A woman weaves a sweetgrass basket for the tourists in Charleston, baskets that have been made for nearly 400 years in this area. Originally used to collect rice and cotton in the plantation fields, the baskets today come in all shapes, designs and price points. Charleston is a city of traditions, from the architecture to the food. From the minute I first met Charleston's streets, I was charmed by this southern city. Unlike any other in the United States, Charleston knows its past and isn’t afraid to show it in every way, shape or form. Perhaps that is why you seldom hear a bad thing about Continue Reading
Andersonville, Georgia Wishes You Were Here
The railroad barricades come down, signaling an impending train is coming. One car makes the death-defying leap from one side to the other. Once the train clears and I am free to move on, I continue on the lonely stretch to Andersonville, Georgia. Andersonville is home to the National Prisoner of War Museum and the Andersonville National Cemetery and Prison Site. This simple stretch of land is evidence of the horrors of the American Civil War. A visit here begins through the museum, serving as a memorial to all American prisoners of war. The concept of humane treatment of prisoners of wars Continue Reading
Hotel Elysée: A Night With Tennessee Williams, Marlon Brando and Old New York
Full Disclosure: I received a complimentary night at Hotel Elysée. These are my opinions about the hotel. Your opinions may vary. The chatter of Italian businessmen in the lobby mixes with music seldom heard to my ears. “You have been upgraded to a suite,” the woman behind the desk says with a smile. I am shown to the elevator, an elevator seemingly from the film Thoroughly Modern Millie, the kind you might have to dance to get going to your desired floor. Stepping into Hotel Elysée is like stepping back into another era, where the reception is warm and the charm comes through quirky Continue Reading
Pawleys Island, South Carolina Wishes You Were Here
It is a Saturday, the perfect day for unadulterated laziness. The week is gone and the weekend has arrived. I hop in the car with coffee in hand on this Saturday morning to explore Pawleys Island. Crossing over a causeway, embraced by salt marshes on each side, the disconnect between the mainland to this barrier island lends the sensation of leaving it all behind, as only few places can. Just 70 miles north of Charleston and 25 miles south of Myrtle Beach, Pawleys Island seems to forever remain floating in a lazy Saturday state of mind. The barrier island is less than four miles long, but Continue Reading
Winston-Salem, North Carolina Wishes You Were Here
The perfect recipe for a place throws in a hint of the old and a dash of the new. Heading away from Asheville and destined for the coast, I picked a point in the middle of North Carolina to spend the night. Winston-Salem, a ying and yang sort of two-part town sits in central North Carolina. Beginning with the Winston piece of this puzzle, I roamed a modern town, full of bars, restaurants and life. Winston boomed in the 19th and 20th centuries as an industrial trading hub. Tobacco and textiles were the names of the game around here, as you can still see today in Winston’s more industrial neck Continue Reading
Redhead Reviews: Going On Location in New York City
Full Disclosure: I received a complimentary New York TV and Movie Sites tour with On Location Tours. All of my opinions about the tour are my own. Your opinions may vary. As part of my September of travel, I was lucky enough to squeeze in a mother-daughter trip to New York City at the end of the month. My mom and I were graciously invited to take an On Location Tour on a rainy New York day. On Location Tours take travelers on various tours in New York, Washington D.C., and Boston, focusing on the sights of cities as seen through the movie and TV camera. In terms of New York City, On Continue Reading
Beaufort, North Carolina Wishes You Were Here
I met a married couple in Beaufort. Sarah Gibbs was married to a man by the name of Jacob Shepard. The couple told me in the chatter of morning wind how Jacob’s ship went out to sea, never to return, or so it would seem. In the meantime, Sarah moved on, accepting that her husband would never return. She remarried and had a child with Nathaniel Gibbs, a man I did not meet. However, the plot thickens. Becoming his own Odysseus of sorts, Jacob would return several years later, miraculously, only to find his wife had married another. Rather than a good old-fashioned dueling, the two men came to an Continue Reading