long time after the visit.   We hope to see them again soon.   

Tuesday- A Day of Beach Fun at Isle of Palms

Tuesday, we decided would be a great day at the beach as the forecast for the week indicated rain/ thunder storms for much of the week.   Sabrina loved running up and down the fishing peer in her suit.

These boys were digging to China and not talking.   They literally would disappear into the hole and then reappear with a shovel of sand.   Sabrina was fascinated by this process and would get close to check out their technique.

Running in sand is fun!

Someone left this castle and it was perfect for Sabrina to play in for a little while

On the castle wall, you guessed it, Sabrina found another lady bug.   Her new friend went with her all over the beach the rest of the day.

Touring the lesser known

Monday we decided to tour some of the places we had not seen.  Starting with the Postal Museum in the Charleston Post Office and ending with walking through the old prison and neighboring communities in that area.  The entry Charleston Post Office had beautiful woodwork and brass accents with a marble paneling.   Absolutely beautiful!

The old prison which was damaged in Hurricane Hugo is now the home of the craftsman college.   We lucked out and a young man who was a wood building student gave us a tour of the old prison/ craftsman school.

On tours we are told this prison at one point became an insane asylum.   Now at night, it the site of the "haunted tours".   During the day, we thought it was just old.   Our tour guide told us that sometimes the students scare the people on tour if they happen to be in the building at the same time.

The windows with the strong bars that were inbedded into the wall quite a distance.

The entry gate was quite heavy and sturdy.

A neighboring church which had wonderful wrought iron work.

A typical single dwelling home with one room in width and a long piazza to help the dweller cool off in the sea breeze in the evenings.   The door actually leads to the piazza.   The door to the house would be off the piazza.   A closed door to the street means the family is not entertaining visitors at the moment.

This old home has the earthquake spikes through it.   These ends are the round ends between floors.   However, this house is still tilting and the windows look uneven.   Charleston has had some earthquakes through the years and this house is old and so must have had lots of stress on it.

Easter Sunday

We were so excited to get out of town and have a vacation in Charleston.  After packing early and driving up for church at our old church on Daniel Island, we ventured downtown for Easter brunch.   Unfortunately for us, every one else had the same idea and there were one to two hour waits at all our old favorite restaurants.   So, we went to plan B...walk around until something sounds good.   Our walk took us to Broad Street which is also known as Gallery Row as there are art galleries lining the street.   Finally, we found a little deli, Brown Dog Deli, which had nice sandwiches. We had forgotten about this place, but soon remembered it as the hangout for the city workers (Mayor, office workers) for lunch.   Rightly so.   The sandwiches were delicious.   

We walked around Charleston a little bit before checking into the timeshare condo which would become our home away from our home away from home.   It had real couches and furniture which was the first basic pleasure we noted.   The beds were extremely comfortable.   The cabin itself was a little small but since we were not planning on staying in it the entire vacation, it was just perfect!  It even had a view of the Atlantic Ocean.