A Getaway of an unusual sort

I work a good part of the day on Monday and Friday. Both weekends bracketing the week are spent in getting kids to various places and events. But ah...midweek. Midweek begins a world wind adventure for Donnie. My gift to him, the most of 3 days in South Carolina where he can get his geek on and research his Civil War ancestor. (I will come along for the ride!) Erastus Everson was a fascinating man living in very troubled times. He documented most of his adventures and as a newspaper man I am sure he had an eye to publishing eventually. He did have many of his letters home published during the war. His extensive war wounds took close to a decade to heal (he was shot in the testicles....imagine 6 years of an open wound there. ) He married after the war and it was not healed! Apparently better to be married to a man even if he could not procreate than to remain a spinster, in a time when men were in short supply. Erastus spent a number of years after the war in South Carolina reporting on Klan activities, breaking up illegal distilleries, and working as a librarian for the the University of South Carolina. The historical society down there has a number of his papers and photos. They of course are only open midweek for certain hours. So we shall head down there and Don can spend 2 or 3 days pouring through the info, copying what he can (Mary sent him copies of a quarter of the collection). Its a little strange to head to a place in America that I do not really have much knowledge about it. I never 'studied' the south much. The wild west, the Gold Rush all held romantic appeal. Alaska and Hawaii seemed so exotic and of course the mountainous states always held my interest. But the south... It will be interesting to wander the historic district which looks much the same as it did when Erastus made his home there. He was of course hated by many since who wants some northerner telling them how to run their library? (Never mind he broke up their distilleries!) He left the place in a hurry but it is a mystery as to why. Really a hurry, like dead of night hurry. Was he ill? Marital troubles? Did the locals decide to silence him and he caught wind? Who knows? ONE HUNDRED YEAR OLD MYSTERY to be explored by an ancestor. The war prevented him from leaving any direct descendants. His grave over in Pembroke is even missing its American flag, it is not tended by anyone.... All that is left really is an old family portrait and a small island in Marshfield at the mouth of the Green Harbor river. But the curiosity of a relative, over a hundred years later brings Erastus the man back alive again. He and his times, and this the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. The actual anniversary was of course last week in -you guessed it -South Carolina, Fort Sumter. I keep all my fretting about leaving the kids and animals to myself. Donnie is keen on this adventure. He is sure there will be time to wander Charleston, hike around the city, check out a few museums, a boat to Ft Sumter perhaps or a carriage ride, maybe even a plantation visit. I think he will become submerged in another time and place and there will be precious little time for anything other than Major Erastus Everson. But that is ok too. I have a few good books and a new bathing suit so the pool and I will become acquainted. Also there are plenty of interesting places within walking distance of the hotel so I can adventure all by myself, something that almost never ever occurs. If nothing else I will have to find a grocery store since although breakfast is included we are on our own for the other meals. I have heard nothing but glowing praise for Charleston's cuisine of course. But on the budget plan we may more likely be peanut butter and jelly-ing it! I shall let you know what we discover down south. Perhaps I shall blog about it while i am there, Mint Julep at my side!