Monday Musings: Charleston

"Charleston, oh Charleston, I still hear your sea winds a blowin'..."

Wait a minute...that's not quite right, is it? Glen Campbell was singing about another city by another sea.

I headed to Charleston last week for a conference. It's the first time I visited the city and I was excited to fly in early enough to see some sights...but you know what they say about best-laid plans.

This little guy went missing within the first 20 minutes I was in town.

Now, I don't know about you but I'm just not me without my iPhone. Sad, but very, very true.

I figured out right away where I must have left it...in the airport shuttle van.

But what if it fell out of the van while I was exiting. Or what if the driver found it and immediately started calling China or sold it to a stranger down at the port?

Once I stopped panicking I realized that while I didn't have my iPhone with me, I did have my iPad and I had connected all of my Apple products via the iCloud. This meant I could download the very cool (and free) Find My iPhone app.

I spent the next 5 hours watching my iPhone cruise around Charleston until the nice driver dropped it off at my hotel for me. Did I tell you that the app has Google maps on it so you can actually see images of where your device is, not just a map?

Of course, this little mishap caused me to stay in my room staring at my iPad instead of sight-seeing. I did make myself go to the restaurant in the hotel for a meal and enjoyed some Indiana-raised roasted duck from Maple Leaf Farms...yummy!

After I was reunited with my long lost phone, I snapped this photo from my hotel room window. My room overlooked Marion Square. It was in the 70s most of the time I was down in Charleston so by Noon each day the square filled up with college students and young families enjoying the gorgeous weather.

The conference I attended was quite good (more insights later) and among many other things, I learned a little bit about South Carolina's history and its rich farming background.

Did you know that South Carolina farmers used to raise lots of rice, indigo, tobacco and peaches?

In fact, today in just a couple of counties (it might be four) South Carolina raises more peaches than that other state that claims to be the "Peach State."

That's your history lesson for the day, boys and girls!

Another cool fact I learned is that the trees in the photo below are NOT palm trees. These beautiful plants that grace the South Carolina flag, as well as line the streets of Charleston, are Palmetto trees.

I loved all the big homes across Charleston with the wide sweeping porches, Palmetto lined walks and hidden gardens.

I decided that if I owned a home with porches like the ones above in a southern city like Charleston, I would invest in a gorgeous Southern Belle dress and wear it at least once a week. While standing on my porch waving to tourists, I would call out, "Y'all enjoy y'ahselves now."

Boy, now I really want to go download a couple of Glen Campbell songs..."Like a Rhinestone Cowboy..."