Thursday, June 13, 2019

Thursday, June 13, 2019

Tonight's picture was taken in June of 2008. With Mattie was our calico cat, Patches. Patches was like Mattie, bold and strong willed. But Patches understood right away, from the day we brought Mattie home from the hospital, that she had to be nice to Mattie. Even as a toddler when he would try to chase her, she never used her claws or hissed at Mattie. They grew to be good friends. So much so, that when Mattie was diagnosed with cancer, and he was home from the hospital, she would sit on his bed with him. After Mattie died, Patches was depressed. She spent hours in Mattie's room, sitting on his pillows. Something she had never done before. 

Quote of the day: I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. ~ Maya Angelou

Today we went exploring on Sullivan's Island and Isle of Palms. Both about 30 minutes from Charleston, SC. To get there, we had to traverse over the Ravenel cable-stayed bridge, which is so large that you can see the cables from miles away.  

Quite the bridge!

This is the charm of Sullivan's Island. A sleepy sea side community, with American flags lining the streets. Sullivan's Island is most famous for being the home of Ft. Moultrie. 

Ft. Moultrie fell on great disrepair, but now it is part of the National Parks Service, and was re-opened to the public in 1976. 

Colonel William Moultrie commanded patriot forces on Sullivan's Island in June 1776. The son of a wealthy physician, Moultrie rose to prominence as a captain in the South Carolina militia in 1761. He was appointed colonel of the South Carolina regiment on June 17, 1775. When a British fleet attacked an incomplete fort on Sullivan's Island, Colonel Moultrie and his troops defeated them in a 9.5 hour battle that resulted in one of the first decisive victories in the American Revolution. By the end of the war, Moultrie had been promoted to major general. After the War, he served in the South Carolina House of Representatives as Lieutenant Governor and then two terms as South Carolina Governor. For his victory on Sullivan's Island, the fort was named Fort Moultrie. 

Fort Moultrie is a series of fortifications on Sullivan's Island, built to protect the city of Charleston, South Carolina. The first fort, formerly named Fort Sullivan, built of palmetto logs, inspired the flag and nickname of South Carolina, as "The Palmetto State." The fort was renamed for the U.S. patriot commander in the Battle of Sullivan's Island, General William Moultrie.

A close up of the South Carolina state flag. It is blue, with a palmetto tree, and crescent. The crescent is NOT the moon, but instead a symbol that was on soldiers' uniforms. The tree symbolizes the palmetto logs that comprised the fort.

We have visited Ft. Sumter in SC on a previous trip and very much appreciated having a ranger give us a tour of the Fort. Ft. Moultrie is a self guided experience, which is challenging if you do not know much about the Fort's history. 

This is the third fort to be built on this location and it is literally called Ft. Moultrie III. Fort 1 and 2 were destroyed. But keep in mind this Fort was used in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and the two World Wars.

When war broke out in 1860, the fort was relatively abandoned in favor of the newly claimed Fort Sumter, but the effort to move to this new stronghold would prove to be a bad idea. In April 1863, Federal iron-clads and shore batteries began a 20-month bombardment of Sumter and Moultrie, and when the Confederate Army evacuated the area in 1865, Sumter was a pile of rubble, while Fort Moultrie, hidden under the band of sand that protected its walls, only received minor damage from the nearly two-year attack.

The fort, one of the few coastal forts intact after the war, was modernized in the 1870's, adding layers of concrete and huge new cannons to the site. These upgrades would barely be used, as while the fort was active during the next big national skirmishes - namely the two world wars where enemy submarines lurked off the American coastline - they were not much help compared to the nuclear weapons and guided missiles which changed the landscape of national defense.

Tonight we dined at FIG. Which stands for "Food is Good." This is our third time visiting SC, and the first time trying FIG. Mainly because it is impossible to get reservations. You can only make a reservation 28 days ahead of time. Peter literally put a reminder in his calendar, to make a reservation and it is serious stuff. Because you have to make the reservation first thing in the morning (28 days ahead of time) before all the slots fill up. 

We have heard about this restaurant from friends, and frankly I wanted to see if it was worth the hype. I can safely say it is worth it! The food is outstanding without being over done. This is how the restaurant describes itself:

We source products with integrity, flavor and soul, and incorporate these seasonal offerings into our menu nightly. The result is food that is honest, straightforward and pays homage to the Lowcountry, a special place we are privileged to call home. However, the FIG experience is about more than just food. A sincere effort to educate our staff on all aspects of food and beverage culture is the basis for our service philosophy.  It is our goal that guests feel special, comfortable and well taken care of.

Our friend, Becca, who is an executive chef in Washington, DC told us about the lamb filled gnocchi. So we started with the pasta as well as crab and Carolina rice. Both were stellar. 

I snapped a photo of Peter early on in the evening. However, over the course of time we were eating, practically every table in the restaurant was filled. It is an intimate space, with about 20 or so tables, so it did not feel chaotic and no one was rushing us.