I meant to take pictures, pictures, pictures of our visit with the Shrewsdays. Really, I did.
But after spending two solid weeks looking at screens, I decided to give myself a little break. Sort of. After all, I was sweating from every pore in the 108 degree heat index on Saturday, the day MTM planned to take the Shrewsdays on the Mayors Institute Walking Tour of Charleston. And, because Kate is Kate, he wanted to give her the FULL tour, not the highlights dignitaries often request because they can’t walk far.
When we met the Shrewsdays at Charleston’s Waterfront Park at 8am, it was already 84 degrees. MTM did his copper map dog-and-pony show, taking the British through four centuries of Charleston history. (The 21st Century plate is missing. MTM jokes that Charleston has no future.)
After sweltering in the sun for thirty minutes, we led the group through city streets to one of their favorite parts of the morning: an air conditioned bakery. From there, MTM led a death march to Charleston’s Battery, down Stoll’s Alley, back up Church Street and along Broad Street to the Four Corners of Law, where he pointed out the most important site on the tour: City Hall, where he and I got married.
By then, it was 10:30am and 100 degrees.
We all decided to stop at Fast and French for air conditioning, I mean, water.
Next, we tortured, I mean, showed the Shrewsdays the Unitarian churchyard (a cemetery they could see a thousand times in England), and we told ghost stories outside the Old Jail. By that point, even I was wobbly from the heat. We cut across the peninsula (through every air conditioned outlet we could find) and ended our tour with lunch at Fleet Landing (where eleven-year-old Felix saw his first porpoise in the wild.)
Our English visitors were hearty. Their spirits never flagged, and their steps did not drag.
I’ve included a few of the only photos I took of our tour on my Tumblr site here: Andra Watkins Tumblr
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TODAY’S MERIWETHER LEWIS BIRTHDAY MONTH TRIVIA QUESTION:
WHO WAS OFFICIAL COMMANDER OF THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION?
Yesterday’s Meriwether Lewis Birthday Month Trivia Question: WHO TRAINED MERIWETHER LEWIS IN MEDICINE?
Answer: Dr. Benjamin Rush! Congratulations, Penny at Life on the Cutoff for your correct answer.
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To Live Forever: An Afterlife Journey of Meriwether Lewis is just $2.99 on Kindle during August in celebration of Meriwether Lewis’ Birthday Month.
Click here to read an excerpt.
Or click below to buy it.
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To check out the entire Meriwether Lewis Birthday Month Series, follow the links below:
Lewis and Clark: Screwing Their Way Across a Continent
Lewis and Clark and Sex Bombs
Who Was Meriwether Lewis Godfather?
If Meriwether Lewis Had Lived to be 80
Lewis and Clark and Old Blue Eyes
The Lion Will Lie Down With the Lamb
My Natchez Trace Walk Featured in We Proceeded On
Dead People Follow Me And They Talk To Me
Is Suicide the Final Arbiter of a Life. For Robin Williams. And Meriwether Lewis.
WordPress Is Killing Me
Fate’s Fickle Fingering
Happy Birthday Meriwether Lewis
I Just Can’t Come
Guardians of the Neighborhood
Did the Vikings Walk the Natchez Trace?
I’m An Idiot Who Doesn’t Do Details
48 Comments
MTM jokes that Charleston has no future. Priceless, darling.
He loved the note you sent.
Merriweather Lewis
Answer tomorrow.
I would have never left the air conditioned bakery.
What was bad is we brought pastries from a different bakery and ate them there.
LOL! That’s funny. Still…I would not have left 🙂
Too bad that tour wasn’t Sunday or today, Saturday was absolutely brutal. And the Shrewsdays were absolutely delightful. I just wish I had gotten to spend more time with them and you. The stories must have been great.
And if they come back again, I will give you the full guided tour of the Unitarian Church on the inside. We are even installing air conditioning!!
I hope they will come back.
I love the pictures that you did post you captured the patina of Charleston. Did you know that that red flower that you photographed in the Unitarian Church yard is called Cleopatra’s Earbob?
Very cool,Cheryl. No pun intended Andra.
I didn’t know that. Jill and I talked about it at lunch.
The humidity has been horrible here too. Good on you for getting out in it to show your guests around. You took more pictures than I would have taken! Sounds like they had a great time!
I hope they did, Linda. It’s hard to have a good time in such heat.
The “Shrewsdays” were absolutely delightful and so sorry that you and MTM trid to melt them like the Wicked Witch in Oz. Love the shots in the Unitarian Church cemetary, I walk through there all the time and always enjoy the “overgrown” nature of it.
http://youtu.be/aopdD9Cu-So
We did NOT try to melt them, Lou.
i think it sounds wonderful, heat and all )
I had a wonderful time.
We Oregonians whimper when it hits 90 in the afternoon. Beach people are especially susceptible.
I’m not a beach person, and I’m still susceptible.
Heat and humidity be damned! We know you wouldn’t have traded a minute of it! Thanks for sharing. The photos you did take are stunning.
Trivia Query: I thought command of the Expedition was joint, although Jefferson had charged Lewis with the task.
Answer tomorrow, Karen. And you’re right. I wouldn’t have traded it.
Ding, ding, ding. I finally answered correctly. 🙂
Clark was commander.
Your pix are great, Andra, and your time with Kate and Crew sounds wonderful, even in the dripping heat. I would have wanted to stay in the bakery as well. We had a really humid scorcher yesterday and today will be worse, so . . . I sympathize, knowing you have this all summer long.
It must feel even worse, given that you’ve had a cooler than usual summer overall.
We get spoiled pretty fast – so,yes, it feels worse (and it really isn’t all that bad). 🙂
I love the pictures. I feel like you and MTM are friends I’ve known for decades. Weird, huh?
Not weird at all.
cool
Any chance I could place a pre-order for 75-80 degree weather for the weekend I’m there? I don’t think there’s enough hair product in the world to fix what that kind of heat and humidity will do to me.
I hope that’s what you’ll have, Nancy. Today was lovely, but it’s even better here in the mountains. I may need a sweater tonight.
Sounds delightfully steamy! Not sure that’s the perfect condition, but you made the most of it. Good for you!
The weather broke last night. They left this morning. 🙁
Isn’t it always the cosmic way?
A wild porpoise would be a treat for me too. 🙂 Good to know you had a great time even if the weather wasn’t cooperating…
They got to see lots of interesting birds, too.
You two are the best host and hostess ever!
Ha. We try. We really enjoyed spending time with them.
I’m amazed they were in such good spirits when we met them, after that kind of brutality I would have been calling the feds on you!
They got a break for a couple of hours before the party. 🙂
Christ, he’s ruthless, that MTM. I’d have waited in Fast and French ( sounds like a cool cat house) until he came back with the video:)
Heat is just part of summer and you were giving the Shrewsday’s the full experience! 🙂 Such fun, Andra. And great pictures. ox
I think that I would stand in any kind of heat to hear you tell me ghost stories outside a jail. The Shrewsdays are lucky friends.
There: I followed the link to your photos and was just having a great time looking at them when someone prodded me to come out and walk the museums and I never came back to comment! Andra, We will never forget MTMs walk. Perfectly paced, fascinating, colourful: it painted the town in a way few visitors are privileged to see it. Usually I have to visit a museum before I walk a town, so I know how to read it. Not this time 🙂 It was hot, but MTM craftily wove in rest stops and dived into air conditioning wherever necessary. It was, quite simply, fabulous. Thank you both so much.
And may Charleston have much more future than you think. Kate x
At first, I was surprised the Shrewsdays survived 108 degree temperatures. Then I remembered Moss Hart’s comment about 19-year-old Julie Andrew’s calm demeanor under pressure during rehearsals for My Fair Lady: “That’s why they won the war.”
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