Charleston

First, many thanks to family and friends who have texted, emailed and Skyped with concerns regarding reports of bad weather they heard were going to experience on our route.  We heard many of the same things but so far the worst we've had were some lovely snow flakes in Chicago which thrilled the boys and did not interfere with driving at all.  No tornadoes, blizzards, white outs or flash floods although we're not done quite yet.   A word to our worried Romanian family: America este o tara mare si daca ninge in Utah nu ne afecteaza in Georgia. Nu va faceti probleme!

As we head south, we feel as if we are leaving winter behind and heading toward spring; blue skies and fair winds and the smell of freshly cut grass.  The redbuds are blooming as well as some other small tree which I can't identify but is now covered with the most lovely white blooms. 

The view from our hotel window and some shots around Charleston...

                                       

                                                  
Some academics were definately in order lest my children fail 4th and 7th grades so we took a day trip out to Fort Sumter.  A little Civil War history for all of us and a cold ferry ride out into the Atlantic but not to worry, we had our practical German coats handy and since they have "purchased souvenir pouches", we were sure to purchase souvenirs.

Thunderstorms, what thunderstorms?  There were none as far as we could see.
Isn't it strange how spending time out on the water can make you so sleepy? Is it the wind, the cold, the salty air? Whatever the reason, we walked back to the hotel and promptly fell asleep for two hours.  What a way to spend a glorious afternoon in a beautiful city.

A word about Charleston:  there are so many great restaurants its difficult to pick just one.  On the first night, after much careful and scrupulous research, we managed to find one in the city that none of us liked.  Onto breakfast, lunch and dinner the following day which  I can happily say were all were winners; from waffles to pulled pork sandwiches to the fantastic French place two doors down from our hotel.