The last leg, Charleston!

We left Beaufort on Friday (not last Friday, the one before) and headed toward Charleston. When we arrived there, we actually drove right past the downtown district and went over the very fabulous bridge, even passing the USS Yorktown heading toward Mt. Pleasant, which actually worked out well, because it allowed us to find the Gullah restaurant that my wonderful groom ordered a few dishes from for the road. Back to the bridge though... it was an amazing bridge, incredibly photogenic, and I am not generally a fan of bridges, but there were actually photographers walking around the pedestrian portion of this 8-lane beauty, the Arthur Ravenel Bridge. It was actually covered in pedestrians and joggers... classes of small children, pet walkers... it was a well-traveled bridge.I actually shot that picture as we were leaving on that Saturday. It was a super breezy day, and the sailboats covered the bay (the area where the Cooper and Ashley Rivers converge). After thoroughly enjoying the scenic bridge (I'm usually not a fan of bridges), we headed into Charleston. The first, most striking thing I noted was all the container ship-yards. My wonderful groom was especially intrigued by all the huge machinery used to remove the container from the larger than life ships. We actually had the privilege of seeing one come in from sea on Saturday while we were out at the beautiful pier. Great timing! All the little sailboats being kicked around in the bay were yielding to this monstrous ship.We enjoyed being out on that pier, except for the ferociously chilly breeze, which was tearing right through me. My wonderful groom had a wonderful time taunting the sea gulls with fake food. Check out how awesome the skies were... brilliant blue, mare's tail cirrus clouds. It was a beautiful day! So, arriving in Charleston, the next thing you notice is the stunning architecture. What a beautiful and charming city with all the old structures. I was captivated by the details of the different structures, the colors, the beauty of this old town.Isn't that awesome?! I was charmed by the ever popular "Rainbow Row", with the colorful palette of colored homes.The sophistication and magnificence of the homes at the Battery.Anyone planning on visiting Charleston should know that the "Battery" is the only area with free parking and no parking meters. If you take Bay Street all the way through town, coming south, you will come to the area of the Battery. There's a wall build there, cannons, a beautiful gazebo in the park and a colony of yellow-crowned night herons (there must have been 10-14 of them) nesting in the majestic oaks above our heads, and it all faces another row of beautiful old homes.In case you need to get your bearings, they offer a few directions. This cute sign was located over by the aquarium, which we didn't make it to in time.We had a great time on our anniversary adventure. We look forward to many many more... in the meantime, we'll keep the "Love Light" burning, Charleston style.Keep your love lights burning.
~Dewdrop

P.S. It might actually rain and have thunder today and through the week. We might get a little action end of week, but the big show seems to be presenting for the first week in May. We'll see what happens.

I'll post shots from this weekend tomorrow.