September 5 - Horse Drawn Carriage Ride, Angel Oak, Fitt Flops and Hank's Seafood Dinner

This morning began as did the last two... a hearty breakfast at the Inn in the courtyard. When we felt we had enough sustanance to last a few hours we walked to the carriage ride area next to The Market. We didn't have long to wait until our guide showed up to pick up the maximum of 16 passengers of which we were two! I don't revall the guide's name but the horse's name is Montague... a Belgian draft horse. Apparently you never know what part of Charleston you'll be touring because before we could take off the driver had to check in with the tax people. Tax must be paid at the rate of $2 per person plus an additional amount each time a carriage goes out on a tour. In addition, a bingo like apparatus spits out a ball dictating what section of Charleston that particular carriage will visit for the tour. Unfortunately we got the must quiet section of the city... it was full of beautiful houses but sooooo quiet. In fact, there is an ordinance which prohibits the carriages in that section of Charlotte after 6PM. On the tour we learned the difference between a graveyard and a cemetery... a graveyard is always next to a church...a cemetery is not. We learned that people paint the ceiling of porches a light blue to keep ghosts away. In addition, there is a noticeable slant to the porches...to drain away water. The slant is VERY noticeable! After our ride I decided that my sneakers just were not comfortable enough. We found a Flip Flop Store in which they sold Fitt Flops! I purchased a pair on sale but decided that I need to find the 'Fiorello' model which really struck my fancy. After all this 'hard work' we felt we deserved a cool drink and went to the roof of the Pavilion Hotel near Market Street. What we found was a beauful pool, monogrammed towels, wrought iron tables with bar chairs and umbrellas. From the roof we could see many of the steeples of the churches we had passed as well as a Carnival Cruise Ship which was in port. After taking many photos we returned to the hotel, freshened up and went to John's Island to see the 1500 year old Angel Oak Tree. It is thought that the term 'angel oak' came from the fact that the tree appears to have an aura... like an angel but actually it was named the Angel Oak by a man named 'Angel'. The tree is 56 feet tall, the circumference is 25.5 feet and shades 17, 700 square feet. It is truly a site to see! After returning from that adventure we partook of 'afternoon tea'. We chatted with some people from Ohio and then once again freshened up (you wilt very easily in Charleston... the relative humidity must be a constant 80%) and went out to eat a ridiculously expensive dinner at Hank's Seafood Restaurant. I had s Seafood A La Wando which is sauteed shrimp, scallops and fish deglazed with Sherry, finished with crabmeat, button mushrooms and scallion in a saffron shellfish cream sauce... served with, what else, fried grit cake. It was insanely delicious... with a nice Riesling... mmmm mmmm good! Jim is relaxing watching the MD/Miami football game. I am in bed ready sleep so I'll say goodnight! We're off to Savannah tomrow. We'll see what Tuesday brings.