Monday, October 26, 2009

A Love Story

Everytime I return to Charleston I am just blown away by how much I love it. I cannot explain to you, Internet, what a strong feeling I have for the place. It defies logic, but it has never waned for a moment, even when I lived there and you might imagine the novelty wearing off.

It's just that nearly every little thing about the city enthralls me. This weekend, some of those things included:
  • the first glimpse of the Ashley River coming in on the interstate
  • the smell of pluff mud as I drove to meet a dear friend for lunch in the 'burbs, across the Ashley River, with my windows down
  • the first sip of Mumm Cuvee Brut at Rue de Jean, served by bartenders who still remember me everytime I return, because I've been drinking Mumm at that bar since it opened (and the last sip, drunk from a to-go cup provided by one of those bartenders!)
  • the wonderful excitement and electricity of the city, with people walking everywhere, fabulous, fashionable people (except the tourists, of course, bless their hearts)
  • oysters on the half shell with bubbly
  • the farmer's market, so cool I feel square
  • being startled by the view of the new bridge when I turned up from the point at the Battery--realizing I'd always walked down the other direction
  • the quality of the food and drink EVERYWHERE, not just a few choice spots
  • watching the last few minutes of the Clemson/Miami shootout, at a fabulous new-to-me bar, drinking Mirabelle bubbly
  • walking for an hour each day, all around downtown, ensuring I still have every street memorized
  • King Street and its seemingly-neverending supply of new shops
  • trying a new restaurant that was hopelessly chic
  • seeing folks coming out of their doorways at various spots downtown, feeling overwhelmingly jealous that they get to live there, but at the same time grateful that I did too, for 7 years
  • meeting up with a law school classmate whom I haven't seen since graduation, in 1997,
  • the wonderfully soothing effect it has on my Pisces soul to be near all that water
  • and just the overwhelming feeling that comes over me when I'm in Charleston, that anything is possible, that life is amazing, and that I am so lucky to have the capacity to feel so much happiness just being in a place that I love.

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