Skip to main content

An Exploratory Jog Through Charleston ... and sights I saw along the way

I heard one time that the best way to travel is to do what you love to do at home in the new city you're exploring. So I eat and jog. My adrenaline is up, my mind is sharp, and it's much quicker to get around when I jog. I also feel that I absorb more around me when alone, so this is a great way to discover new territory before the rest of your crew gets moving for the day. 

This morning I wanted to explore the tiny peninsula that is Charleston. I also wanted to see water because oceans make me happy. Below is a description of my route to give you an idea. 

I jogged down the west shore to the Ashley River and traced the edge of the water back up the east side of the peninsula that faces the Atlantic. I then jogged Broad Street across the peninsula back to where I started. I didn't have a definite course mapped out — I just went for it. Below are some sights I saw along the way.

Cool flowers that look like fireworks. Hydrangeas light up almost every home in this moist environment.  

Cool old homes. 

The most glamorous driveway I've ever encountered. Nice garden!

Cool really old home

Once I made it to the edge of town I encountered water. I wanted to leap onto that sailboat and blow around the Atlantic all morning. 

Jogging along the peninsula's edge.

The morning sun. 

Old cobblestone road on the East Battery. 

This is a beautiful pier where people sat on the end and fished. 

I stumbled upon Broad Street, which is filled with neat stores and restaurants. 

"Home of Doctor John Lining who made the first systematic weather observations with weather instruments in America, January 1738 - February 1753." Before independence! 


Cathedral of St John the Baptist
This Catholic church on Broad Street was established  in 1821. 

A carriage ride through town.

Jogging through the College of Charleston campus. It truly is beautiful, and I love the Spanish moss that drapes all of the trees. My friend told me this building was in Mel Gibson's film The Patriot. 

College of Charleston campus.

More beautiful flowers. They really are everywhere!

College of Charleston campus.

College of Charleston campus.




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Marfa 2020

By Jocelyn Tatum  I n the 12 years that I have been going to Marfa almost annually, a lot has changed. But the small-town-in-a-vast-desert charm has stayed the same. Here are a few things I always plan to do in my two days and two nights in Marfa.  First, drive. I know it seems like it is far away, and it is, but this road trip goes fast because there is no traffic headed west and away from civilization. Driving is part of the right of passage to get there. I also feel like I shed the societal sludge that builds up on my shoulders as I careen across Interstate 20.  Once you turn off onto HWY 17 in Pecos, the drive starts to transition from sulfur and pumpjacks to pure beauty. It always reminds me of my road trip though the Scottish Highlands. My thoughts change with the landscape. Again, no traffic and no crowds. A tip: when you do pass a fellow road warrior once you get into the mountains, give them the friendly L-shaped finger wave the locals do th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Big Sky No. 2, parts 1+ 2

  By Jocelyn Tatum   I have an affinity for all things that cause me to look up — mostly trees and clouds. When I walk the dogs or go for a long run, I often trip over something because I am admiring tree limbs reaching toward the ever-changing clouds, or the way sunlight plays with both.    Komorebi is a Japanese word that doesn't have an English translation, which means the way light travels through the leaves of trees. I wonder if there is a word for the way light shines through the clouds. Fall Gallery Night 2019, I stumbled upon a magnanimous canvas of clouds with the sun piercing through. It knocked me back. I took a picture just to admire it from home but walked away knowing I would never allow myself to get it. A year later, it occurred to me that I still think about that art. The strange state of things and lots of extra time at home has encouraged me to do things I never thought possible. And I don't understand the correlation between the pandemic and my n...
Post a Comment
Read more

My Trip to Port Aransas, TX: Goodnight Summer, Goodnight Beach

photo credit: wikimedia My last trip of the summer takes me to the Texas coast. It's time to go after days of play, but I need one last moment on the shore.  A few others are there doing the same. They stare out at the gilded waves reflecting the new morning sun. Two thoughts undulate in my head—someone bigger than we are had to organize this, and timelessness mixed with newness. Saltwater and waves have been around since the beginning, but the life within is new and ever-changing. Ancient Greek tragedies and comedies, settlers, explorers and travelers find their stories' epicenter in the ocean.  I then remember I'm not alone in my adoration. The opening paragraphs of Moby-Dick speak to humankind's shared fascination with water: "There now is your unsular city of the Manhattoes, belted by wharves as Indian isles by coral reefs—commerce surrounds it with her surf. Right and left, the streets take you waterward. Its extreme downtown is the battery, where t...
Post a Comment
Read more