Sunday, Oct 30th, Charleston, South Carolina

Greetings!

Unfortunately, we're at at RV Resort which has no wifi (and no cable), for three days. And last night, the device aboard the Airstream which is supposed to alarm and wake us up if it detects gas - did so last night, and we couldn't get it turned off. At 7:00 am, it quieted down after an hour of my reading the manual, unscrewing it from the floorboard, and threatening to cut the wires.

We spent the day in Charleston, riding a historic tour bus, and wandering the Charleston Museum. Now at one of three Starbucks near the local college, I'm thinking of bailing on the town early. The old historic homes are very impressive (tightly-packed, and with unique designs), but the rest of the town seems overly commercial. Oh well, I'm sure it's from too little sleep. Pat is answering emails across from me, and we're listening to some Van Morrison and Ferron.

Later today....
The photos taken while riding on the historic tour trolley in Charleston today weren’t that bad. At least you could see the columns and porches and colors. There is one section referred to as Rainbow Row, recalling a Carribean visual influence. So here’s a link: Charleston

We came back to a beeping home, and immediately cut the wires to the offending device. Now we’ll probably just die asleep of a gas leak, even though we’re planning on opening several windows, and sleeping in the cold.

While we wait for our late lunch to settle, we’re listening on the Airstream’s radio to “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me”, after an episode of “Car Talk”, which we also heard this morning while driving into Charleston. Both are excellent, and we have lots of time for good listening.

Charleston has never been shy about picking a fight. In both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, key local decisions called into conflict what Americans believed in. Standing up first to the British at Fort Sumpter, or seceding from the Union, this town has been the scene of nation-defining arguments. The Charleston Museum is full of detailed descriptions which define very well what the issues were locally, and allow one to better understand these complex conflicts.

Gregory