The Squire was to meet some friends from high school for lunch on Thursday, but that didn’t work out. We drove over to the library in Waynesville and he spent most of the day poring through old books, looking for ancestors. He did have one major stroke of luck when local genealogist put him into a website loaded with info about people from the area. Unfortunately, this site can only be accessed from the library. In the late afternoon we went with J to visit one of their uncles, who is also interested in the research.
Next genealogy trip we make is going to be Germany, to look up some of my people!
Friday morning we loaded up and headed for Charleston, to spend a few days with Eldest Daughter in her new house. Quelle maison! Quel quartier! I’m not sure I want to live in an area that has signs such as this; I mean, c’mon folks! 
This first night we were there, Eldest Daughter took us for a ride around the neighbourhood on their golf cart. One thing that is unusual is that on trash night, people also put out items they no longer need or use, free for the taking. She has picked up a bouncy ball for her grandkids, as well as an almost new double stroller. She picked up a children’s art center, with a white board on one side and a chalk board on the other, and space underneath for chalks and markers. She is working on figuring out how to attach a roll of butcher’s paper so the kids can draw pictures they can save.
Saturday we toured downtown Charleston, taking a carriage ride and then wandering through the shops. We did learn that the “Slave Market” is actually a Slaves Market, a place where slaves could sell their handicrafts and what produce they were able to grow on their own little plots of ground. As our guide said, “When was the last time you went to a Farmers Market and brought home a farmer?”
We went to St. Phillip’s on Sunday, and then headed back to Maryland. That is some church! Absolutely huge, and I swear they have more people on the staff than we have in the pews some weeks. Rector, Assistant Rector, Senior Associate, Youth Minister, somebody whose job it is to visit shut-ins, yada, yada. With a membership of slightly over 1,000 (Eat your heart out, folks!) you can do all of this neat stuff.
We got back to Greater Downtown Bradshaw just before 8:30, and The Squire went to purchase milk and eggs, while I started plowing through a week’s mail and newspapers. Yuck.
And that’s all, folks!
thisendoftheswamp 