Stop in for a cup of coffee

Just stopping by before hitting the couch to binge-watch a series. OK I'll admit it, Downton Abbey. I always assumed it was nothing I would like, but my Mom was watching the first season while I was down there visiting, and it is really fast-paced and has a lot going on.

Today was a day off, the resort slows down after labor day. Stopped by a popular local site, the Angel Oak. There are estimates that it is 800 years old and the oldest tree east of the Mississippi. It is really five Live Oaks that grew together, and it looks freakish and beautiful at the same time. It is operated by the county and they don't let you sit or climb on it, etc. Pretty awesome to think of all the history that went on at that tree...probably duels, clandestine meetings, Indian pow-wows, who knows? There was a grass-roots campaign to buy up the land around it, at the last minute enough money came in to give it a substantial buffer from all the new development going up.

The gift shop has a screened porch where one or two old black ladies are making Sweetgrass Baskets, out of the marsh grass we have around here. They are part of the low-country culture that was brought over from Africa and aren't cheap due to the amount of time and care it takes to make them properly. I needed one as a gift and my friend's wife helped me pick out a good one and get a good deal on it. The lady who made it is 82 and very interesting to talk to, and nice. She said as a child her mother demanded she make baskets and she got half the money. It really sunk in that some people didn't have the best circumstances and many avenues were not open to them.

Oh, the Fury is running great!