Beachcombers

Mary and I took a delightful excursion to Morris Island in Charleston Harbor.

Because of the tides and this natural rock barrier, the beach is covered with treasures!  You can see how clean the sand looks on the other side of the rocks.  On our side it was crunchy with shells!

We found lots of shells and several shark's teeth.

I can't honestly say that these are the ones we found.  Ours were much smaller but other people found big ones.  Our guide could identify which type of shark they came from.

The biggest one we found was from a Dusky Shark.  No we didn't take this photo either!  Google is a wonderful thing!

We did see this baby shark playing very, very close to the shore....where some in our group had just been wading!  The guide said not to worry that this one was too small to be dangerous. 

On the way out to the island we enjoyed the antics of lots of dolphins and pelicans!  Those speedy guys are hard to photograph!  I am amazed that I managed to get both in one photo!

This time I managed to get a picture with a little more dolphin!

 Here are all of our 'treasures'!

And our shark's teeth!  Plus a little piece of moon snail - a predatory fellow who secretes a chemical that makes a hole in another shell so that he can suck out his dinner.  

Emanuel Methodist Church

Mary and I just happened to drive by the Emanuel African Methodist Church where the horrific shooting took place in June.

I can not fantom the hate that would cause a person to commit such a horrible crime.

 Although it was a full month after this horror, the front of the church had many flowers. We saw the "Charleston Strong" banners all over the city!

Love this sign....definitely 'united in faith and love.'

Ft. Sumter

I have always heard about Ft. Sumter where the first shots of the 'War Between the States" were fired!  I pictured it very close to Charleston but actually it is a 30 minute ferry ride away from the city.  Since it guarded the harbor, I can certainly understand why the presence of Union troops was something the Confederates didn't like!

On April 12, 1861, General P G T Beauregard, in command of the Confederate forces around Charleston Harbor, opened fire on the Union garrison holding Fort Sumter.  At 2:30 on April 13, Major Robert Anderson, garrison commander, surrendered the fort. The generous terms of surrender allowed Anderson to perform a 100 gun salute before he and his men evacuated the fort.  The salute began at 2:00 but was cut short to 50 guns after an accidental explosion killed one of the gunners and mortally wounded another.  Carrying their tattered banner, the men marched out of the fort and boarded a boat that ferried them to the Union ships outside the harbor.  They were greeted as heroes on their return to the North.

The last Confederate commander of the fort never actually surrendered but General Sherman's advance through South Carolina finally forced the Confederates to evacuate Charleston and abandon Fort Sumter.  The Federal Government formally took possession of Fort Sumter on February 22, 1865 with a flag raising ceremony.

Mary and I went on a 'Sunset Tour' so we got to help the park rangers take down the American Flag since it was the end of the day.  And in case you wondered, no Confederate flags were flying!  And I didn't try to put one up!!!

Only the stars and stripes and the South Carolina flag - South Carolina - The Palmentto State! 

I especially enjoyed watching all the seabirds. 

There are still projectiles in the walls of the fort.

Loved sharing this afternoon of history with my daughter!

Southern Food

One of the fun part of my trip to the South Carolina with Mary was eating some of the southern food that I love.

Yes, we tried boiled peanuts!  I'd never had them before and they are really good!  The barbecue here was South Carolina style which means it was peppery and vinegary.  Different but I liked it!  Can't top the White Pig Inn in North Little Rock, Arkansas but it was good!  Going in Cooper's Country Store was like walking back in time!  And the hams smelled delicious!  I didn't try the hog head or the pig's feet though!

 Gotta love the south where macaroni and cheese counts as a vegetable!

Real fried chicken and biscuits almost as good as my Grandma used to make!

Shrimp and fried grit cakes!  My first time to try this but I'll definitely have it again when I can.

And one of my very favorites - Hush Puppies!  Delicious little balls of fried corn meal batter.  A taste of home!

I didn't get a picture of my grilled pimiento cheese sandwich with bacon and tomato.  But trust me it was heavenly!

And yes, I have been dieting since I got home!

Thorntree

 In 1734 my ancestor, James Witherspoon immigrated from Ireland to Carolina, landing at Charles Town with many friends and relatives who came over on the ship, "Good Intent". In 1735 he received a land grant for 300 acres on the Black River just south of the current town of Kingstree, South Carolina.

In 1749 he built a beautiful house known as "Thorntree".  Amazingly it is still standing today.  In the early 1970s it was purchased by the Williamsburg Historical Society and relocated closer to town.

Mary and I were so thrilled to be able to go and see this historic place built by my great, great, great, great, great grandfather!

To quote from a museum curator "in architectural structure it is a rarity...built in the English style with a great hall and memory work cornices and mantels."

"The house is in first rate condition and needs few minor repairs.  It is amazing that the majority of the pine interior has even escaped paint.  This would be an irreplaceable loss if this dwelling is not preserved for posterity."  I am so thankful that it was preserved and is so lovingly looked after by the Historical Society.

The wonderful gentleman who showed us around told us that the woodwork was hand done by slaves in 1749.  To try and replace it today would be astronomically expensive.  

I love to think of my ancestors here in this very house. 

From the history written by Robert Witherspoon, brother to my direct line James:

It was the first of February when we came to the Bluff.  My mother and us children were still in expectation that we were coming to an agreeable place, but when we arrived and saw nothing but wilderness and instead of a fine timbered house, nothing but a very mean dirt house, Father gave us all the comfort he could by telling us that we would get all these trees cut down and in a short time there would be plenty of inhabitants, that we could see from house to house.

Building this beautiful 'fine timbered house' for his family must have given him great pleasure.  Seeing it 266 years later certainly gave Mary and me great pleasure!

Waterfall and Battlegrounds

Mary and I spent one day at Cunningham Falls in northern Maryland.

A pretty spot but it takes a impressive waterfall to get an Oregonian excited.

Maybe I was less than excited because I was walking around in these shoe.  Cute but not the best choice for hiking to the top of a waterfall.

Since we were almost at the Pennsylvania border we decided to make a quick trip to Gettysburg.  A ranger was just about to start a talk called, "The Battle in a Box" so we listened to that.

The green things on the ground are the various geographical features that influenced the battle, the ropes are the roads, and the people represented various generals and their troops.  Interesting to learn about the little decisions that influenced the outcome of this decisive battle of the War Between the States!  I'm glad I don't have to try and explain it to anyone but it was fun to learn about.

Then we went to the spot where President Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address.

The place was the military cemetery.

Here is what I recently read about the speech. 

On June 1, 1865, Senator Charles Sumner referred to the most famous speech ever given by President Abraham Lincoln. In his eulogy on the slain president, he called the Gettysburg Address a "monumental act." He said Lincoln was mistaken that "the world will little note, nor long remember what we say here." Rather, the Bostonian remarked, "The world noted at once what he said, and will never cease to remember it. The battle itself was less important than the speech."

Here is the speech:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. 

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. 

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Abraham Lincoln

November 19, 1863 

Busy!

Several years ago I had a friend tell me that she was too busy living life to scrapbook!  That is how I feel about the last few weeks....I've been so busy living life that I haven't had time to blog!  Well the time plus a glitch on my computer that wouldn't allow me to add new photos are my excuses!  So now I'm home and the computer works so I'll make at attempt to catch up with our latest adventures!

I spent a wonderful 10 days with Mary and Mark.  They have a wonderful life there in Harper's Ferry.  Mark has done a great job with the garden. The fence is tall enough to keep the deer out.  He did plant a few beans on the fence so that the deer could have something to nibble!

We enjoyed squash, zucchini and some really unique oriental beans that grow to be almost a yard long.  They were tasty!  I also had a delicious BLT with tomatoes from their garden.

Mary loves her chickens.  I love the deluxe chicken coop Mark built for Mary's girls!

This cartoon made me think of Mary.  Her chickens are getting old but I don't think they are in any danger of being eaten!

 Pretty girls huh?