So as you know we have moved to California. We are in a little town north of Oakland, which by the way is Northern Cali, north of San Fran in fact, (We are finding a lot of people think us close to LA, so that is just to clarify). We ended up in this little town with farmer's markets, and music in the park at the old historic pavilion every Saturday night. It is beautiful, and stemming the tides of sadness we feel in leaving behind so many good friends and neighbors in South Carolina. Here are our top ten moment's since moving into Clayton.
10--Tavy being quite distressed because, she wasn't able to help Kaleb lift the couch up because she hadn't eaten her veg-a-te-bulls.
9--Kaleb meeting a little boy his exact age across the little common area from us--who has a wii.
8--Tavy, with a rather malicious grin, blowing hot dog smells toward her Dad, who was trying to fast.
7--Sitting out side blowing bubbles while the breeze from the ocean keeps us cool.
6--Fruits and veggies from the farmer's market--fresh Squash and green bean stir fry over noodles--and cherries that still taste like the sun Yumm.
5--Kaleb fervently praying for us to find a house with a swimming pool and not a day later, Dad found the town house we are living in with a pool included.
4--The statue of kids in the park next to us has a little girl with a CTR ring on her finger that nobody but us Mormon's know about.
3--Kaleb being brave enough to pray beautifully in front of his new friend when we had his family over for a BBQ. Then Gabe, his friend asking as politely as possible if we had to pray when we went to Burger King--prayer in your heart buddy, prayer in your heart.
2--After three weeks we finally got rid of the ants all over the place--wahoo.
1--Uncle Davy and Aunt Suzy being able to come right over for Birthdays and Sunday dinner because they live so close.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Road Trippen accross the USA...
After the movers took all of our stuff from our house on Friday May 15 we said good-bye to South Carolina. We then drove up to Richmond Virginia to stay the night. The next morning we spent in Jamestow
n the first English settlement to survive in the new world. This is the area Pocahontas lived. Turns out Disney made a few exaggerations. Pocahontas was only a young girl when she saved John Smith. It wasn’t until later when she was taken captive and after her father failed to trade for her she married a tobacco farmer named John Rolfe, and she converted to Christianity. She changed her name to Rebecca. She did go to England and was received as an Indian princess by Queen Anne at John Smith’s insistence. Pocahontas was a huge reason the English were able to succeed in the new world. We really enjoyed wal
king around the remains of the Jamestown settlement, and the church that still stands today. Kaleb got to wear one of the re-enactor’s metal hats. The kids got to see a man blowing a glass vase an
d we learned that those first English settlers had a 1 out of 7 chance of living through the winter. It is amazing to think that this country really was vulnerable when it started, and now it’s a super power. After Jamestown we went across Maryland on this little highway 13 instead of up staying on I 95 and going on the NJ Turnpike. We did this so we could take a really long bridge that crosses the Chesapeake Bay. At one point you go under the Atlantic Ocean in these really long tunnels so the ocean liners can go over top of you. When we went down into these Tunnels grandpa John told the kids that if you roll down the windows and honk the horn you hear it echo all the way through the tunnel. As we were on an adventure of course we had to try it. The only back lash was when we were in a very busy tunnel in NYC, the kids kept saying honk the horn, honk the horn. We didn’t think it was a good idea, so Grandpa John just slowed down under the speed limit and someone honked for us. It was NYC after all. We were so extremely amused my dad felt he needed to collect honks after that. But alas I am getting ahead of myself. After we drove up the coast of Maryland, we stayed Sunday in New Jersey, so we could go to the Spanish ward’s stake conference—okay we were hoping to meet some Hungarians, be
cause I had been reading about them being concentrated in that area, but the ward time had been changed and the internet hadn’t been updated—what you going to do? We felt the spirit, it was lovely. We drove around New Brunswick NJ, we saw Rudgers U, the Hungarian Church and athletic club down town. I met a lady who had immigrated when she was 17 from Hungary, and she told me all about herself. It was really cool. Then we drove down to see Princeton—which has a golf course in the middle of it--in case you had a few hours between classes? Lest anyone be concerned we found all the smart kids--they are walking around Princeton waiting for the next star trek convention in silk jackets. The old buildings were beautiful.
Monday we went to Washington DC. This was Kaleb’s favorite stop. Why ask you? Because we saw the capital building, and got close enough to see which wing belonged to the Senate, and which belonged to the House? Or perhaps because we saw The White House and Arlington cemetery? Could it have been the Lincoln Memoria
l Monument that so intrigued Kaleb? No, no, alas because he got to ride in a fighter pilot simulator and while Grandpa John rolled them aro
und like they were in real flight, Kaleb shot the clankers down—yeah Star Wars. While in Washington we ate astronaut ice-cream and saw how big a nuclear war head is--Yikes. Go America!!
Tuesday we drove back up to NY and went to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It was very sobering to understand how America became a
nation by the people who came here. It was made even more interesting because I had been doing research about the 
Hungarian people who had come over to work at the Johnson and Johnson factory around 1905. These people came over for an opportunity that was suppose to improve their lives, living for six weeks on an illness infested ocean liner, then finally making it to the statue of Liberty and then rounding to Ellis Island. On Ellis Island we learned about the process they would have had to of gone through to get that extra few miles into the US. How sad for the people who didn’t make it, and had to turn right back around and live another six weeks on the boat. I think that we need to remember all of these people who were so brave to leave their homes and everything they knew for an opportunity that I know I don’t appreciate enough.
The kids were kind of restless going through Ellis Island, but Kaleb was extremely taken with Lady Liberty as she was crafted out of copper that is about as thick as a couple quarters. Tavi thought she was pretty and started pretending she was her giant mother. And that is my kids in a nutshell.
That evening we drove through New York, and yes my Dad collected honks. I can’t remember how many he got, but I think it may be the first time in history someone was disappointed they hadn’t reached a solid ten. We went across the George Washington B
ridge, and then headed up to Connecticut--poked around Farmington, and ate in Hartford. Then we went up to New Hampshire and spent the night. My Dad saw some fishermen and was tempted to go out with them, but alas, the beaches of Maine where waiting. We drove up to Old Orchard Beach in Maine and the kids played on the beach. Kaleb learned about the water table and how far he had to dig down to get to it. It was at that point my Dad informed us that we had driven so far north that if we had been driving west we would be in Utah. What fun would that have been though?
That afternoon we drove past Walden Pond. It is a swamp now, but it was cool to see where Thoreau spent his two years away from the world immersed in nature. That was also the time frame he spent his famous night in jail for refusing to pay $7 to support the war with Mexico. We drove until pretty late that night and made it to Palmyra NY. Then the next morning we went to the Sacred Grove and saw the Smith family home where Joseph lived at the time of the first vision. It was really int
eresting to go into the home--so humbling to hear all that Joseph and his family went through to bring the true church back to this earth. It was a beautiful morning and we wandered through the Sacred Grove. After we found a little nook we read the story of the first vision. Then we
went to the Hill Cumorah. The kids were pretty restless by then, so we skipped the visitor’s center and just went up to the hill and talked about Moroni and the Golden plates. It was a nice morning. We then drove to Niagara Falls, and saw the massive amounts of water coming down over cliffs.
We spent a long night driving and we made it to Kirtland Ohio. The next morning we got our own personal tour of the Kirtland temple by this nice lady from the reorganized church. We met Elder Groberg who wrote the other side of Heaven, and Karl Anderson who wrote Joseph Smith’s Kirtland just coming out of the temple. Whose distiction must be observed, as they took a picture of all four of us. Our tour was
cool-- we got to see every nook and cranny of the temple, including a place where you could see how they had stacked the rocks. It was really interesting to learn about the temple and more than once she referred to the L
DS town around the NK Whitney store as “down the hill” and we where amused. Then we went down the hill. We watched a great movie about NK Whitney and how he prayed Joseph to Kirtland. Then about the urgency the saints felt to build a temple. It was sad in places and talked about the persecution the saints endured, and about how Joseph lost his infant son.
Then we got into the car and drove to Chicago. We didn’t have a lot of time at this point, so when we stopped f
or gas we talked to this older gentleman and he told us about this third generation Italian pizzeria. It was so tasty, and can I just say Chicago style pizza is really different, I know understand why they call it a pie, it kind of is, but so tasty!! The restaurant was kind of a hole, but they seriously know what they were doing.
We made it to the middle of Iowa that night, and the next day we drove from eight in the morning Iowa time until one in the morning Utah time. Yes, I said Utah time because that is where slept that night. After a few days relaxing at Grandparents house the kids and I finished the rest of the way to Oakland without Grandpa John, he was missed. We were relieved to get out of the car, and Daddy was very happy to see us.
n the first English settlement to survive in the new world. This is the area Pocahontas lived. Turns out Disney made a few exaggerations. Pocahontas was only a young girl when she saved John Smith. It wasn’t until later when she was taken captive and after her father failed to trade for her she married a tobacco farmer named John Rolfe, and she converted to Christianity. She changed her name to Rebecca. She did go to England and was received as an Indian princess by Queen Anne at John Smith’s insistence. Pocahontas was a huge reason the English were able to succeed in the new world. We really enjoyed wal
king around the remains of the Jamestown settlement, and the church that still stands today. Kaleb got to wear one of the re-enactor’s metal hats. The kids got to see a man blowing a glass vase an
d we learned that those first English settlers had a 1 out of 7 chance of living through the winter. It is amazing to think that this country really was vulnerable when it started, and now it’s a super power. After Jamestown we went across Maryland on this little highway 13 instead of up staying on I 95 and going on the NJ Turnpike. We did this so we could take a really long bridge that crosses the Chesapeake Bay. At one point you go under the Atlantic Ocean in these really long tunnels so the ocean liners can go over top of you. When we went down into these Tunnels grandpa John told the kids that if you roll down the windows and honk the horn you hear it echo all the way through the tunnel. As we were on an adventure of course we had to try it. The only back lash was when we were in a very busy tunnel in NYC, the kids kept saying honk the horn, honk the horn. We didn’t think it was a good idea, so Grandpa John just slowed down under the speed limit and someone honked for us. It was NYC after all. We were so extremely amused my dad felt he needed to collect honks after that. But alas I am getting ahead of myself. After we drove up the coast of Maryland, we stayed Sunday in New Jersey, so we could go to the Spanish ward’s stake conference—okay we were hoping to meet some Hungarians, be
cause I had been reading about them being concentrated in that area, but the ward time had been changed and the internet hadn’t been updated—what you going to do? We felt the spirit, it was lovely. We drove around New Brunswick NJ, we saw Rudgers U, the Hungarian Church and athletic club down town. I met a lady who had immigrated when she was 17 from Hungary, and she told me all about herself. It was really cool. Then we drove down to see Princeton—which has a golf course in the middle of it--in case you had a few hours between classes? Lest anyone be concerned we found all the smart kids--they are walking around Princeton waiting for the next star trek convention in silk jackets. The old buildings were beautiful.Monday we went to Washington DC. This was Kaleb’s favorite stop. Why ask you? Because we saw the capital building, and got close enough to see which wing belonged to the Senate, and which belonged to the House? Or perhaps because we saw The White House and Arlington cemetery? Could it have been the Lincoln Memoria
l Monument that so intrigued Kaleb? No, no, alas because he got to ride in a fighter pilot simulator and while Grandpa John rolled them aro
und like they were in real flight, Kaleb shot the clankers down—yeah Star Wars. While in Washington we ate astronaut ice-cream and saw how big a nuclear war head is--Yikes. Go America!!Tuesday we drove back up to NY and went to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It was very sobering to understand how America became a
nation by the people who came here. It was made even more interesting because I had been doing research about the 
Hungarian people who had come over to work at the Johnson and Johnson factory around 1905. These people came over for an opportunity that was suppose to improve their lives, living for six weeks on an illness infested ocean liner, then finally making it to the statue of Liberty and then rounding to Ellis Island. On Ellis Island we learned about the process they would have had to of gone through to get that extra few miles into the US. How sad for the people who didn’t make it, and had to turn right back around and live another six weeks on the boat. I think that we need to remember all of these people who were so brave to leave their homes and everything they knew for an opportunity that I know I don’t appreciate enough.The kids were kind of restless going through Ellis Island, but Kaleb was extremely taken with Lady Liberty as she was crafted out of copper that is about as thick as a couple quarters. Tavi thought she was pretty and started pretending she was her giant mother. And that is my kids in a nutshell.
That evening we drove through New York, and yes my Dad collected honks. I can’t remember how many he got, but I think it may be the first time in history someone was disappointed they hadn’t reached a solid ten. We went across the George Washington B
ridge, and then headed up to Connecticut--poked around Farmington, and ate in Hartford. Then we went up to New Hampshire and spent the night. My Dad saw some fishermen and was tempted to go out with them, but alas, the beaches of Maine where waiting. We drove up to Old Orchard Beach in Maine and the kids played on the beach. Kaleb learned about the water table and how far he had to dig down to get to it. It was at that point my Dad informed us that we had driven so far north that if we had been driving west we would be in Utah. What fun would that have been though?That afternoon we drove past Walden Pond. It is a swamp now, but it was cool to see where Thoreau spent his two years away from the world immersed in nature. That was also the time frame he spent his famous night in jail for refusing to pay $7 to support the war with Mexico. We drove until pretty late that night and made it to Palmyra NY. Then the next morning we went to the Sacred Grove and saw the Smith family home where Joseph lived at the time of the first vision. It was really int
eresting to go into the home--so humbling to hear all that Joseph and his family went through to bring the true church back to this earth. It was a beautiful morning and we wandered through the Sacred Grove. After we found a little nook we read the story of the first vision. Then we
went to the Hill Cumorah. The kids were pretty restless by then, so we skipped the visitor’s center and just went up to the hill and talked about Moroni and the Golden plates. It was a nice morning. We then drove to Niagara Falls, and saw the massive amounts of water coming down over cliffs.
We spent a long night driving and we made it to Kirtland Ohio. The next morning we got our own personal tour of the Kirtland temple by this nice lady from the reorganized church. We met Elder Groberg who wrote the other side of Heaven, and Karl Anderson who wrote Joseph Smith’s Kirtland just coming out of the temple. Whose distiction must be observed, as they took a picture of all four of us. Our tour was
cool-- we got to see every nook and cranny of the temple, including a place where you could see how they had stacked the rocks. It was really interesting to learn about the temple and more than once she referred to the L
DS town around the NK Whitney store as “down the hill” and we where amused. Then we went down the hill. We watched a great movie about NK Whitney and how he prayed Joseph to Kirtland. Then about the urgency the saints felt to build a temple. It was sad in places and talked about the persecution the saints endured, and about how Joseph lost his infant son.Then we got into the car and drove to Chicago. We didn’t have a lot of time at this point, so when we stopped f
or gas we talked to this older gentleman and he told us about this third generation Italian pizzeria. It was so tasty, and can I just say Chicago style pizza is really different, I know understand why they call it a pie, it kind of is, but so tasty!! The restaurant was kind of a hole, but they seriously know what they were doing.
We made it to the middle of Iowa that night, and the next day we drove from eight in the morning Iowa time until one in the morning Utah time. Yes, I said Utah time because that is where slept that night. After a few days relaxing at Grandparents house the kids and I finished the rest of the way to Oakland without Grandpa John, he was missed. We were relieved to get out of the car, and Daddy was very happy to see us.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Octavia loses her first tooth.
Once upon a time there was a princess named Octavia who lived in a magical kingdom far far away from Grandmas and Grandpas. She made a wish that she could move closer to the ones she loved. All the fairies in the land gathered together and counseled. One fairy said she would use her
powers to move Octavia's kingdom closer to the ones she loved, but it would require a sacrifice of the princess. She would require one of the princesses magical teeth, that way she could give a little part of herself to the land and the people she had to leave behind. And it would always be a part of who she became, and the land would grow more beautiful than ever because it had a been touched by her. So the day came that the little princess had to leave her tooth behind. The little Pr
incess was frightened of the pain that would be involved in loosing her tooth. In the end she was brave and gave her little tooth. She tried out replacement teeth, but nothing seemed to fill the little hole in her mouth. 
Her mommy assured her that a new tooth would grow in the little lost tooth's place. The little princess asked how her mommy could know this. Her mommy told her because sometimes we have hard things happen to us, and sometimes it takes a little piece of us, but in the end it is all a part of growing up. And after a while where the little tooth once was a stronger tooth grows. And so the princess finished crying--then she dried her tears and put the tooth under her pillow for the beautiful fairy to come and retrieve. 
Thankful for all that helps us grow stronger. (Just one more for Julie, hope you have a blast at girls camp!!! I wish I could go.)
powers to move Octavia's kingdom closer to the ones she loved, but it would require a sacrifice of the princess. She would require one of the princesses magical teeth, that way she could give a little part of herself to the land and the people she had to leave behind. And it would always be a part of who she became, and the land would grow more beautiful than ever because it had a been touched by her. So the day came that the little princess had to leave her tooth behind. The little Pr
incess was frightened of the pain that would be involved in loosing her tooth. In the end she was brave and gave her little tooth. She tried out replacement teeth, but nothing seemed to fill the little hole in her mouth. 
Her mommy assured her that a new tooth would grow in the little lost tooth's place. The little princess asked how her mommy could know this. Her mommy told her because sometimes we have hard things happen to us, and sometimes it takes a little piece of us, but in the end it is all a part of growing up. And after a while where the little tooth once was a stronger tooth grows. And so the princess finished crying--then she dried her tears and put the tooth under her pillow for the beautiful fairy to come and retrieve. 
Thankful for all that helps us grow stronger. (Just one more for Julie, hope you have a blast at girls camp!!! I wish I could go.)Sunday, April 12, 2009
Seeing South Carolina through our rearview mirror
Well it is official. Chad has to be in Oakland, Ca around the May 1st. We are very excited, and Chad is ready for a new challenge. As we are leaving so soon, we felt it would 
be best to see South Carolina Grandma Doris style. For those of you who don't know what that is, it is to cram as much into the time you have as humanly possible, by the end of the week both kids had thrown up, but we saw it all darn 
it!! We started at the zoo of course. I have become quiet the zoo connoisseur, I have been to six different zoo's in the last two years, all with
my Mom. This zoo wasn't huge like the San Diego, it didn't have amazing sea life like the Tacoma, it was more comparable to Hogle and Woodlands Park--seriously a zoo connoisseur, I could write who's who in the zoo world. It was more exciting than any other because the kids got to take a pony ride, and Tavi found a caterpillar. The next day we went to the capital building where my Dad and Kaleb found out all about why South Carolina has Palmetto trees everywhere. Did you know in the revolutionary war the British Navy came against Fort Moultrie, a little fort built of the spongy palmetto tree wood. They shot cannon after cannon at the fort, but the cannon balls either bounced off, or went right through without damaging the structure of the building. The South Carolinian's actually sent one of the soldiers outs
ide the fort walls to collect the British cannon balls fired, (Yeah how would you like to have drawn the short straw on that one?). Then they heated them up and fired them right back at the British. The capital building was beautiful, and it was fun to learn about the noble role it played in the foundation of this country. Next (Same day mind you) we went to a museum. There were some really cool displays on the civil war, and what was happening in the South at that time. That evening (Yes, still the same day) we went to Camden. This was the largest city in South Carolina at the time of the revolutionary war, many of the founding father's stayed there, including George Washington. Camden was occupied by the British and saw many Patriot's executed. All that was left of this was a lot of old graves and the stump of an old oak tree. T
here was the grave of Agnes of Glasgow. She stowed away on one of the British ships to find her love that was a solder for the British army. She died right before she found him and is said to be haunting Camden still looking for him. Apparently as far as ghost stories go, this is one of the most famous. Good thing there are no such thing as Ghosts, and if you talk to Tavi this is o
ur story and we are sticking to it. The next morning we had an Easter Egg hunt, then we headed off for Folly Beach in Charleston SC. It was beautiful, and despite the cold, and Kaleb learning about sharks over the past month, we waded in and had a blast. That afternoon we went to Market Street in the historic district in Charleston and entered long old brick structures that spanned the length of the streets for a few blocks. As we wandered around from lines of booths, I suddenly realized that where tables full of cheap trinkets now stood a hundred and fifty years ago people had been auctioned off the same as if they where cattle. I co
uldn't catch my breath hardly, and all around me I wondered how no one else even noticed this--I wondered how people could go on with there business as usual while standing on the place where families were torn apart--children where taken from their mother's and would grow up under task masters. I wondered if mother's were praying that their babies would be bought by the kinder masters, by merciful owners? I sat contemplating this while local art, spices and beaded jewelery sold all around me. I don't mean to be a cultural snob, I don't mean to disresect anyone, but in my humble opinion that market place should be turned into a museum of tole
rance, like the one in LA. Could you imagine a solemn place where a person could go to reflect on humanity instead of a bustling market? I can see that South Carolina isn't ready for such innovation yet, but someday when the good people I have met here feel like they can talk about it without giving offence on either side, perhaps. The rest of the evening we spent at Fort Moultrie, walking around the symbolic Palmetto trees. The next day we went to Fort Sumter. This is an island fort were a Major Anderson removed his troops to after Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States, and South Carolina was the first state to secede from the union. Major Anderson held up in the fort while the newly formed government under the Confederate President Jefferson Davis was elected into office, and South Carolina demanded he an
d his troop leave immediately. Anderson waited for reinforcements from the federal government, but the newly formed confederates of South Carolina formed a blockade and Anderson was cut off from the rest of the Northern troops. This is where the first shots of the civil war were fired. Anderson held up for two days while being fired upon 
in every direction by the southern troops. When the American Flag was shot down he reattached it to a pole and raised it again. He fought with six canons against four different forts firing on him and finally after his gun powder caught fire he had to get his troops out he gave in. He took the American Flag with him, and he and his troop all made it safely to New York, but the civil war had begun. After we went to Fort Sumter, we went to a Plantation. We saw were the s
laves slept in little shacks and we got to hear about the Gullah, which is the African American Culture in South Carolina and parts of Georgia, the low country. This was very cool.
This Gullah woman told us a story in the language of Gullah, then she told it to us in English. The moral of the story was freeing in her own words-- just because someone dumps on you doesn't make them your enemy, just because someone is kind to you doesn't make them your friend, and if you are patient enough the winds of change will come and you can dust yourself off, stretch your wings, and learn to fly. The plantation house was beautiful and a credit to architecture inside and out. We went home from Charleston exhausted. But, I am so glad we got to really experience South Carolina, even if it was through our rear view mirror. And as David has promised us Sunday dinner, California here we come.
be best to see South Carolina Grandma Doris style. For those of you who don't know what that is, it is to cram as much into the time you have as humanly possible, by the end of the week both kids had thrown up, but we saw it all darn 
it!! We started at the zoo of course. I have become quiet the zoo connoisseur, I have been to six different zoo's in the last two years, all with
my Mom. This zoo wasn't huge like the San Diego, it didn't have amazing sea life like the Tacoma, it was more comparable to Hogle and Woodlands Park--seriously a zoo connoisseur, I could write who's who in the zoo world. It was more exciting than any other because the kids got to take a pony ride, and Tavi found a caterpillar. The next day we went to the capital building where my Dad and Kaleb found out all about why South Carolina has Palmetto trees everywhere. Did you know in the revolutionary war the British Navy came against Fort Moultrie, a little fort built of the spongy palmetto tree wood. They shot cannon after cannon at the fort, but the cannon balls either bounced off, or went right through without damaging the structure of the building. The South Carolinian's actually sent one of the soldiers outs
ide the fort walls to collect the British cannon balls fired, (Yeah how would you like to have drawn the short straw on that one?). Then they heated them up and fired them right back at the British. The capital building was beautiful, and it was fun to learn about the noble role it played in the foundation of this country. Next (Same day mind you) we went to a museum. There were some really cool displays on the civil war, and what was happening in the South at that time. That evening (Yes, still the same day) we went to Camden. This was the largest city in South Carolina at the time of the revolutionary war, many of the founding father's stayed there, including George Washington. Camden was occupied by the British and saw many Patriot's executed. All that was left of this was a lot of old graves and the stump of an old oak tree. T
here was the grave of Agnes of Glasgow. She stowed away on one of the British ships to find her love that was a solder for the British army. She died right before she found him and is said to be haunting Camden still looking for him. Apparently as far as ghost stories go, this is one of the most famous. Good thing there are no such thing as Ghosts, and if you talk to Tavi this is o
ur story and we are sticking to it. The next morning we had an Easter Egg hunt, then we headed off for Folly Beach in Charleston SC. It was beautiful, and despite the cold, and Kaleb learning about sharks over the past month, we waded in and had a blast. That afternoon we went to Market Street in the historic district in Charleston and entered long old brick structures that spanned the length of the streets for a few blocks. As we wandered around from lines of booths, I suddenly realized that where tables full of cheap trinkets now stood a hundred and fifty years ago people had been auctioned off the same as if they where cattle. I co
uldn't catch my breath hardly, and all around me I wondered how no one else even noticed this--I wondered how people could go on with there business as usual while standing on the place where families were torn apart--children where taken from their mother's and would grow up under task masters. I wondered if mother's were praying that their babies would be bought by the kinder masters, by merciful owners? I sat contemplating this while local art, spices and beaded jewelery sold all around me. I don't mean to be a cultural snob, I don't mean to disresect anyone, but in my humble opinion that market place should be turned into a museum of tole
rance, like the one in LA. Could you imagine a solemn place where a person could go to reflect on humanity instead of a bustling market? I can see that South Carolina isn't ready for such innovation yet, but someday when the good people I have met here feel like they can talk about it without giving offence on either side, perhaps. The rest of the evening we spent at Fort Moultrie, walking around the symbolic Palmetto trees. The next day we went to Fort Sumter. This is an island fort were a Major Anderson removed his troops to after Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States, and South Carolina was the first state to secede from the union. Major Anderson held up in the fort while the newly formed government under the Confederate President Jefferson Davis was elected into office, and South Carolina demanded he an
d his troop leave immediately. Anderson waited for reinforcements from the federal government, but the newly formed confederates of South Carolina formed a blockade and Anderson was cut off from the rest of the Northern troops. This is where the first shots of the civil war were fired. Anderson held up for two days while being fired upon 
in every direction by the southern troops. When the American Flag was shot down he reattached it to a pole and raised it again. He fought with six canons against four different forts firing on him and finally after his gun powder caught fire he had to get his troops out he gave in. He took the American Flag with him, and he and his troop all made it safely to New York, but the civil war had begun. After we went to Fort Sumter, we went to a Plantation. We saw were the s
laves slept in little shacks and we got to hear about the Gullah, which is the African American Culture in South Carolina and parts of Georgia, the low country. This was very cool.
This Gullah woman told us a story in the language of Gullah, then she told it to us in English. The moral of the story was freeing in her own words-- just because someone dumps on you doesn't make them your enemy, just because someone is kind to you doesn't make them your friend, and if you are patient enough the winds of change will come and you can dust yourself off, stretch your wings, and learn to fly. The plantation house was beautiful and a credit to architecture inside and out. We went home from Charleston exhausted. But, I am so glad we got to really experience South Carolina, even if it was through our rear view mirror. And as David has promised us Sunday dinner, California here we come.
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