Good
Morning! The cushion of this chair I sit in, that fake leather stuff, squishes
when I sit and makes the sound like squeaking air out of a balloon. Pshhhewwww.
Or like when watching those old war movies and the sound with bombs whistling
when dropping and before they explode. Maybe I should be thankful I don’t have
an exploding chair, ha ha.
One
thing I find disheartening wherever one goes is that a bottom line price can never
be given. Everything is a quoted price “plus tax.” This room, for instance, was
quoted at $89 for the night. This morning I get the bill and there’s a state
tax of $6.01, a city/county tax of $$2.67 and an occupancy tax of $.89. Personally,
I’d rather be given the total price up front and be told that the breakdown
would be on the receipt. I don’t like those kinds of surprises. Reminds me of
the time I rented a car in Arizona for a hundred something for the week and
when I returned, I was shocked to find I had to pay almost $300 because of
taxes, insurance add ons and other fees.
I
checked back home last night and the water is running in the faucets so the
frozen pipe situation wasn’t too bad. Phew, I was beginning to worry that I was
going to have to abort this trip. Karen has been a God-send. I cannot thank her
enough; not only for taking care of my precious kitty, but handling the
unforeseen issues that come up.
There
were a couple things I didn’t mention last night. Any highway often has
creatures that do not make it across the road in traffic. I’ve seen deer,
raccoon, squirrels, fox and a lot of opossum. What nearly broke my heart,
though, was the black and tan puppy. How horrible is that! It wasn’t like it
was near someone’s home either which made me wonder if it didn’t jump out of
someone’s truck and they just kept going. Awful! Awful! Awful! It’s bad enough
that the wild critters get killed, but to see cats or dogs, just wreaks havoc
on my heart. Maybe it’s because I’ve lost too many pets to passing vehicles…
which is one of the reasons that I don’t let Freyja out.
The
second thing to mention was the Battleship USS Carolina. It was huge! I could
see it from the highway, but it was getting late in the day and it was cold and
dreary out. This is another reason to return this route. That ship would be
interesting to tour. Hopefully the weather will be nicer by the time I head
home.
I’ve
been studying the map of South Carolina. I should be to the border an hour from
leaving here. One of the big plantations I planned to visit, Boone, is closed
for the month. I’ll have to come back this way on my return trip home. BUT
there are plenty of others to visit. My plan for the next couple of days is to
visit Brookgreen Gardens in Murrell’s Inlet which is just south of Myrtle
Beach. Next would be Hampton Plantation, then I’ll head on down to Charleston
where Cypress Gardens, Magnolia Plantation, Fort Sumter and Charleston itself
will keep me occupied.
Looking
online, it looks like some of those places may take all day. There will be lots
of walking and possible train and boat rides. Imagine boating through cypress
swamps! Perhaps Charleston will be a three day lay-over. It’ll be good to have
a home base for a bit and not to have to pack up every day.
I’m
sure when I stop at the Visitor Center upon crossing the state border I will
find even more things to do. At least the temperatures are supposed to be
warmer.
I wanted to post photos this morning, but I have to do my ITR (InterTown Record) work. I'm eager to get on the road so photos will have to wait until later. Sorry.
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