City Market--February 12, Monday

On Sunday, it was a little rainy and chilly, so we loaded into the car and drove to Camping World.  We had a list of a few items that we needed.  Still trying to figure out what gas grill we want to buy, and stood and looked at several for quite a while and made no decisions.  I did find an nice mat for outside, a 9x12 that is reversible.  It will help keep a lot of the dirt out that the two dogs drag in.  Also got a cute little bag that fits on the handle bars of my bike, just in case I need to run to the camp store and get supplies!   It was a nice, lazy kind of day.  Think I even got a nap in. 

Monday we took off for downtown Charleston and the City Market.  Description I found on the internet:   Open 365 days per year, the Market is an exciting place for tourists and local Charleston residents alike.
Market Hall stands facing Meeting Street as the main entrance to four blocks of open-air buildings. Strolling through the Market you will encounter a wide assortment of vendors selling high quality products including paintings, pottery, Charleston's famous sweetgrass baskets, casual and fine dining & more!

Market Hall

One of the many basket makers.

 I did succumb to one of the booths and bought a rice bead necklace.  The seller told me that since rice was one of the areas first crops, necklaces would be made from rice and then dipped in sterling silver.  These are just silver, but I loved the history.  From Google again:

Rice came to the United States in 1694. A ship sailed from the island of Madagascar bound for England and was blown off course by a storm. It was forced to land at the colony of Charleston, South Carolina for repairs. The people there were kind to the captain and his men and in gratitude the captain gave the governor of the colony a handful of rough rice grains before he sailed on to England. The grains were used by the colonists for seed. From this small amount of seed, the people of the colony grew enough rice to supply South Carolina and other neighboring colonies. The rice beads you view are a replica of the American rice before it was husked. It represents part of what became a staple for the colonists in Charleston and the surrounding areas. May it serve as a reminder of all that South Carolina needed to forge through the hard times that lay ahead for the colonists. Charleston Collections is proud to make available to you, this beautiful "Rice Bead Jewelry".

I got a very short one so it would show right at my neckline.

 

 

For lunch we decided on the Fleet Landing Restaurant.  It was originally a US Navy building that has been turned into a nice place to have a meal.

You can see that the U S Navy is not highlighted in the name.

 

I had the she crab soup and shared some of Al's grouper "cheeks".  What will they think of next?

It was a little cool on the outside with the breeze but we were not going to give up the ocean view.

After lunch we did a little more walking around the town and found this church.

established in 1680?  Amazing!

 

The church was too big for me and my little camera, so you will just see parts!  Also, the headstones are amazing.  So bear with me, and view a few of them.

And I could not resist this last picture:

After a little rest we made another trip to the grocery store.  We bought some fried chicken and Kathi and Steve came over and we had a light dinner.  After, Al was helping Steve get their computer working right.  It was quite and ordeal and even Beau had to help.

Beau seems to be the only one interested in the computer!