Our first stop this morning was Angel Oak Tree Park. Bob read about this tree and others had mentioned it. So we drove 30 minutes. To see a tree. And guess what? It was incredible!! We’ve never seen anything like it before. And there were tons of others visiting as well – as the photos show. It’s 500 years old (though others claim it could be 1500 years old). There was an artist there working on a piece – Frank DeLoach. We started talking to him and I asked him how they knew its age. He said a limb broke off a few years ago and they sent it to some scientist in Nashville who is an expert at those things. So, I guess they do know! LOL

The tree is magical. The limbs. They are huge and they wind their way down into the ground and back up again. Frank paints the tree (among other things) in very unique ways using silt from the ground for dimension. He said some see the finished product as stained glass artwork, which I’d have to agree with. We love walking away from a trip with such unique souvenirs as this.

On the porch of the small gift shop was Ms. Adeline with her display of beautiful handmade sweetgrass baskets displayed. She and her handiwork came highly recommended by Frank. I had been eyeing these beautiful pieces of artwork since we arrived and we finally caved this morning. I am bringing home this amazing basket with me! You can read more about these works of art and their history here.

Our next stop was the Morris Island Lighthouse by Folly Beach but we needed lunch first so we picked a place on the pier to grab a bite. It was beautiful. The sun was shining, a warm breeze was blowing and people were everywhere enjoying the gorgeous weather. After lunch we walked the pier and grabbed a few photos of the beach. Even at the end of April it was hopping. I’m sure that water was cold but there were a few people braving it and some surfers on boards waiting for waves.

The drive to the lighthouse wasn’t far. It now sits in the water so you can’t actually get to it (except at low tide we’ve read). The half mile paved road the beach was littered with graffiti with everything from “so and so was here” to names or initials in a heart to inspiration sayings. I guess next time we come we need to bring paint so we can leave our mark as well.

The lighthouse itself isn’t one of the prettiest we’ve ever seen but the view from the path wasn’t bad.

Next stop is Kenny!! Honestly we were feeling a little Kenny’d out heading into this show. The Greensboro show was pretty much a repeat of the same show from last summer. We were hoping since he’s only playing smaller venues this tour that he would shake things up a bit and it would be a bit more intimate. But I think Kenny’s vision for this tour was bringing the same energy and show from the big stadiums into the smaller venues. So while we may have been a little disappointed that it wasn’t more intimate and that he didn’t slow it down some, maybe do a couple songs unplugged, I think he did accomplish what he wanted.

This arena in Charleston is a tennis stage. It’s small. Holding only about 10,000 seats, it was probably about 40% less when you take out the area blocked off for staging. The only time we’ve seen Kenny in a venue this small was Hard Rock Cafe in Vegas, and that’s set up totally different. There wasn’t a bad seat in this place. In the end, we loved this show. Kenny was excited about being here. The energy the fans gave back to him was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before with so few people. Kenny’s shows are ALWAYS high energy – more so than any other show. They’re just different. Always have been. It was simply amazing. And he did shake it up a bit tonight – slowing it down to play “Old Blue Chair” unplugged and even did “There Goes My Life,” which he hasn’t done in years (still can’t see him perform that and not get choked up and the tears fall). We left feeling so not Kenny’d out now and excited about seeing him again. This show is at the top of our list.

Our last day in Charleston bites the dust. Off to Savannah tomorrow!!

Next day …