Typical Charleston neighborhood park fountain

And here we have Don at T Mobile ringing me up as I dive headfirst into the world of Blackberry. Let me caution you to never go shopping for a phone with one of your high tech kids. They will insist you need the best, and that, in the long run, it will save you money. In this case T was right. Already I love the thing, what it can do. And I haven't even signed up for data yet. In fact, am

considering returning the camera I bought at walmart in TN as it's only ok and just using the one in the phone which is pretty good. I have already texted folks, set my alarm and ring tones, attached photos to address book. Quite accomplished really. We also got T2 a phone so she isn't trapped like a rat most of the day. Now she'll be ordering from Neiman's and doing other shameful things.

Charleston is one beautiful town. It will charm the pants off you. I highly recommend the Charleston Museum, right there on Meeting Street, free parking and wheelchair accessible, nice for T2. Nephew D said it was the first time he'd been to a museum in 6 years or more and loved it. A very impressive museum, and I've been in four now on this trip, all fabulous and worth the price of admission (in this case 10 bucks). Also a well thought out interactive children's section for younger kids. High quality stuff, history of the area, and then some rich guy's collection of everything in the natural history and archaeology area he could pilfer from the middle east and elsewhere back in the day. Big Egyptian statues and everything. A giant leatherneck seatortoise (about 7 feet long) found in Charleston harbor in the late 1800's. The gal on the phone advised us it took about an hour to go through the museum. Not! More like 4 hours minimum. Lots to see here. One special display, 200 years of wedding attire, was cool. We donned wedding gowns and took coy, virginal photos. Great dollhouses, history of rice and cotton growing in the area complete with well done videos and artifacts, geology, furniture (including my sewing table!), nice collection of old crazy quilts, ironwork, jewelry to die for, silver... Take my word for it, it's a wonderful place. We didn't get there til 330 and so didn't see it all. Will return for sure.

Suppah was a real treat. Thanks to urbanspoon.com again. We found an authentic Creole restaurant just ten minutes north of the city out on int 26 and less than a half mile off the interstate where, for the first time in my life, I enjoyed crawfish etoufee and a bananas foster the likes of which I have never seen before prepared by Iran ("like the country"), a Katrina evacuee and now proprietor of The Crescent Connection. The place was decked out for St patty's day/ mardi gras combo (even though it's Lent, and you have to think about that. I guess Catholics just can't do the entire Lenten thing without a break for a booze-up on St. Patty's day -- said the former catholic school girl.) So we all got complimentary colorful mardi gras beads upon departure. The gumbo satisfied, the jambalaya was divine, the dinner salads sweet and savory with sweet ripe olive tomatoes, and D had the primo dish of deep fried cornish hen entier, accompanied by a squash puree delicieux, dirty rice with giblets, and the best tiny dumplings in a light bechamel I have ever had the pleasure of savoring on my tongue. T2 ate the bread pudding dessert in pretty much one bite, but the bananas foster! Wow! Delicately battered and fried strips of ripe bananas in a deevine- ly flavored sauce arranged around a scoop of really good vanilla ice cream. IF YOU ARE EVER IN CHARLESTON, take the trouble to head out here to Montague Ave. and enjoy what Iran has to offer at very reasonable prices. Dinner for 4 with dessert and salads came to less than 100 bucks. And the service was warm, blessed and chatty. Sunday brunch, if you bring your church flyer you get a dollar off. Check it out.

Off to shop for shoes for D and peanut butter, fresh ground, for T2 today, then later on to Raleigh, NC, and the State Archives to see what we can find out about the missing gggggreat gf and his wife, from NC. Stay tuned.

Charleston house above is decorated with Lenten purple lights. You gotta love that.