More things to Love about Charleston, SC

Recently, here on the Carpetbagger I talked about two of my favorite cemeteries in the City of Charleston, SC and the legends buried beneath.  I really love this city and wanted to take time to point out some more awesome things about Charleston.

BLACKBEARD!

Not my picture

The city of Charleston was once under the control of one of the most infamous and ruthless men in world History:  Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard.   Blackbeard was famous for bringing pro-wrestling style theatrics to piracy in order to build a larger then life persona.  The man was crazy enough to light his damn beard on fire in order to scare the hell out of people.  In later life, like many modern day northerners, Blackbeard had a quite retirement in North Carolina.  Well, until the governor of Virginia sent a militia to chop his head off.  However, in his prime, Blackbeard blocked off the historic port of Charleston creating an embargo and taking a handful of high profile captives.  Blackbeard would call off his blockade in exchange for medical supplies.  Some would have to wonder if Blackbeard did this sort of thing for the sheer fun of it.  Oh yeah, he also had the coolest pirate flag of all time.

Image property of Blackbeard the Pirate

FOUR CORNERS OF LAW!

There is a very special intersection in Charleston.  At the corner of Meeting and Broad St Federal the four different types of law merge.
 .

 
On one corner sits the South Carolina Federal Court House (Federal Law), The Charleston City Hall (County Law), The Original South Carolina Capital Building (State Law), and St. Micheal's Church (God's Law).  According to the notorious Robert Ripley it is the only place in the world where all four types of law merge.  

GHOSTS!

Just ask any tour guide in Charleston and they will tell you that Charleston is the SECOND most haunted City in all of America.  They will concede that only Savannah, GA is home to more ghosts.  Ghost stories arn't exactly my thing, so I will not go into detail.  Regardless, going on a ghost tour is a required activity in Charleston.  Of course this constant search for ghosts in the streets and cemeteries of Charleston, SC has irritated some of the local churches.

   

ANGEL OAK!

There are alot of nice trees in the world, but there can only be one king.  To all of you who think you have seem amazing trees I say "You call THAT a tree?"  Check this out.

The Angel Oak is a ridiculously massive Live Oak that is alleged to be the oldest living organism in the Eastern United States.  The simple girth of its branches is unbelievable.

  
 The Angel Oak sits on John's Island, just outside of Charleston, but show up early, because the tree is closed at night (seriously).

MR. LIBERTY!

This may not count, because it doesn't technically exist.  Back in 2010 a local goverment committee discussed ideas to draw tourists to its Patriot's Point area near Fort Sumter.  A man by the name of Rodney Cook showed up and proposed the most awesome idea ever.  Cook proposed that since Charleston was the cradle of Southern Culture, much like New York City is the cradle of Northern Culture that it deserved a monument that echoed New Yorks most famous statue.  Cook proposed that the city of Charleston erect a male counterpart to the Statue of Liberty.

Not my image

Lady Liberties counterpart was set to have the same dimensions as her.  The committee's answer to Cook was a simple "Wow".  Still no sign of the monolith, but we can all dream.

The Carpetbagger

Please feel free to e-mail me at jacobthecarpetbagger@gmail.com
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Raise Your Glass: Welcome to Florida

Florida is a state that knows how to treat its guests.  It is a family tradition to stop at the Florida welcome center and partake in the ritual of drinking a complimentary sample of Orange Juice.

The welcoming gift gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling and gears me up to take in the tourist paradise that is Florida.

Why can't other states be so welcoming?

The Georgia welcome center does something similar and gives you a free dixie cup of Coca-Cola.  This is of course is only at the welcome center when you are leaving Florida, so they are clearly trying to compete with Florida's long standing tradition.

The Georgia welcome center also has a display celebrating the freakish wonderland that is Babyland General.  The other curious thing about Georgia's welcome center is that they have outdoor speakers that are blasting a mixtape of musicians from Georgia.  When I entered they were playing "Jump" by nineties rap group "Kris Kross", as I exited they were playing "Closer to Fine" by female folk duo "The Indigo Girls."  I really wish I would have stayed to listen to the whole mixtape.

I wonder why other states don't give tourists the red carpet treatment.  There are no free cigarettes at the North Carolina welcome center. 

The Carpetbagger

Please feel free to e-mail me at jacobthecarpetbagger@gmail.com
and check out my Flickr Photostream

The Cemetaries of Charleston, SC: The Kingdom by the Sea

Charleston, SC is one of my favorite cities in the South.  While at first it seems like a really stodgy old money kind of town, it has a wonderfully dark and sinister history and folklore to it.

Now New Orleans, LA has some of the most beautiful and Gothic cemeteries in the South.  Call me crazy, but I personally prefer Charleston's graveyards. 

Let's take a look at the "Circular Church" Cemetery.   The Circular Church, of course is named after its circular shape.  The church has a circular shape, of course, because the devil "hides in corners".

The Cemetery has some of the most amazingly Gothic tombstones you could ever hope to see.

Those are "angels" portrayed on the stones.  If those are not creepy enough for you check out these interesting interpretations of "angels".

The Circular Church cemetery also has this amazing set of family graves made to look like chess pieces.

The Circular Church also has the oldest marked grave in Charleston, which dates back to 1729.  Of course at this point it looks like nothing but a lump of stone and since its right next to the walkway, it probably gets stepped on and kicked every single day.

As impressive as the Circular Church is, its not my favorite Cemetery in Charleston.  That honor goes to the Unitarian Cemetery. 

The Unitarian Cemetery is unique in that flowers and plants are allowed to grow wild across the graveyard.  It is simply one of the most beautiful spots in the South.

Of course what lies in the unmarked graves is equally as fascinating.  There are two legendary women allegedly buried on these grounds.

The first of these women is Lavinia Fisher, notorious for being the first female serial killer in United States History.  Lavinia and her husband John owned a boarding house on the outskirts of Charleston.  They had a bad habit of murdering their guests and taking all their money and valuables.  The method of murder varies depending on the version of the story.  They range from poisoning, axe murdering and some even claimed that the Fisher's rigged a trap door under their guest beds and dumped their victims into a spiked pit.   One of their attempted victims caught them in the act and escaped.  When the authorities arrived they found a mess of dead bodies buried on the Fisher's property. 

The Fisher's were imprisoned in the Charleston jail, which is still around today, looking creepy as hell.

Both John and Lavinia were sentenced to hang.  John Fisher found religion in jail and begin to beg for mercy.  Lavinia however wanted nothing to do with the jailhouse preacher and became more and more defiant and antagonistic.   Lavinia attempted to get out of her death sentence by pointing out that by South Carolina law, a married woman could not be hanged.  The courts got around this with the simple loop hole of hanging John first, as there was no law against hanging a widow.

To add to what had already developed into quite a spectacle, Lavinia chose to wear her wedding dress to the hanging.   Moments before her death Lavinia shouted to the crowd with her legendary last words, "If anyone has a message for the devil, let me know, because I will be dining with him tonight."

Now most churches would frown on burying a psychotic serial killer on their grounds.  The Unitarian's however made a habit of allowing the "unwanted" buried in their cemetery.  They would often take in local prostitutes.  The only catch was, the graves of the unwanted could not be marked.

The other legendary woman buried here is none other then "Annabel Lee".  You may have heard of her.

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of ANNABEL LEE;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was more than love-
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me-
Yes!- that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we-
Of many far wiser than we-
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.

Edgar Allan Poe

 Annabel Lee, the mysterious lost lover of Edgar Allan Poe is allegedly buried in the Unitarian Church Cemetery.

The story begins with Edgar being stationed at the local Fort Moltrie under a fake name, which he was using to hide from his debtors.  This we actually know, is true.  While living in Charleston Poe fell in love with Annabel, but her father did not approve of the scruffy New Englander.  Sadly, Anabel Lee would fall ill and die of yellow fever.  Her cruel father disliked Poe so much that he buried her in an unmarked grave in the Unitarian Cemetery, just so Poe would not know where she was buried.  Charleston, SC is said to be the "Kingdom by the Sea" mentioned in the poem.

The Carpetbagger

P.S. While making this post I looked through all my pictures from the many wax museums I have been to and realized that I have never seen a Wax Edgar Allan Poe, this seems almost criminal!

Please feel free to e-mail me at jacobthecarpetbagger@gmail.com
and check out my Flickr Photostream

South Carolina's UFO Welcome Center

On a trip to Charleston a few years back we took a detour to Bowman, SC based on a tip from Roadside America, to see the "UFO Welcome Center".

The UFO Welcome Center is a giant UFO built by a local named Jody Pendarvis.  Jody built the UFO by hand and considers himself an ambassador to alien life.  Jody was featured on a sketch on "The Daily Show" in 2001 when he was interviewed by Stephen Colbert.

Its a magnificent sight to behold.  Its a towering structure with a very folksy handmade look.

As I snapped some pictures Jody pulled up in his multi-color pickup truck.

Fortunately, Jody was extremely friendly and clearly happy about the attention his UFO draws in.  Jodi explained that he did not build this UFO, but that it was simply left by Aliens (with a wink in a smile).  Jody states that he lives in the UFO and sleeps in the top.  He was more then happy to let met get some pictures with him.

Its always a special treat to meet unique and interesting characters on the road.

The Carpetbagger

Please feel free to e-mail me at jacobthecarpetbagger@gmail.com
and check out my Flickr Photostream

Things People Only Eat in the South

For a clueless Midwestern carpetbagger I found myself as somewhat out of place when my first job in the South was working at a Southern Cookin restaurant.  It seemed to me at first that "southern food" was simply an excuse to either pickle or fry everything in sight. 

And course the "vegetables" in the South have as much meat in them as a steak.  Pig fat, pig feet, or just pig is used to season everything.

Over time I have grown to greatly appreciate the wide variety of Southern Delicacies I have encountered over my time here in the South.  I wanted to take time to acknowledge some of the more unusual delicacies found here in the South.

Peanuts and Coke

This one is pretty simple.  We have previously discussed that despite its international fame, that Coca-Cola is a child of the South, being created by a confederate soldier as a way to cure his morphine addiction.  Mixing coke and peanuts has been a long time Southern gas station snack.  Of course simply eating peanuts and coke isn't good enough, a true Southerner puts the peanuts in the glass bottle.  I tried this recently.  Fairly decent novelty.  Its a good treat for those who love salty and sweet mixed together.

Grits

Grits are probably one of the most synonymous foods of the South.  Personally, I have had a hard time warming up to grits for breakfast.  To me they taste as flavorful as one would imagine that ground up corn cobs would.   Regardless, virtually every southern born person I know vows to love grits.

While I do not like grits prepared for breakfast (usually served with added sugar and butter, or cheese and hot sauce).  I am quite fine with them once seafood and cream sauce get added to the equations.  Shrimp and Grits is the trademark dish of the low country and has become on of my favorites. 

These scallops covered in cajon seasoning, Alfredo sauce over grit cakes is one of the best things I have ever eaten.

From Hyman's Seafood in Charleston, SC

 For those of you who can't get enough of grits the National Grit Festival is held every year in Warwick, GA.  Of course if one nation can't contain your love of grits you may want to attend the WORLD Grit Festival in St. Georg, SC.  If you are like me and only like your grits with seafood on them, they have a Shrimp and Grits Festival in Jekyll Island, GA.

RC and Moon Pie

Not my image

Any connoisseur of fine food and spirts know that it is extremely important to match up the correct food with the right wine.  White wine goes with fish, red wine goes with beef and there is even something called "dessert wine".  It gets a lot more complicated then that too, but I am a simple Carpetbagger and know very little about wine.

Like matching a fine wine with the correct entree is a necessity at fine dining establishments, at the dime stores and gas stations of the South the same care must be taken.  The moon-pie, the southern born chocolate covered marshmallow sandwich, has only one beverage that fits its sophisticated flavor.  That beverage is Royal Crown Cola, better known as RC.

Drinking any other beverage with a moon pie would be like drinking red wine with a piece of fish.  You my not understand why, but you just don't do.

RC and Moon Pie are so karmically linked that they actually share a festival in Bell Buckle, TN.  My Flickr buddy Brent posted some amazing pictures from the festival including a reworking of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream featuring a love story between a can of RC and a Moon Pie.

Cheerwine

Speaking of wine, here is the beverage that always confuses out-of-towners.  Despite the word "wine" in its title, Cheerwine is complete non-alcoholic.  It is a unique Cherry Soda that is exclusive to the South and is the "wine" of choice with Carolina BBQ.  The Soda has been around since 1917 and has an extremely loyal cult fan base.  The "wine" part of the name is a nod to its dark burgundy color.  Its fast become one of my favorite sodas.

A few years back they released a special edition Cheerwine flavored Kristy Kreme Doughnut.  Local stores could not keep them stocked.  We managed to get a box and trust me it was one of the best things I have ever put in my mouth.

As you may notice. is quite a trend down here, there is a Cheerwine festival in Salisbury, NC.

Boiled Peanuts

I have discussed the phenomenon of Boiled Peanuts in the past at great length.  They are one of the most unique a delectable treats the South has to offer.  The best peanuts are of course purchased in roadside stands out of big smelly pots like this.

Or re-purposed oil drums....

They are one of my favorite southern delicacies.  While the idea may seem strange to some people, they taste kind of like a cross between peanuts and olives.  They especially good hot.

Believe it or not this Boiled Peanut Ice Cream was one of the best things I have ever eaten.

And yes, of course there is a Boiled Peanut Festival.  Its in Luverne, LA.

Polk Salad

Polk Salad is one of the strangest Southern Delicacies.  Strange because every part of the Polk Berry Plant is poison, making the Appalachian version of Fugu.  The plant must be boiled at least three times before the poison is dissipated.  It is then served covered in bacon grease.  My wife (my personal encyclopedia of Southern knowledge) informs me that it tastes horrible and bitter.  It is apparently often used more as a folk remedy for illness.

One time when my son was little him and his friend took polk berries and painted their face like Indians.  There skin started burning and they both broke out into nasty rashes.  So you may not want to put them in your mouth.

There are less toxic versions of this delicacy.  Some variations simply cover iceberg lettuce with bacon grease and call it a meal.

For your polk salad festival needs visit Blanchard, LA.

Ramps

 

The ramp is a wild onion that Southerners go gaga for.  When spring hits you can see pickup trucks parked all along the road selling this delicacy.  Ramps are not farmed.  They are hunted, as they only grown wild.  I feel this is a large part of their appeal.  You can tell ramp season has began when people start mowing their lawns and it put the powerful odor of onion and garlic into the air.

Ramps essentially taste like the combination of onion and garlic and are notorious for causing bad breath.

Now, as you can tell from this article Southerners love having festivals to celebrate their local food.  I have found no less then 9 different ramp festivals across the South.   

 

Lucky for me, they actually have on in Waynesville, NC, the town I live in.  I attended a few years back.

I was given a dish of food infused with ramp including ramp meatloaf, ramp eggs, and ramp potatoes. 

Hope you all enjoyed this look at the strange delicacies of the South.

The Carpetbagger

Please feel free to e-mail me at jacobthecarpetbagger@gmail.com
and check out my Flickr Photostream