anticipation & preparation: charleston, south carolina

Pinning down dates with my daughter, who works three jobs and has to secure a pet-sitter, was the toughest part of making our arrangements for our mother-daughter getaway to Charleston, South Carolina. Once we decided on November 11-15, we found and reserved an Airbnb cottage in Mt. Pleasant, across Charleston Harbor from Charleston.

I started my preparations by reading Moon Handbooks: Charleston (with Hilton Head & the Lowcountry) by Jim Morekis.

I always try to read novels, memoirs or travelogues set in my destination.  I read several books many years ago, the two listed by Pat Conroy that have star ratings and Goodreads links below, as well as The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd in 2011. The ones in bold green are books I own.  Two I am currently reading, but I probably won’t have time to read the others before I go; they’ll be on my post-travel reading list.

• South Carolina
  1. Beach Music by Pat Conroy *****
  2. The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy *****
  3. The Great Santini by Pat Conroy
  4. The Water is Wide by Pat Conroy
  5. The Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy
  6. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd ****
  7. The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd (currently reading)
  8. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
  9. Sullivan’s Island (Lowcountry Tales, #1) by Dorothea Benton Frank (currently reading)
  10. Isle of Palms (Lowcountry Tales, #3) by Dorothea Benton Frank
  11. Pawley’s Island (Lowcountry Tales, #5) by Dorothea Benton Frank
  12. Plantation by Dorothea Benton Frank
  13. All the Single Ladies by Dorothea Benton Frank
  14. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
  15. Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
  16. Some Sing, Some Cry by Ntozake Shange, Ifa Bayeza
  17. The Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd
  18. Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison
  19. The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt by Andrea Bobotis

I love to watch movies set in my destination as well.  I’ve already watched many movies set in South Carolina, shown below with star-ratings.  If I have time, I may try to watch some of the others on the list, either before or after travel.

1. Conrack (1974)
2. The Great Santini (1979) ****
3. The Big Chill (1983) *****
4. The Lords of Discipline (1983)
5. Glory (1989)
6. The Prince of Tides (1991) *****
7. The Fugitive (1993)
8. Forrest Gump (1994) *****
9. Bastard Out of Carolina (1996)
10. G.I. Jane (1997)
11. The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000)
12. The Patriot (2000)
13. Rules of Engagement (2000)
14. The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (2002)
15. Cold Mountain (2003) ****
16. Radio (2003)
17. The Notebook (2004) ****
18. The Secret Life of Bees (2008) ****
19. Dear John (2010)
20. Accidental Love (2015)

We’re leaving our itinerary as open as possible, but here are a few things we want to do:

1. Charles Pinckney National Historic Site
2. Fort Sumter National Monument, Sullivan’s Island
3. Reconstruction Era National Historical Park
4. Historic Charleston
5. Rainbow Row
6. Battery
7. Waterfront
8. Middleton Place – garden
9. Magnolia Cemetery
10. Aiken-Rhett House
11. Unitarian Church (cemetery)
12. Sullivan’s Island
13. Charleston Tea Plantation
14. Kiawah Island
15. Eat at:
    1. FIG
    2. Chez Nous
    3. Husk

Here are my maps, books and journal.

heading south on I-95 through Richmond and to North Carolina

North Carolina on I-95

South Carolina to Charleston

 

my journal

my journal

The following are my creative intentions for this trip.

travel intentions

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“ANTICIPATION & PREPARATION” INVITATION: I invite you to write a post on your own blog about anticipation & preparation for a particular destination (not journeys in general). If you don’t have a blog, I invite you to write in the comments. Include the link in the comments below by Thursday, November 21 at 1:00 p.m. EST.  When I write my post in response to this challenge on Friday, November 22, I’ll include your links in that post.

This will be an ongoing invitation, on the 4th Friday of each month. Feel free to jump in at any time. 🙂  If you’d like to read more about the topic, see: journeys: anticipation & preparation.

I hope you’ll join in our community. I look forward to reading your posts!