Charleston

(Sorry, I don't have a clever title for Charleston yet. I'll come up with something whilst I drive!)

S.S. Yorktown

I arrived in Charleston, feeling truly on my way. My first stop was the Aquarium, where my friend Bethany works since I arrived in the middle of her workday. I took a little tour then set out to do some exploring nearby. Having been to Charleston before, I knew it was extremely pedestrian friendly, so I set out on foot for lunch. I found a place she told me about called East Bay Deli – the mural on the wall boasted that it was the best deli in Charleston. It failed to mention how many delis there are in Charleston, however I felt content to agree. My turkey burger was delicious.

Bethany had to work until five, so I sat and wrote post cards and some other musings before setting out to find a post box. I honestly wasn’t sure they existed anymore – I mean do people still send letters? Apparently, they do because I found one across from the public library. Since I had an hour to kill, I decided to go in and work on some more things. I felt stupidly excited that I had discovered the library.

Charleston is my third city, third state and third adventure in less than a week! I’ve eliminated some cities from the road trip. As is often the case in life, plans don’t always pan out and other things become more important. I felt that spending Sunday in DC was more important than stopping in Raleigh. Savannah isn’t going to work because of some issues with catching my metaphorical couch wave there. It works out, though because I have been able to enjoy my time in each city that I have stopped in and I don’t feel so rushed. I will say that while the end to the trip is not near, it is evident. Each city only has so many hours to make an impression on me, or maybe it’s the other way around, and I can feel it as I travel. Little Miss Tired, who usually rules the snooze button, is far more aware of how little time she has and suddenly isn’t so tired. This is wonderful because I am triumphing over a part of myself that I usually hate. I can waste entire days being lazy and putting things off, including small satisfactions like going for runs and writing as well as those important adult things that I seem to enjoy ignoring so much. This is a win I hope I don’t forget when I get back. It’s a little scary – the thought that all of these revelations or newly formed habits might only be temporary while I’m on the road. What if they’re all lost to me the moment I’m back in my own, comfy bed and my alarm goes off? What if I think, as I have so many times before, “I can snooze now and run later – or even tomorrow”? What if I leave Little Miss Carpe somewhere on I-40? No answer to these questions as of yet, but here’s hoping Little Miss Carpe is who I really am deep down and this trip is merely her alarm clock – no snooze!

That said, I woke this morning excited to run the Ravenel Bridge, a Charleston must! The bridge is two and a half miles across. Bethany lives about a mile from the base on the outside of Charleston. I decided to run to the “top” of the bridge and then try to find the beach back on Bethany’s side of the bridge. It was a beautiful day. I laughed later when they apologized for how cold it’s been during my stay. 55-60°? Yea, so cold! My exploratory run brought me to some great sights that I had to share:

The run was great, minus the part where my exploring led me to a red ant infestation in my left shoe. Or maybe it was fire ants. Or maybe just regular ants. I don’t know! Regardless, it was an adventure.

We ventured into the city for lunch and I had Vietnamese sandwiches! They’re called Banh Mi and they were freakin’ fabulous. Bethany’s friends own the shop. Apparently, they started selling the sandwiches at Phish shows and then quit their real life job to open the store. Bethany’s boyfriend took me for a drive around downtown. He showed me the Battery, which I’d seen before but still enjoy seeing. I think I like being reminded of how old the city is and how much history is there. It’s part of the city’s personality and I really appreciate how they own it. Later, I took myself downtown for a mani/pedi. I found my way into the “city” with such ease. I explored a bit and visited King Street, where all the shops are – I guess one might equate it to 5^th Ave? Only smaller. I didn’t feel like spending money, so I didn’t stop to shop. I loved the drive though. It was easy to maneuver and adorable.

Tally time! It was brought to my attention that at the end of DC and Charlotte, I gave each city one point and I gave home zero. This is incredibly unfair to home. It’s not horrid; I’m just tired of it. In fact, there are things about each city that I find comforting because they remind me of home. It may be a little fairer to readjust the tally system to assess only the things I really enjoy about the city – without putting down home and the people in it!

Charleston running aesthetic: 1

Charleston city accessibility: 1

Charleston awesome historical stuff: 1