That's Continental's Embraer jet that took me to Charleston. The flight was slightly delayed but soon we were in the air and I was reading my new book. We were served with light snacks and juices/soft drinks. It was an uneventful flight and landed at Charleston slightly after 3pm. It looked like a cosy medium sized regional airport. Didn't have to wait long for my luggage at the conveyor belt eventhough there was another flight that came in with us.
Following directions, I walked out of the terminal building towards the counter for shuttle services. I was then directed towards a van with an African American driver. According to him I have to wait till he fills the van. I told him that was OK with me. The sun was out and there was a slight breeze. I felt the temperature must be around 25'C. It was just nice and cozy without being too hot. Conversation with the driver was pretty limited cause he found couldn't really understand what I was saying !?! Must learn to speak slowly.
The ride into Charleston didn't take too long and there was once I was drooling over the new Corvettes sitting on the transporter next to the van.
Initially, I wasn't too happy that we had been bumped to Francis Marion Hotel from the more luxurious Embassy Suites. However the organizers made fantastic arrangements and I had the 10th floor overlooking the Calhoun St. That beats the view from Embassy Suites cause that hotel probably has only max 6th floor.
Since it's a "historical" hotel, those modern design and deco is definately out. What I got is a relatively small cosy room with old style design furnitures.
That't the closet....located at a corner I never expected.
Simple but functional. However if you have lots of toiletries, it's gonna be a bit tight on that tiny strip of glass shelf.
The previously mentioned fantastic view of Marion Square & the Cooper River on the horizon.
The USS YorkTown can be seen from my room at 10x zoom. I had planned to allocate one day to visit Patriot's Point, where the YorkTown has been turned into a floation museum.
I was desperately tired from the jet lag but I knew I had to alter my bio-clock quickly cause my first meetings start the next day. So after freshening up, and getting an hour's nap. I headed out of the hotel for a quick look around the area.
Going out of the hotel, I headed south towards King Street (which is a tourist shopping strip), before cutting into Meeting Street, but still keeping my southerly heading.
Below is a picture of St. Michael's Episcopal Church (website).
There were a lot of historical houses along the way, and all of them have a plague outside detailing it's history. However because the sky was getting dark, I enjoyed the architecture without taking a lot of pictures.
After about 20 minutes, I finally reached the South Battery (Murray Boulevard) coast line just in time to see the beautiful sunset....
...birds flying back to nest...
Calhoun St. at night
After the long walk, I was too tired to go back down for dinner, so I just ordered in. I had the She Crab Soup (with cream sherry) as the appetizer.
And Pork Chops (if I remember correctly) as the entree. As you can see from the picture, it's two huge slabs of red meat that I thoroughly enjoyed.
After that, there's only one thing to do.
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