Surprised? No he wasn't with us...
Well,
the time has come to leave “Charleston”, for which I’m sure you are breathing a
sigh of relief (about time, Feeder!). If
I don’t get too verbose (spoiler, I did), besides closing out “the trip”, there are several
things that are getting under my skin that I need to rant a little about, so we’ll
see (no we won't)..
But
first.. we bid adieu to the journey. A
cruise that starts at A and ends up in B provides for some interesting
logistics, and in our case the MOMSTER was parked at A (Charleston) and were in
B (Jacksonville). So joining up with
another couple in the same situation, we arranged to have a rental car to drive
from Jax to Charleston. We sat in the “lounge”
for the last time while the bags were taken off the ship.
After
a bit of thrashing around we finally got the car and headed north to
Charleston, about four hours. Was a
pleasant day and being in an auto instead of a water borne vessel was refreshing.
MFO
and I were going to stay overnight in Charleston and drive all the way to the
digs the next morning. It was decided
that all eight of the “Maryland Team” would eat out together at a restaurant
where the folks that have a home in Charleston were “regulars”, a place called “FultonFive” which always ranks in the top end of the many excellent venues in
Charleston. Before we went to the
restaurant we had a little cocktail session in the house of a relative of
another of our travelers.
With
charcuterie and some of his “famous” barbecued brisket… I was quite good, and deserving of his reputation. Being
a “regular” does have its rewards and our table was pretty much ready on a busy
Saturday evening. FF is an Italian
themed place, relatively small but with that comfy feeling that seems to always
accompany Italian places (when you’re here, you’re ….; sorry but kind of true)
The
server greeted us, offered the wine list, went over specials and handed out a menus. Typically Italian
with the usual “anti,
primi, secondi” courses.. Nice
selections, although I notice more and more my favorite Veal Piccata appears
less and less. Anyway we did appetizers
around the table, I had a very good bruschetta, and MFO a very good “Zuppa di Funghi”
I
chose an off the menu special of Rigatoni with lamb sausage, and MFO a shrimp
pasta maybe a fettucini (I didn’t take notes that day, and it’s been a while)
and a Sauvignon Blanc from Cyprus, and at the suggestion of the server I had a
very nice Valpolicella. Of course there
was plenty of crusty bread to go with.
My
lamb sausage dish was quite pleasing to the eye
However (unfortunately) not so pleasing to the (Feeders) palate when he found that the sausage was just “too
darned spicy” for his taste. Why do
people do that? I just don’t understand
a kitchen that thinks a dish should contain something so hot it masks the other
flavors. Of course that is a subjective
evaluation which others may not share.
Anyway, in the end, I “ate around” the sausage and enjoyed the pasta and
“stuff”. MFO’s was very good on all
counts
The
table was treated to a selection of desserts from the kitchen.. a very nice touch in honor of our host.
A
very nice meal. The reputation of
Charleston remains, with a little care, I don’t think you can miss a good meal. It was difficult for the Feeders to branch
out to some of the widely regarded places.
As I think I’ve stated before, we should plan a food dedicated trip to
there as well exploring Savannah..
on the road again....
So
the next day the loaded MOMSTER headed back up to the mother county. With MFO at the controls I was able to take
shots of the passing scene as we traveled.
Now, most folks would concentrate on the scenery of the Carolina s, but
warped me concentrates on… Food Signs!
They are a wonderful way document regional tastes and
(restaurants). For instance, there were
dozens and dozens of ("clever") signs for a whole range of Glory Seasoned Southern
Style products
get it?
I am
not sure what a “Snap” is… need some help from the locals there
And
this is but a small sample of the miles and miles of signs. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a “Glory”
product around here
And
another “Southern” specialty is the famous
Which
are advertised everywhere
And
even sold in convenience/gas station stores
Along
with the red bull
I
have tried them upon occasion, I must be too much a Yankee to appreciate them.
And
the “un-boiled” version of the goobers are also everywhere
I can't imagine a sign saying "Fake Virginia Peanuts"
Anybody
who has gone south on 95 should be familiar with this place
There
is seemingly a sign a mile for 50 miles either way.
I offer this one without comment (read it)
And
of course depending on your luck you might have plenty of time to read the
signs, as the poor souls in the southbound lanes did
Finally,
after a long day of driving, we crossed the always welcome peace of Allen’s Fresh
A harbinger
of home
So
closed an interesting journey containing many sights and exposure to cultures
(Gullah and Geetche) and traditions, local wildlife, and low country scenery. Plus it is always rewarding to travel with
friends and meet new ones. As I’ve
probably said already I thought the American Cruise Lines “side trips” were
excellent and easily worth the extra cost.
Alert
readers may note that there was not much coverage of food service on the
ship. I don’t have a good explanation
for that. The food was always well prepared
and nicely presented, but somehow tended to have a sameness about it. Maybe (gasp) I’m getting jaded. Wines could have been notched up a little,
Kendall Jackson IMHO is NOT a premium wine. Table service was not always accomplished. I might consider a Viking Cruise before
another American Cruise Line Journey, but one hesitates to draw conclusions on
a one-time jaunt.
That
being said, the Cole Travel people took wonderful care of us, you sign up, and
BOOM! Everything goes well…
And,
you can easily be
DFD
Well,
okay I did it. The Rant will have to
wait. Just a quick bit of local Buzz: La Rive Breton has gone dark until the 12th to effect some
repairs. Have revisited Cow and Fish I the
meantime. More of that later as well as
our adventures with Azure Apron..
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