Fall Magnolia Cemetery Visit

 

We stopped by Magnolia Cemetery last Saturday after a nice lunch downtown at Fleet Landing. 

It was such a pretty day I thought it would be fun to walk off our big meal at the cemetery.

Joseph took this photo of me at the iconic Smith Pyramid, eternal home to William Burroughs Smith, a wealthy banker who died in 1892. 

The pyramid and hundreds of other gravesites and the people interred in them are featured in my 2014 book, "In the Arms of Angels: Magnolia Cemetery- Charleston's Treasure of History, Mystery and Artistry." Check it out as well as my other books for sale on Amazon. My book information is also available at the top of this blog. 

On this sunny fall day I also wanted Joseph to see the spot we are purchasing in the mausoleum at Magnolia Cemetery.

I still have a number of monthly payments to make. But once that is accomplished we can have our names inscribed on the outside. Kind of creepy I know, but kind of cool too! 

Here are some of the pictures I took as we walked around the venerable150 acre burial grounds. Someone put a tiara on the lovely figure on the tomb of "Little Annie" Aiken who was just shy of 3 years old when she died at 1856 of diphtheria, a bacterial disease that a vaccine today can cure and prevent. 

Keep on Shipping--- Dock Workers Strike is Suspended

 

It was a wistful outing to Sullivan’s Island on Sunday, Sept. 29 amid news that at midnight Tuesday port dockworkers from Maine to Texas would go on strike. 

The strike did happen but the good news as I begin this post Thursday at 7 p.m. is that it was just announced that the strike is suspended and International Longshoremen Association union members will return to work tomorrow morning. The ILA represents 85,000 longshoremen in the U.S., eastern Canada, Puerto Rico and the Bahamans.

So these big container ships will soon again be loading and offloading precious cargo at Charleston’s several ports. 

Hopefully things will quickly settle down at grocery stores where many shoppers have been stocking up on food and supplies, fearing shortages a long strike could cause. Plus people and organizations have been buying water, food and other products to help those suffering from the wrath of Hurricane Helene. 

We were fortunate to only have lots of yard debris caused by Helene's winds in our area.

Right as we arrived on the beach just before noon two APL ships passed in the harbor. The Southampton entered the harbor…

Views from the Ravenel Bridge- Spectacular!

 

A recent walk across the majestic Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge offered a bounty of beautiful photography opportunities for this shutterbug. 

Sunday, Oct. 1 was an ideal combination of nice weather, puffy cloud cover, busy boat and ship activity plus an expansive view of Charleston, its harbor and points beyond in Mt. pleasant and Sullivan’s Island. 

My Canon SX70 lens was drawn to pleasure boats and the long wakes they left speeding toward the bridge.

Charleston- the Holy City- glistened in the distance. 

My book, “Stories from the Underground: The Churchyards of Charleston,” explores the old city’s rich, interesting and diverse history through the prism of its religious burial grounds. 

Check out this book (and my previous ones) at the link above or on my Amazon site. 

Beach Boats Abound (And a One-Legged Bird)

 

Going to the beach, soaking in the sun and atmosphere in late September! Not a bad place to live and way to live, in my opinion.

I do apply the sunscreen and wear a wide-brimmed hat, so I’m well aware of the sun’s hazards. Believe me, I’m aware. 

Pondering the Ships at Sea

 

Massive cargo ships daily enter and leave Charleston’s harbor near Sullivan’s Island. 

This beach is truly and literally the intersection of commerce and recreation. 

Charleston’s state-of-the-art ports are among the busiest in the nation. 

And tourism, especially the thousands of people who flock to the fine and family-friendly Atlantic Ocean beaches in the area, is another key to the region’s economy. 

More Shipping News

Today was another nice day at the beach! Station 17 at Sullivan's Island has become our go-to spot. It's never crowded and has great views of the channel to Charleston, which today was busy with ships and other vessels coming and going.

This container ship, only partially loaded, was heading out to sea. It is the Japanese ship Meishan Bridge.