82 Queen
Charleston, South Carolina: We took
the morning off from touristing and stayed home, watching the rain. Early
afternoon we drove into downtown Charleston. We looked at a few homes we had
somehow missed, and then went to 82 Queen for lunch.
82 Queen is one of the
premier Low-Country restaurant in Charleston. It is impossible to get a
table for dinner, but we thought we would try our luck for a late lunch and
were seated immediately in one the "living rooms" of the restaurant. The
entire restaurant is built around a brick courtyard, with a giant magnolia
tree in the center. There are four old homes on the courtyard which form the
restaurant. Very interesting, and it makes for an intimate, and unusual,
dining experience. Tables are in rooms of the houses, upstairs and down,
porches and even in the courtyard. We tried two 82 Queen signature dishes -
Fried Green Tomatoes and Shrimp Gumbo. We also tried Cajun chicken with red
beans and rice. The Fried Green Tomatoes came on a bed of white grits that
were incredibly rich - probably because they included heavy cream and
butter! DT said his gumbo was perfect and nicely spiced. Everything was just
delicious and elegantly served. I purchased the new 82 Queen Cookbook!
It never did clear-up, but we had no rain in the afternoon. The remainder of
the day was spent returning to shops we had visited before to actually
purchase items. I wanted to buy some of the famous South Carolina rice, and
benne wafers, so we visited a few food and kitchen shops and then walked
over to another needlepoint shop. The Needle Nook had a nice selection of
canvases and fibers, but we found a miniature and extremely light-weight
task lamp. I was so excited with my discovery - and the owner explained she
keeps these lights and collapsible needlework stands because she gets a lot
of people in RVs and boats coming into her shop! Imagine that! (I already
have a collapsible stand - with me, of course.) The lamp was only $12
- such a find.
By early evening, we had seen everything we wanted to see in Charleston and
came back to Goldie. No room for dinner after our late, lovely lunch, so we
will stay in this evening. Shabbat Shalom from James Island!
RV Park:
James
Island County Park