Staying Busy

I love theater and I can't believe that with the great venues we have here in Charleston I don't go more often.  I've seen a few productions here and there, but when looking for something to do it never dawns on me to go see a play or some improv.  I need to keep up with what's happening in Charleston theater more often.

Friday night Mark and I went to dinner at the Early Bird Diner.  I had their meatloaf again but this time I tried the cheesy mashed potatoes with it.  They were okay... not great, just okay.  I added a bit of salt which livened them up a bit.  I also had the collards, which are always good!  I've never had anything bad there.  I only wish it were closer to my house!

After dinner we went downtown to PURE Theater to see their new production 'Love Song' by John Kolvenbach.  We grabbed a beer for Mark and a glass of wine for me and made our way into the theater.  It reminded me so much of the theater productions I used to go see in the East Village.  You were so close to the actors that you could practically reach out and touch them.  Of course in the East Village most of the time you really didn't want to touch them!

The play was quite good and the first half of it was pretty funny.  The last half was a bit dark, thought provoking and intense being that it dealt with mental illness.  I really like the whole experience and can't wait to go back to see another show.  I definitely need to see more theater in the near future!

Saturday night I had plans to have dinner with James.  We met at Northwoods Mall because he just dropped off his kids.  I never know what I want to eat or where I want to go and I'm glad my friends don't bitch at me for that.  We spoke earlier about pizza so we headed over to West Ashley to Andolini's.  We were just about there when James asked if I'd rather go to the Mellow Mushroom in Avondale.  I had never eaten there so I was totally game.

You wouldn't know it from the outside but the place is huge inside.  Even though it was a Saturday and quite busy we were seated within minutes.  I was surprised at how big the menu was!  I really thought it would be smaller with just a few pizza's.  We started with some cheese bread and I decided on the 10" Funky Q Chicken which is made of BBQ chicken, BBQ sauce, caramelized onions, mozzarella, cheddar and applewood smoked bacon.  I ordered it without the bacon.  James got the Mighty Meaty.

The pizza's were the perfect size for individuals and really tasty.  I was glad the crust wasn't thin.  The only thin crust pizza I like is New York style.  We ate and chatted for a while and I spotted a really cute girl that was working there.  She was serving the upstairs tables and would walk by occasionally.  I tried to catch her eye but she was in the zone.  I immediately sent Mark a text that we need to frequent Mellow Mushroom for our dinner dates in the future!

I came home after having dinner with James to check on Jake.  He's been pretty sick since being diagnosed with diabetes.  I've been giving him one unit of insulin twice a day and it's just not enough.  Last week I had to have Traci bring him to the vet because he looked like he was on his deathbed.  He was weak, could barely meow and his body was lifeless.  They ran some tests and gave him fluids and also gave him more insulin.  The vet told us to monitor his blood sugar and he would give us a call back to get the results... which he never did.

Jake was okay for a while but we had a really hard time getting any blood out of him.  On Friday he took a turn for the worse and wouldn't come out of the bathroom.  I think he was comfortable on the cold floor.  Normally when he's okay he sleeps with me but all he could do was lay there.  I put some extra glasses of water (yes, he likes to drink out of glasses!) in the bathroom and also some food.  The doctor made us switch to this cat food that is $40 for a 10 lb. bag!  I spent as much time as I could with him.  It was so obvious he felt horrible.

On Saturday I was talking to Traci about how pissed I was that the vet hadn't called back.  He ran the tests and we know what is wrong.  We really needed him to call to let us know what to do!  I finally took it upon myself and increased his insulin to 2 units.  Finally, today he was feeling better.  My sister called the vet and he wasn't in but she spoke with the other vet in the office who was mad that I increased the dose on my own.  Well, whatever!  What was I supposed to do!  They dropped the ball by not calling and advising us and also, the increase worked!  I really hope he's on his way to a full recovery because if I lose Jake it will not be a pretty sight! 

My boss told me that I should put him down since we were spending so much money to make him better.  I could have kicked him!  He said "If it was a dog it would be a different story!"  He was half joking.  What an ass!

Earth Wind & Fire

Every once in while my good friend Devin, who covers concerts & does CD reviews for a couple of Charleston newspapers, treats me to a show.  He asked me the other night if I would like to go see Earth Wind & Fire at the North Charleston Coliseum.  Um, YEAH!  I was super excited to see them.  I think they are one of those legendary acts that you should really see before you (or them!) die!  Devin told me that he saw them last year at the Dock Street Theater.  Wow.  I can't even imagine seeing such a dynamic, bigger than life band in such a tiny venue!

For the first part of the show I sat by myself while Devin was up front taking photos of the bands.  I always enjoy people watching at large events and this one did not disappoint.  It was such a bizarre mix of people!  I wasn't really enjoying the opening band and I was starving since I went home and changed clothes and went directly to the coliseum - no time to eat!  I decided to get a hot dog and a soda.  Our whole row was practically empty so it wasn't a problem getting in and out.  Loved that!  In between acts I spent my time playing Words With Friends and surfing Facebook.  I get so aggravated at the short battery life of my phone.  grrr! 

A couple songs into the main show I was joined by Devin.  I was so amazed by the energy of Earth Wind & Fire!  The original three members are in their 60's and they didn't stop moving from the beginning of the show to the end!  They had a large screen in back of the stage and they would occasionally play old 70's videos of the band singing the same song they were playing.  I thought that was really cool.  They played all their hits and the crowd was going crazy.  There were these people directly in front of us that were completely entertaining to me.  I can't remember what song it was but this one woman practically fell out when they started playing it.  She threw herself back, collapsed in her chair and flailed her arms about in total pleasure.  Devin leaned over to me and said "This is her jam!"  Oh my god!  I almost peed it was so funny!

I took a couple of pics with my phone.  I would have brought my Canon but Robin spitefully kept it.  Not sure why since she has her own camera and isn't interested in photography.  She claims I "gave" it to her but why would I give my partner my camera that I had before I even met her??  When you are in a relationship don't you "use" your partner's stuff and if you break up you give it back?  Yeah, that's what I thought too.

 

Yeah, it was taken with my EVO.  Crappy quality, I know!

Earth Wind & Fire bokeh.  I found this amusing.

You can find Devin's review here!

Overheated

My doctor put me on a higher dose of Synthroid last week.  This is not going to work well with the extreme heat in Charleston!  I was hoping that my levels would be normal this time around but she said they are still elevated.  After I had my thyroidectomy my level was 11.  When she gave me a higher dose it brought it down to 3.5.  Apparently I'm supposed to be at level 1.  This medicine is of the devil!  It makes me so hot.  Some of the side effects are hot flashes and excessive sweating... they weren't lying! 

The hot flashes and sweating started the Summer after my surgery.  It's not like a normal sweat.  I can feel it coming on.  I get flushed and my body temperature rises and then it's totally out of control.  It's not like a sweaty "I just worked out" sweat.  I always say "my elbows are sweating!" when it happens because sweat will be literally dripping from may elbows like a leaky faucet.  Beads of sweat cover my entire body.  It can be 60 degrees outside and I can have a sweat attack.  It's so unpleasant.

Saturday I went out with my friend Ashley to take some photos.  We went to Pon Pon Chapel, Donnelly Wildlife Management Area, to the Avondale murals, the Sheepman murals and then for a long walk downtown.  It was so hot outside and I looked like a hot mess when we were ready to go home!  I decided that there is no way I can date in the Summer because people will think I'm some crazy excessive sweater!!  Not attractive!!

We also went to The Early Bird Diner in West Ashley which was once featured on Diner's Drive In's and Dives on Food TV.  I have been there several times and always get the chicken and waffles, which are delicious.  This time I decided to try something different and opted for the meatloaf with spicy chipotle glaze.  The meatloaf comes with two sides so I got macaroni and cheese and collards.  I'm always so hesitant with meatloaf - you never know what you are going to get.  I was so intrigued by "spicy chipotle glaze" that I decided to go for it.  omg!!  I was not disappointed in the least.  It was delicious!  There were two pieces of meatloaf that were topped by some of the best onion rings I have ever had.  I think they were made with sweet vidalia onions.  Sooo good!  The mac n' cheese was fantastic.  I sprinkled the collards with pepper vinegar and they were out of this world!  It's definitely my new favorite!  I wish I had the recipe!!

 

 

 

Time

For the past couple of weeks the weather has been so rainy and cloudy.  I'm the first to admit that I love a nap while the rain beats on the roof, but I am over it.  Today the sky was blue, full of huge white clouds and so beautiful!

Finally!

I left work early for an appointment in West Ashley and on the way home I remembered that I still had to take my photo for the June Photo-A-Day challenge.  Today's theme was "Time" and I thought throughout the day of what I could do to represent the theme.  As I drove home I remembered there was this big clock in the old section of North Charleston - perfect!

It was just about 5pm and as always traffic on the I-526 was horrible!  BUT, the day was gorgeous and for the first time in a long time I felt good!  It was nice to be able to enjoy some sunshine on a weekday! 

WWFM IX

 

Little by little the Charleston geocaching community is growing!  Finally!

Yesterday was the 9th annual World Wide Flash Mob which was the brainchild of Sonny and Sandy of the Podcacher Podcast.  My friend Mike (gundark2000) bravely organized and hosted the event.  We went back and forth on the Charleston Geocachers Facebook page about what kind of flash mob we wanted to have and we finally settled on the theme of "Bubbles in the Park."

I really wanted the WWFM to be my 600th geocaching milestone.  I only needed 3 more caches to reach my goal and Mike only needed 3 more to reach 300.  We met at White Point Garden on the tip of the Charleston peninsula at 11am so we had a bit of time to cache before setting up for the event.

I really didn't think out my wardrobe very well.  If you think that each cache has to be at least 500 feet apart and the fact that might not even find one and have to move on to another... well, flip-flops aren't really suited for that much walking.  There was no way we could drive to the caches either.  The Spoleto Festival was happening and traffic downtown was crazy!

We started off in the park and I got a cache that Mike already had then we took off to the other side of the park to find one I've searched for before.  We looked for a while with no luck.  When we checked the last couple of logs there were several DNF's (did not find) l logged.  We decided to move on.

As we were walking I started feeling one of those weird sweating episodes building up.  Ever since my thyroidectomy I get these bouts of becoming totally overheated.  It can be 60 degrees out and all of the sudden I will just start pouring sweat (but it's more like water!) from my glands.  My skin gets cold and clammy and it's absolutely uncontrollable.  I never know when it's going to happen and this was one of those times where I wanted to avoid it because it can totally ruin the day!  That on top of wearing flip-flops I bailed out. I told Mike that I was about to fall out.  He was walking so fast and I knew how much more we would be walking!  I told him to go ahead and I would meet him back at the park.

I had a prime parking spot right on the Battery at the site for the WWFM IX and went to cool off in the air conditioning of my Jeep.  Once I cooled down I moved to the wall of the Confederate Defenders of Charleston monument and sat there for an hour or so.  There was a really nice breeze coming off of the harbor and the temperature was perfect.  I sat and watched and listened to the tourists come and go.  That's always a fun thing to do.  I like hearing them talk about Charleston and the beauty and history of the city.  There are a lot of misinformed tourists running around the city.  It takes every ounce of effort to not jump in their conversation and take them on a tour!  I was really wishing I had my Nook and a blanket with me.  It was the perfect day to relax in the park and read.  Instead I did some Facebook surfing on my phone and played Words With Friends and Solitaire to pass the time.

Around 12:40 Mike came back after running around South of Broad and said there were so many muggles in the area that he had no luck finding any caches.  I was so thankful I didn't go with him!!

Mike grabbed the WWFM IX supplies out of his car and came to my Jeep where we finished creating the swag bags for the event - the rules, logs and the official WWFM IX "meal" which was a bite size Laffy Taffy!  I think the normal "meal" is chocolate but Charleston is way too hot to be toting chocolate around!

As 1pm drew closer we could see more and more people hanging out around the area.  At 1pm Mike put the buckets down at ground zero and chaos ensued!  Everyone grabbed their bags, filled out the logs and started blowing bubbles.  I was the photographer for the event so I was running around trying to take photos.  We had such a great turnout!  Mike would call out the cues for everyone... first was to eat the "meal" and next was the raffle.  I won a Pathtag!

 

 

  

 
The final part of the event was the official photo.  I soooo wasn't prepared when Mike called out for the group photo!!  I hurried and put the camera on the tripod and moved the setting to wireless remote but I didn't have time to set the lighting or anything.  I had 50 people staring at me and waving to the camera - ack!  I tried to run up to take the photo with the remote and it didn't work.  Then, I tried to use the timer and that didn't work.  I finally just took the photo of everyone else!  Mike ran down to take a picture of me with the group but for some reason the photo didn't take.  Oh well, the story of my life!

 

After the event a couple of us hung out and chatted for a bit.  I love meeting new cachers and I love how the community is finally coming together!  Hopefully the word will spread in the area about caching because the more new members we have the more new caches will be placed! We even had several people come from out of town for the event!  So cool!


I told Mike that the next Summer WWFM we have should be at Waterfront Park.  We can all bring beach wear, our floats, beach balls and we can all wear floaties and play in the fountain.  He looked at me like I was crazy!  We shall see!

Rosebank Farms

I finally got my Jeep back in full working condition!  Yay!  Several weeks ago that unmistakable electrical fire smell started and when my sister opened the hood there was smoke.  Ugh.  Luckily Tonya's brother Nick is a mechanic so he was able to fix it for the cost of the parts... still really expensive, though.  He was able to get it running again but the AC still needed to be repaired.  I had to wait for him to have a day off, which was Sunday.  With all this Robin stress it was complete torture not being able to hop in my Jeep and go for a drive with my camera.  There was no way I was going to drive around with no AC in this humid South Carolina weather!

As soon as Nick finished fixing my car I was out of here!  Last week when Mark and I went out for dinner we took a drive out to Kiawah and Seabrook and I saw a couple of places I wanted to come back to photograph.  It's a really nice, scenic drive under the massive draping oaks.  I turned on my iPod, relaxed and enjoyed the drive.  It was the first time I felt free since the breakup.  My mind was filled with thoughts of the future.

The main place I wanted to stop on my drive was Rosebank Farms on John's Island.  The other day I noticed a little sunflower field that I wanted to get some photos of.  I parked the Jeep and walked over to the flowers and began shooting.  The whole time I was checking the ground for snakes (I was wearing flip-flops!) because I know fields like this are where they hang out!  Luckily I didn't find any and they didn't find me!

It was late in the afternoon so the stand was closed.  Bummer.  I hope they don't mind that I took some photos of their awesome looking produce and sunflowers.  I definitely need to come back some day soon to buy some fruit and vegetables.  I love watermelon season!!

The Name Hat

My Mom once told me that she and my Dad almost named me Lisa.

Lisa? Really??

I started thinking about this story this morning when I was getting ready for work. I was watching the Today show and they were talking about parent's later regretting what they named their children.

The story goes like this...

My Mom wanted to name me Lisa. I'm not sure where she came up with that name. I think it was just popular in the late sixties. My Mother had a kid from another relationship so I was my Father's first born. My Dad really wanted to name me Pamela. My Mom told me that they went round and round about it and finally decided to put both names in a hat and do a blind pick. My Mom knew that my Dad REALLY wanted to name me Pamela and being that I was his first born she intentionally picked his piece of paper. She said she knew it was his because he folded it bigger than hers.

So, Pamela it was.

Growing up, my ENTIRE family called me Pammy. I hate that name. Some people that have known me for years (mostly my cousins) will occasionally call me that and I cringe. I once had a conversation with my Aunt and Uncle and told them that hearing that name makes me insane so thankfully they stopped. Other people, who think they are funny, have called me Pammy. The look I give them pretty much lets them know that I do not think it is funny.

My name is Pamela. Not Pam. Not Pammy.

I've noticed that if I introduce myself as Pamela within minutes the person will call me Pam. Why do people do that? I have grown to accept it. It's what people do and I've learned it's a losing battle. I always said that if I ever had children (which I won't) I would NEVER name them something that people will automatically shorten.

Even though Lisa isn't a name you can shorten I still prefer Pamela. I don't think I look anything like a "Lisa"! I guess I should just feel lucky that my parent's weren't hippies that chose a name like "Rainbow" or something.

Bull Island Sunrise

A couple of weeks ago I received an email from the photography group I belong to which indicated there was a new post on the message board. The message said that there were a couple of openings on a sunset trip to Bull Island, S.C. I have been wanting to go to Bull Island for ages! The only bad part about this trip is that the boat leaves the dock at 5:30 a.m.! Ugh. Anyone that knows me knows I am NOT a morning person but I decided to sign up for the trip anyway because these sunrise trips aren't offered that often. Initially my friend Felicia was supposed to go with me but she bailed because she had to work that weekend so I called my friend Mark to take her place.

The night before the trip I couldn't sleep at all. I had to get up at 2:30 a.m. so I could leave by 3:30 a.m. in order to pick Mark up by 4 a.m. The trip to Awendaw from West Ashley is bout 45 minutes and we didn't want to risk being late. I guess the best thing about heading out at this God awful time of the morning is that there isn't much traffic so we made it in perfect time. When we pulled up to the gate there were a few cars parked in the grass so we did the same. After waiting for a few minutes I got out of the car to organize my things and out of the dark came a voice that said "Good morning!" I replied and he then said that when we were ready to head on down the dock to the boat.

Mark and I got our things together and started across the large parking lot toward the dock. This area is part of the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge which is in the middle of nowhere so it's incredibly dark out there! We could barely see 5 feet in front of us! Mark started shuffling around in his bag and pulled something out. Next thing I know I had a bright light shining in my face. He was wearing a head lamp! What a nerd... however, that thing DID come in handy because we couldn't see a damn thing as we walked down that long, dark pier!

As we reached the end of the dock everyone quickly arrived. There were 10 of us in all and I couldn't tell what anyone looked like because it was so dark! This pier was really long and brought us to the middle of the waterway. There were no lights out there and we were surrounded by water. All of us were trying to peer down to where the boats were to figure out what we would be taking to the island. Pretty soon the guide Captain Chris from Coastal Expeditions came up the ramp and greeted us. After a head count we all headed down the ramp toward the water. What waited at the end of that ramp was a very large ferry... and a very small boat. We all stood there awkwardly for a moment, not knowing which way to go, until the Captain said "Oh! We're taking the small one!" Ummmm... alrighty.

This little boat was wobbling back and forth in the water. On top of that, it was low tide so we had to step extra low down into it in the complete darkness. There were two benches facing each other and it sat all 10 of us quite cozily. The Captain started the motor and we were off into the darkness of the Sewee Bay and the Intracoastal Waterway.

I have no idea how Captain Chris navigated to Bull Island with no lights. At one point we actually hit a sand bar. When that happened I had an inner panic attack and was praying that he could fix the situation. I was so relieved when he put it in reverse and the boat eased off of the bar and once again, we were on our way. Someone asked why he did these trips when it was low tide and Captain Chris stated that if we didn't leave during low tide then our destination, Boneyard Beach, would be under water at high tide when we arrived.

The weather was pretty chilly and I was really glad that I wore a hoodie. It was nice having something to cover my head to protect it from the ocean wind. The day before I went to the store and bought some of those hand warmers to stick in my pocket. Those really saved the day!

When we arrived at Bull Island you could tell that the sun was about to appear because the sky was getting lighter and lighter. From the boat we all piled into a van and Captain Chris drove us to the North side of the island which is where Boneyard Beach is. As we drove up the road, almost to our destination, we were stopped because there were a couple of vehicles left from road construction blocking the way. We had to back up about 100 feet on a very narrow road with drops on either side to turn around, all the while racing the sun. We took another way to the beach and finally arrived. We all grabbed our equipment, scrambled out of the van and hurried to the beach.

When you are racing the sun it's so challenging because the sky is constantly changing colors and becoming lighter and lighter. One side of the sky was bright, blue, orange and pink while the other side was absolutely dark grey. I was constantly changing my camera setting every time I turned around. Literally!

Lilianna, one of the girls that we met that day, said she felt like
she was in a living Dali painting. I must say, I totally agree!

As I walked the beach I found several sand dollars. When I picked a couple up they were so brittle that they crumbled in my hand. I did manage to bring
three home with me (and yes, I made sure they were not living!)

Mark took a nap while I walked the beach from end to end.

Those who stayed for the afternoon were given maps of the island.

After spending several hours on the beach we were given the choice to go back on the skiff, or stay all day and take the ferry back later in the day. Mark and I decided to go back to the mainland early and were joined by Lauren and Lilianna.

The ride back to Garris Landing was much more enjoyable than the ride to Bull Island! First of all, it was high tide and we didn't hit any sand bars! Second, we could see! Third, it was warmer that it was at 5:30 a.m.! We all chatted on the way back and Captain Chris was a wealth of knowledge about South Carolina wildlife, the waterways and the island.

When we finally docked and climbed out of the boat we were greeted by approximately 30 senior citizens who were waiting to get on the ferry. We made the long walk back to the car and all Mark and I could talk about was food! We started driving back to Charleston and then we had the idea that we should see if Lilianna and Lauren wanted to join us for breakfast so we headed back to ask them. They said that sounded like a fabulous idea and we all agreed to meet at IHOP in Mt. Pleasant.

I think we were all so tired, but the conversation was great. It's always nice to meet new people, especially those with an interest in photography! After eating we exchanged info and then headed our own ways. I had to drop Mark off in West Ashley and we joked about the fact that he would be undressed and in bed by the time I was out of the driveway. I was only half-joking because I know I was right!

As I headed down the Interstate all I could think about was a big fat nap and that's exactly what I did as soon as I got home! I got something to drink, let the dogs out and jumped into bed and I must say, that was one of the best naps I have ever taken!

It was well worth getting up at 2:30 a.m. to see the sunrise! I can't wait for Robin to come back to town so we can go back for a day trip. I'd love to bring a lunch, our bicycles and roam the islands dirt roads. Bull Island is truly a magical place!

My Dad Was Magic!

I have a ton of old VHS and camcorder tapes to covert to DVD so I borrowed a DVD recorder from my good friend Samantha to finally conquer the task! The first thing I coverted was this awesome video of my Father circa 1994(ish) just before he retired from the U.S. Navy.

At the time, Dad was an inspector for the prestigious Ney Award, which he had won himself several times. He was also traveling around the world to do lectures at various Naval duty station mess halls. Who knew that Naval culinary traning was so involved?!?!



Sadly, I didn't watch this tape until a year or so ago after he had long passed away. It was a hard lesson to learn that my parent's were real people and actually quite cool. I only wish I had realized all of this while they were alive.

God's Acre Healing Springs

Robin came home for a few days this past week and planned to leave again on Wednesday. I decided to take half a day off on Tuesday so we could spend some time together. With so much recent stress over home repairs for the house insurance policy, my niece moving in and other drama in our lives I just wanted to get away, if only for a couple of hours.

There are a couple of road trips that I have really wanted to take for a while and one of them was to God's Acre Healing Springs in Blackville, SC which I learned about years ago.

From the Historical Marker:

By tradition, Healing Springs got its name during the Revolutionary War. In 1781 after a bloody battle at nearby Windy Hill Creek, four wounded Tories sent inland from Charleston by General Banastre (the Butcher) Tarleton were left in the care of two comrades who had orders to bury them when they died. Luckily, Native Americans found them and took them to their secret, sacred healing springs. Six months later the Charleston garrison was astonished by the reappearance of the six men. All were strong and healthy.

Ownership of the springs passed from the native “Indian” tribes who revered them to Nathaniel Walker, who bought them with corn. The site passed through several hands until it was acquired by L. P. Boyleston. On July 21, 1944 he deeded the land and springs to GOD. The waters, by analysis are exceptionally pure and contain healthful minerals. People today, as in the past, believe they truly are Healing Springs.

It was already mid-afternoon and we knew it was roughly a two hour drive so we headed out, grabbing some happy hour drinks from Sonic for the trip. The ride up Highway 78 is pretty uneventful and littered with a lot of farms. I always wonder loudly when traveling through places like this why on Earth would someone choose to live this far from civilization? As I drove, wanting to get to our destination as quick as possible, I made a mental note of places I wanted to stop and photograph on the way back.

When we arrived at the springs we pulled into the circular drive and assessed the situation. There were several cars there and people milling about. Others were carrying bottles to and from the springs after filling up. I decided to check us in on Facebook. We were so far in the country there wasn't even 4G reception!

After several cars came and went we decided to get out to get a closer look. As soon as I got out of the car I grabbed the bug spray and began spraying my entire body. I'm ALWAYS the one that gets a million bug bites whenever I'm outside and I'm allergic. The swelling and itching is brutal. One of the ladies that was getting into her car saw what I was doing, laughed and said "That won't help!" We South Carolinians always joke that the mosquito is the state bird and I didn't want to take any chances - especially while hanging around a source of water!

When we approached the springs we noticed that out of the three spring spigot's only one was producing any water. I walked around and took a couple of photos.



I went over to the working spring and started talking to the woman that was filling her bottles. I asked a couple of questions about the springs and she came to life telling me about the fact that she had been coming to the springs for years. She lived in Bamberg with her husband, who she claimed was Clarence "Choo-Choo" Coleman who used to play for the negro leagues, the Mets and Phillies. I asked how he got the name "Choo-Choo" and she smiled and said "Because he was as fast as a train!" She said he wasn't much into the springs, or collecting the water so he chose to stay home today after telling her that she already had enough water. She told me that you can never have enough!



I asked her what she used the water for and she said "Everything!" She said she drinks it, cooks with it and even bathes in it. She told me that sometimes she sits in her bathtub and pours it over her head. We chatted for a long time and I learned a lot about her life. She told me that she loves everybody and that it didn't matter who you are or what you do... she can't help it if you are going to hell! Ha! This lady is awesome! I really wish I had gotten her name! She started accumulating a lot of filled bottles and we helped carry them to her car. She thanked us and said "God sent ya'll here to help me!"

I really thought the water was going to smell and taste like the sulfur water from the spring at the Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine so I was hesitant to taste it. The lady told me that it tasted better than her tap water so Robin and I filled our cup and each had a drink. It was actually quite good! The day was incredibly hot and the cold water was really clean tasting and refreshing. I started wishing I had some empty containers to fill up for us!

It was getting late so Robin and I decided to head out so we said our goodbyes. In the meantime, a few more people had gathered with loads of bottles to fill!


We definitely need to come back during the Fall or Winter since we found that there is a cache in the woods that leads you to another spring. I was wearing sandals so there was no way I was going to trudge through high weeds. There's no telling what critters were hiding out there!

On the way to the car Robin decided to douse her head in the "Jesus Water" (as we took to calling it) because it was so hot outside. After doing so, she said "May the Gamecocks have a winning season!" I'm surprised we didn't hear thunder roll.

On the way home we stopped to take a couple of odd rural "roadside attraction" photos...





Finally, after a stop at the grocery store and take-out Chinese shop we came home and relaxed for bit before hitting the sack. Robin was leaving the next morning and I had to work. Days like this make me miss the fun, spontaneous trips Robin and I used to take when she was working (and living!) in Charleston. I don't go nearly as much when she's not here, but I should... just to get out of the house and put my camera to use.

Perhaps when the weather cools down and it's not 100+ degrees outside!