Thursday, January 15, 2015

Saint Augustine Bound


It was another miserable day of driving through rain. I suppose that was better than ice, but we were hoping for sun by the time we reached the Carolinas. A high point was the South Carolina Artisans' Craft Center. We saw a sign on the highway and went for it. Our first encounter elicited groans of, "oh, no. What is this?" The place appeared dilapidated and belonging to a wacko. But we drove by a second time and thought, "What the hell? Let's look". The parking lot was as you see above. The inside was an artist's paradise with fabulous works. Our favorites were the carved duck decoys and the pottery. I bought a small pottery piece to use as a salt cellar.




It was dark when we pulled into St Augustine, well past when we planned to arrive. Thus, we opted to walk next door to our hotel to eat at Harry's Seafood restaurant. It was a New Orleans themed restaurant and good. No one was out in old town, so we just went back to the room.

Florence, SC, Not Italy







We left DC this morning in freezing rain. On the way out we passed a beautiful monument to the Airforce the 3 monoliths suggest the soaring of jets. Our drive was long and difficult with areas of ice. We are listening to Ken Follet's trilogy, Century, which helps pass the time. Tonight we are in Florence, SC for no other reason than it was the proper distance from DC. It did have the advantage of a BBQ joint (what Carolina town doesn't?), Wholly Smokin'. The ribs were very tender and moist but lacked a smokey flavor. There was a salt rub that I found much too salty. The stuffed potatoe salad was worth the drive.