FOUR CORNERS OF LAW (CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA)

In previous post when writing about the "Four Corners of Law" in Charleston where tourists would find sweetgrass baskets for sale, I neglected to explain what the four corners of law was about. 

At this intersection of Broad and Meeting Streets stood buildings that represent God's law, City, State and Federal laws.  Thus, the term Four Corners of Law which was given by Robert Ripley, the creator of Ripley's Believe it or Not! show.

Top photo is St. Michael's Episcopal Church, God's law, at the southeast corner.  The church was built between 1752-1761.  Representing local law is Charleston City Hall, built between 1800-1804, at the northeast corner.  Charleston County Courthouse, at northwest corner, built in 1753 as South Carolina provincial capital, later rebuilt as the courthouse in 1796, representes State law.  The post office and federal courthouse at the southwest corner, representing federal law, was completed in 1896.  There you have it, the Four Corners of Law.

Note to QQ - As promised I got back to blogging this weekend.  (I wonder if the saying "absence makes the heart grow fonder" applied here with my adoring fans!)  I hope you appreciate all the "useless" information and cheesy photos from my recent Southbound adventure - haa haa.

SWEET MAMA (SWEETGRASS BASKETS OF MOUNT PLEASANT, SOUTH CAROLINA)

Tuesday, July 3rd - It was a sunny morning in Charleston, South Carolina.  We decided to spend a few more dollars staying at a nice hotel that included full hot breakfast instead of the low budget motels that provide stale pastry.  It was comfortable when we ate breakfast in the courtyard.  Then the temperature started to warm up so we got on a sightseeing air-conditioned bus for a 90-minute historic tour instead of the self-guided walking tour.  The bus took us around downtown as the driver/tour guide pointed out beautiful mansions, famous homes, the Old Citadel, historic churches, and a stop at the Battery to view Fort Sumter.  The tour was fine but the tour guide kept making not-so-funny jokes and then when he laughed, he would make sounds as if he was spitting - yuk!   After the Trolley Tour, we went back to the Four Corners of Law (Broad and Meeting Streets) where the sweetgrass basket stands were set up along the side of the courthouse.

According to the brochure, the art of making the coiled sweetgrass basket was transported across the Atlantic by enslaved African people from the Windward or Rice Coast of West Africa.  When first appeared in South Carolina during the late 17th century, the first known baskets in the Lowcountry were fanner baskets used for winnowing rice.  The baskets were also used in the planting and harvesting of cotton and other crops.  Over the years, the sweetgrass baskets evolved from agricultural implements to household items, practical daily use to the current status of show pieces.  In 2006, the State of South Carolina named Sweetgrass Baskets the official state handcraft.

This is Sheila Taylor, the artist who created and signed the basket we just bought for $35.

Roadside basket stands began in 1930s and today, most of the roadside stands are found along Highway 17, just north of Mount Pleasant, or at the  Four Corners of Law and at the City Market in Charleston.  Important note:  When we first approached the stands, I was told that I could only take photos after I made a purchase.  I "obeyed" the rules but kept walking to the next stand where Ms. Taylor greeted me with a sweet smile.  I selected a basket, paid for it and took the photo of Ms. Taylor signing my very own sweetgrass basket.  One more important note: the large basket on the top row has the price tag of $150 or more.

2,982 MILES

2,982 miles - that was the total mileage we drove in 9 days during our recent road trip last month.  (We were tired and wanted to get home so we did not drive around for an extra 8 miles to make it an even 3,000 miles as suggested by Qaptain Qwerty - haa haa).  For all the miles we drove, we only added North Carolina to our list of States we visited.  We still have about 13 more States, mostly in the northeast (i.e. Maine, New Hampshire), northwest (i.e. Oregon, Idaho) and Hawaii, to complete all 50 States for our From Sea to Shining Sea Adventures.

We started driving on Friday, June 29th from St. Louis with a stop in Metropolis, Illinois so my husband could take pictures of his precious Mustang in front of Superman sculpture.  We spent the night in Manchester, Tennessee.  The next day, Saturday, June 30th, after a visit to Ruby Falls and Rock City in TN, we continued to Atlanta to visit my sister CH.  We met for dinner and CH proudly showed us her new home and the neighborhood of Atlantic Station.  (I was there last November but it was my husband first time in A-town.)
After 9:30 Sunday (July 1st) Mass at the Cathedral, we went to the King Center.  We took the above photo of the Olympic Flame from the 1996 Summer Games but it was too hot to walk around Centennial Park.  We went to Varsity to get their famous "dawgs" for lunch.  In the evening, CH treated us to a very nice dinner at South City Kitchen in Midtown. 

Monday, July 2nd - On the way to Savannah, we stopped by Stone Mountain Park.  For the last 10+ years I had been telling my husband about "the best salmon I've ever had" and he agreed after our dinner at the Old Oyster Factory in Hilton Head, South Carolina.  We spent the night in Charleston, South Carolina.  The next day Tuesday, July 3rd, after the trolley tour, we drove to Charlotte, North Carolina to visit my husband's brother PP and his wife. 

It was a beautiful sunny day while we celebrated July 4th with PP on board his sail boat.  (I ate a light breakfast and my motion sickness was under control.)  The next day, Thursday, July 5th, we went to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville.  (Alisa, I am sure even the good people in Ladue would feel like paupers touring this lovely chateau!)   

Friday, July 6th - to celebrate our 23rd wedding anniversary, CP reserved a private caboose on the Great Smokey train ride just for the two of us.

It took us two days, Saturday July 7th and Sunday the 8th to complete our drive some 470 miles of Blue Ridge Parkway as it "winds and twists" along the mountain crests from western North Carolina to Virginia.  Opie was not home when we stopped by Mt. Airy, aka Mayberry, the hometown of Sheriff Andy Taylor, my favorite television classic, The Andy Griffth Show. 

Along the drive, we stopped at Mount Pisgah, the town of Little Switzerland, and Mount Mitchell. 

Our beloved Benjamin had a great time (he is such a good kid always smiling) while posing for a picture next to the marker of the highest elevation of Blue Ridge Parkway Motor Road.  Monday, July 9th we started heading back to St. Louis thru Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and finally home around 5:30 p.m.  It was a shorter road trip compared to when we drove 3,838 miles last year covering Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, and Colorado.  Our Route 66 Adventure in 2010 totalling 4,437 miles would be the longest road trip from Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California.  That was a lot of driving but having two cool cars (the T-bird and Mustang) made it more enjoyable and we are still "happily" married - haa haa!  I promise to post photos and sharing many interesting stories.