[Magdalen] Heading South

[Sally Davies]

I'm so enjoying the opportunity to wander the USA with you, Roger!

Last Christmas, Capers sent me a pack of delicious tea from that
Plantation. I was amazed by the tea bags which were made of proper fabric,
not paper stuff - very pretty!

Sally D

On Saturday, 1 November 2014, ROGER STOKES <roger.stokes65 at btinternet.com>
wrote:

> I had not realised how far West you have to go to get past the various
> river estuaries down the Eastern seaboard of the US.  This far South it
> also tends to head South-West rather than due South.  Eventually, though, I
> was able to  turn East again and make for my night's stop at Wilmington NC.
> For a Brit the place names could be a little confusing when you see that
> you are leaving the City of Suffolk to enter the County of Southampton. IUn
> England Southampton is a city and Suffolk a county.
>
>
> I assume Wilmington is named after the place in Kent (now part of Greater
> London) near where I was born and where one of my aunts lived for many
> years. It is quite unlike its namesake being a relatively unspoilt (at
> least in the historic downtown) town.  The hotel where I stayed is at the
> river end of the old rail station, now sadly cut off from the network but
> still with a rail museum in part of the station.  The other station
> buildings have now become a convention center. The hotel rooms all look out
> over the river and there's a pleasant board walk along its edge.
>
> Dinner was in Paddy's Hollow, which didn't pretend (despite its name) to
> be an Irish bar. It's tucked away in part of what was the Cotton Exchange
> and does not keep late hours.  I thought closing time was 9 p.m. but was
> told it was actually a half-hour later.  This helps make it a quiet and
> pleasant place for a meal.
>
> Heading West again this morning I was getting worried at one stage as mile
> after mile passed with no habitation and, more importantly, no gas
> station.  Eventually I cam across one and was able to replenish the car's
> tank to continue my journey. Even a small car needs some gas to make it go.
> Approaching Charleston I noticed a number of roadside stalls selling
> sweetgrass baskets.  Subsequent research shows that these are peculiar to
> this area where the sweetgrass grows.  However the supply is diminishing as
> more of the land where it grows is taken over for development.
>
> Having been given a pack of American tea last weekend I went to see the
> Charleston Tea Plantation where it came from.  There was an informative
> illustrated talk along the gallery overlooking the factory where I could
> see the tea being processed.  I hadn't realized that the difference between
> black, oolong and green tea is essentially in the processing.  They were
> making green tea when I was there with the ground leaves being taken
> straight to the drying room rather than spending time on the oxidising bed.
>
> Roger
>
>