Right. So after all the drama with Oliver on Sunday night, I thought I'd have a peaceful Monday morning. But that didn't happen, because I had a morning precalculus test. Hooray! After all that was done, I met up with the family at my apartment and we planned out our day. We started off having a walk around the Cistern and Physician's Promenade at my college, and then visited the gardens behind the student center. The gardens were alive with much noise, which we later discovered was coming from lots and lots of froggies (or toads) sexing it up! We also saw little itty bitty baby ones hopping around that were less than a centimeter long!
Froggy secks!
My father decided that he really wanted to go see the old Sheldon Church Ruins near Pocotaligo. We'd both been before on the way back from Beaufort (lamest city ever), and I was actually planning on driving out again sometime, so why not now?
Anyway, we set off on this drive that should've taken 45 minutes tops, but due to a ridiculous amount of construction (destruction) it took us double the time. While inching along in traffic we noticed a sad and interesting thing - around the wetlands there were tons of baby alligators smooshed on the road. *pout* It's strange because I've driven this road several times to get to Savannah, and never noticed it before. But they were popping up about once every half mile. Poor little fellows.
When we arrived at the ruins, it was a little different than I remembered it. The grass seemed to be shorter (I remembered it as being unmaintained) and there was a gate and historical marker that I just must not have paid attention to last time. There were also two other families there checking it out. One was a large family that was just sort of quietly poking around. The other group was two women (maybe in their 20s) with 4 little kids. On the ruins, there is actually a large sign that explains that this is a churchyard with gravestones and history that was tragically burnt and you should have a little respect and be reverent. It doesn't say "no touchy" or anything like that...but basically just shut up and don't be rude. That being said, these 4 little kids were running around sword fighting with sticks, parents being loud and rude as well. And as I watched them climbing on the tombs, I noticed that the two women were carrying cameras, and not taking pictures of the ruins, but rather doing a photo shoot with the children. I understand kind of almost(ish) posing your kids in front of the old church. It's pretty. But they were standing the little girl up against gravestones and sitting her on the tombs and taking photos of her. First off, that's strange. Second off, really kind of disrespectful I think. Maybe that's just my feeling.
So anyway. The ruins themselves obviously haven't changed a whole lot. Little plants were growing out of the cracks in between the bricks. The sun was shining and it was just serene (minus the yelling). I hadn't really looked at the tombs the last time I was there. Stephen Bull and his wife were buried there in the 1700s. I think Stephen's said 1770 something. They're very old. Two of the tombs are cracked at the top, making little openings for the water and insects to run in. Overall it was a trip worth making. You can click here to read a little bit about the church's history. And here are some photos:
The Ruins from the entrance gate.
Inside where the altar used to be.
The Bull family graves/tombs
From the front of the church
We left Sheldon Church hoping to make it back to Charleston in time to see the Parade of Sail and watch all of the tall ships leave the harbor. However, the construction slowed us down and I had to stop to medicate Ollie, so we just missed it. By the time we arrived on the Battery, we could just barely see the last of the ships on the horizon, and we could see the Spirit of South Carolina turning around and heading back to port. They must have had a teaching session in progress, because they lingered in the harbor for a long time. There were also a few barges coming and going. While we were watching the Spirit sail around the harbor, we noticed a bunch of tiny little seagulls flying around. Their mother was standing by and watching them, and we concluded that she was teaching them how to fish. There must've been 50 or so little babies flying about and squeaking. I managed to catch a little video - ignore my father and I chatting in the background.
The Spirit of South Carolina sailing around the harbor
After we finished all of our productive things we headed out for dinner. My guests were interested in seafood, so we hit Hyman's on Meeting Street and sat at the table where Mikhail Baryshnikov and Anthony Hopkins dined (though most likely not at the same time :)). And that was the end of our night, and sadly the end of my family's visit. All in all, it was a very enjoyable weekend and I'll miss the busy schedule and the excitement.
Now I'm back to normal things. Today was my final exam for my summer course and now I'm free to do whatever I wish again. I'm not really sure what that is, but I'll find something and hopefully will have some interesting things to share in the upcoming weeks.
