Found

My friend, Judy, arrived earlier this week and we have been out finding things since then.  I say "finding" because we seem to have a talent for first not being able to find them or, even better, finding them and then when we need to go back to that place we scouted earlier, not being able to get there.  I should add, of course, that we always do seem to find whatever it is once again in the end.

Sometimes it's just that there are so many one way streets or even streets that change from two way to one way.  I'm not sure that I've actually seen a street that switches from one direction to the opposite, but it certainly feels as though I had.  Add construction to that and not finding building numbers or street signs to be able to check and it can take about a half hour to go "around the block".  Somehow the block never seems to cooperate.  I'm pretty sure the GPS thinks we're out to get it.

Of course, the problem is frequently solved by nice people who notice one of us standing and looking around in a slightly puzzled fashion.  There was a very nice grey haired gentleman who did that yesterday and even told us why there was no one in the office and what the normal business hours were.  I know New Yorkers can be and are very helpful but I can't quite imagine that volunteering to help in a busy NY commute.  But perhaps I underestimate.

Things we have found:  houses and condos and rentals just in case I find I can't live without Charleston's warmth, restaurants that were full when I tried them before, one more plantation, and way too many stores with way too many nice things.  Also, the FedEX store, followed by the UPS store when we realized that the return envelope was for UPS.  And something I have been looking for almost since I got to Charleston -- the pineapple fountain.  This is, as I'm sure you've figured out, a large fountain shaped like a pineapple.  Since both Judy and I like the pineapple hospitality image and since there is a family tradition/joke about us and the word pineapple, we just had to find that.  And we did.  By finding the ice cream (actually gelato) shop.  We sat there eating our ice cream and realized we were about half a block from that fountain.  It is a lovely thing and I will post pictures on Facebook since I still cannot get picture to upload to this blog.  And, oh yes, the gelatin was quite good, too.