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Patricia Sliney Arabia's avatar

Any vacation is award winning in my book. Thanks for the gorge photos!!! A beautiful treat

Dan P.'s avatar

Other than a specific destination need, I try to structure mine this way as often as possible. For instance one included flying into DC with stops in Gettysburg and Baltimore/Ft. McHenry before flying out of BWI.

Geoff Williams's avatar

I enjoy the stop-and-go vacations. They're a little rushed, and, yeah, some work, but it's a good way to see chunks of the country that you otherwise wouldn't. Great photos, and it was fun to "follow" along on your vacation.

Ann H's avatar

Since you asked, it would be nice to have your various posts about Phil collected in one place--or in one link. I was talking housing first and harm reduction with family yesterday (I have that kind of family) and was telling them about Phil. It would be nice to have single link I could send them. I also realize that I like Phil's so-far happy ending and don't want to jinx it--not that I believe in jinxes. But I believe it's a story worth sharing further than it's gotten so far.

Matt Baron's avatar

Thank you, Ann....I'll explore this further.

bruce kleinman's avatar

Honestly, Matt, I'm curious how you can spend three days in one of the country's most spectacular incredible cities - Charleston,SC - and barely mention it aside from the fort and a faux english bar. With all due respect Mt. Pleasant -as you point out - is not Charleston. By the way, there is a slave museum in the city itself that offers all sorts of little known facts about the history of the enslaved: like the actual prices at auction, as well as the rarely mentioned story of black slave owners. You really should consider going back, cause you missed a whole lot.

Matt Baron's avatar

Saving it for the book! Also: so much that we did that's not getting included here -- if I had 1,800 paying subs, I'd be more in a position to take more time each week (I'd even write twice a week, at least!). I appreciate your reading, Bruce, and the additional insights from your travels.

Bridgett Baron's avatar

Bruce, Have you been to Boone Plantation? We spent an entire day there, and it was an incredible, moving/upsetting experience about slavery and the 200+ enslaved people who were responsible for making over four million bricks by hand each l year that were used to build many of buildings in Charleston and beyond. These enslaved people also built many of those buildings. And that's not to mention all the food they produced for Charleston and beyond.

That's only the tip of the iceberg of what we learned via the exhibits, and live talks. Yes, we saw horrid lists of what people were sold for, of which you speak. We saw tags they had to wear like dogs (when they were working off the plantation and in Charleston).

Mount Pleasant borders Charleston, and is close enough that you can walk from Mt. Pleasant to downtown Charleston.

bruce kleinman's avatar

No. We've been to Drayton Hall, the only unrestored plantation in America - preserved as it was - so you got a much better idea of the times: No restoration; just "preservation." And Heyward House, in Bluffton, South Carolina.