The Long and Winding Roots

It was a big, wonderful weekend around these parts--I wish all weekends could be as amazing!  One of my very good friends from Washington just so happened to have a work conference in North Carolina last week, so when it ended on Friday, she rented a car and moseyed on down the highway toward Charleston.

Charleston and I were both anxious to give her a good first experience in the South, and I think that we did a pretty good job showing the city off to full effect.  Friday night we sat up talking until the wee hours of the morning, drinking wine and planning our week in Japan.  I had missed our long wine-fueled chats, so it was a great way to start our weekend together.  As she was leaving on Sunday morning, we really had to make Saturday count.

 

We dragged ourselves out of bed on Saturday morning and got out of the house only 15 minutes or so behind schedule.  We began the day at Boone Hall Plantation, and she was immediately taken with all of the Spanish moss and the centuries-old live oaks.  I thought the plantation itself was a little disappointing--it was actually built in the 1930s, so while it has been a functioning plantation since the founding of Charleston, the house itself isn't as old as other plantation homes that I've been to.  On top of that, the house is mostly occupied, so you only get to tour three of the rooms downstairs and a sun porch.  But, the best part was the old slave cabins that had been converted to exhibits on slave life in the antebellum South, and the adorable lady who put on a Gullah presentation.  It was a beautiful home with lovely grounds, but I'm looking forward to seeing what other plantations South Carolina has to offer.

After the plantation we went to lunch at a restaurant overlooking Isle of Palms beach, then made our way downtown to Charleston where we shopped at the market, took a romantic carriage ride around the city, ate Baklava and drank Italian sodas, walked down to the waterfront park, strolled down Broad Street, and poked around in the Circular Congregational Church cemetery.  We ended the day at another friend's house for dinner, and then back home for a little more Japan planning and gabbing.  Then, to make the weekend even better, Colby got home from his endless trip early Sunday morning while we were still asleep, and was there to see Nicole off on Sunday.

For the most part, I enjoy our military lifestyle as I love experiencing new places and getting to live in so many different parts of the country.  But I really hate that I'm constantly leaving behind friends and family.  This weekend helped to reaffirm the fact that friendships really can be maintained over time and distance, and even after months apart, you can pick up right where you left off and feel like no time has passed at all.  Colby and I don't have short roots--ours are long roots that wrap around the world and have latched on firmly.  Our roots aren't attached to places, they're attached to people, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Comments

[The Incubator]

This has been the best part of our vagabond family lifestyle. We have experienced wonderful friendships and have collected some wonderful "souveniers" along the way -- some of them have chosen to remain a part of our eclectic collection throughout the years, and that makes me smile!

[Jessica]

Wow those plantations look amazing. I love your closing paragraph too about short and long roots. I'm at a point where I don't know if I could start over again w/o a partner, so I love hearing from people who travel around to live vicariously through them ;)

[Nicole]

I too am so glad that our friendship has continued through the distance! I treasure your friendship and am looking forward to picking up the wine glass when we can together and the telephone, and dare I say a wine glass too, when we are far apart!