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Published: July 16th 2008
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Wow, the past few weeks have gone by incredibly fast and I have just under 3 weeks left here before I move on again to my next big adventure before making my way back to Alaska (which is in itself another adventure). It's going to be a busy 3 weeks though as this weekend I take off for Wilmington, NC to see my cousin, go scuba diving on a couple wrecks *smile*, tour around the campus that I spent 5 months of my life at, and sit on the sunny beaches of North Carolina again. Then next weekend is my Advanced Scuba diving class up at Lake Jocassee, SC and after...the dreaded REU participant research seminar where I give a powerpoint in front of the Biology Dept about my research this summer. It's going to be intense!!
But the past few weeks have been full of travel and exciting things as well. A couple weekends ago, my roommate's Mom came down from Chicago and we all enjoyed a hearty Southern breakfast of ham, grits, fresh biscuits, red-eye gravy, and eggs. Then we headed off to Charleston, SC where one of my favorite shows, Army Wives, is filmed (yes...i LOVE this
show). After a quick stop at the Visitor's Center to pick up a local map and meet all of the other camera-happy tourists, we toured an old rice plantation called Drayton Hall that is being preserved in its original state by the Ashley River. It was such a large house (a little small for a plantation we were told) with large oak trees near a small pond (with fish...i looked) and a lot of new trees that had been planted over where the old rice fields were and the swampy area. After an hour or so at the hall during the hot and humid day, we went back to Charleston and toured the South Carolina coast aquarium. Besides the huge two-story ocean tank, it was kind of a let down, but there were some cool sharks, jellyfish, seahorses, and other little fish to look at. Next, we headed off to find some grub at a little joint called Sticky Fingers that is known for their Lowland barbeque sauces. They have some of the best barbeque sauce that I have ever tasted and Sarah and I kept trying all 6 different kinds they had. My favorite was the Tennessee whiskey one
that had a bit of kick, but was soooooo gooood!!! Before parting the busy and warm Southern city that has a rich past full of pretentious socialites and was the port for EVERY slave trade ship coming to America, we drove by the waterfront and saw some of the ritzy Southern mansions that give Charleston it's Southern charm.
A couple days later, I took off for a turtle research cruise being conducted by the South Carolina DNR. On Monday night, I boarded the R/V Lady Lisa from the James Island harbor (out by Charleston) and spent the night on a 75-foot trawler that tossed to and fro as the Captain made his way up to Georgetown, SC. It was a rough night and a rough next day as I was overcome with such a sickness that by that night, I lost all of my bearings, my sense of balance, my appetite, and my desire to live...Okay, maybe it wasn't that horrible but at the time, it was pretty miserable to be in that predicament. One of the other crew members had to go back to Charleston that night and so at midnight, after 39 hours on a old shrimp
boat, I was back on dry-land. Besides the sickness, the cruise was actually a lot of fun as we were followed by a pod of bottlenose dolphins the entire day, we caught and tagged four loggerhead sea turtles, we pulled up a 6-foot blacktip shark (yes, I was smiling from ear to ear), we processed a bunch of species of fish, shrimp, and sharks that I've never seen, and we caught a HUGE spotted ray that looked like it was 4-feet or more across from pectoral fin to pectoral fin. It was a very unique experience even though I think I came down with a sort of flu as I was sick for three more days after that cruise.
That weekend was the 4th of July and it rained...and rained...and rained. There's something about these Southern storms that make them different than any storm. The rain just comes out of nowhere and dumps so much water that everything seems to flood within minutes. That weekend, over 1200 lightning bolts struck the Columbia area in ONE HOUR. It was insane. Luckily though, they did have fireworks on Saturday night out by Irmo and Dreher Island State Park so my roommates
and I drove out there and stood on a rail by Lake Murray as the fireworks burst over the water.
That following week past by pretty quickly and led up to last weekend where Friday night consisted of my roommies and I running to Walmart to buy a bike rack for my new bike. I know...frivolous spending as Alaska is full of hills and snow and ice but there is just a rush and excitement with bike riding. I can get a lot of use out of it and the brick paths down here are perfect for riding right now. After Walmart, we went over to Barnes N'Nobles where I bought Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. I had grown up watching the movie with my family, but had never read the book and after I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. It is a highly recommended read and being South just added to the appeal of it. It's almost like you don't want it to end because you get so wrapped up in the happenings at Whistle Stop. It was a bit different from the movie though, but I have to say that the
movie did it justice too. That entire next day, I spent most of the day reading that book (I finished it Sunday night) until that night when Sarah, Kristi, and I went out to meet up with a sorority girl that Sarah wanted to meet.
On Sunday, I had to make a trip back down to Charleston to recover my sleeping bag and pillow (from the boat trip...long story) and so after recovering my items, we went over to Patriot's Point. While over there, we took a trip over to Fort Sumter to see where the Civil War began. The brick fort still stands tall and proud even though the weather and tourists have taken its toll on her. Most of the inner walls have crumbled and a new steel compound was added by the Park Service to tell the history of the fort and give people a chance to climb up to the top and look out at the surrounding islands. At the top of compound still flies the two different Union flags, the two Confederate flags, and the now United States of America flag. The entire site had a very rich history and it's crazy to think
that the battle ensued on an island, but it had a very rich history and story buried within its brick walls and still looms as a reminder to how divided our country had been at one point.
After the short boat trip back to Patriot's Point, we went and toured the military ships that have been decommissioned and stationed permanently at Patriot's Point. Among these ships was the Clamagore, an old submarine that we got to crawl through (my favorite even though the space was VERY SMALL...barely large enough for a grown man to walk through). We also got to see the USS Yorktown, an old aircraft carrier that we think might have sank, but been recovered from the ocean and restored. Inside was a bunch of monuments depicting the naval history of the area, and on the flight deck, we got to see a bunch of military aircrafts, some of which are still used today.
After a couple hours on the ships, we got out of the hot sun and back into my air-conditioned car to go find something to eat. Unfortunately, the only restaurant we found that was open was a small but upscale restaurant with
very high dish prices and very nice dishware. We all ate though before heading back onto the road to Columbia and back to work in our labs. It has been a lot of fun down here in the South and the heat isn't even driving me crazy...yet. Plus, I have become a sweet-tea groupie as it is now an obsession along with Beezer's sub-sandwiches (a small joint out near the Horseshoe)!!
THERE ARE A LOT MORE PICTURES OF ALL THESE PLACES ON MY MYSPACE PROFILE: http://www.myspace.com/writergirl52
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