So here's the deal: I've been living in the South now for about 4 years & I'll be honest, it's an acquired taste! Though a little over a year ago we bought a house in Charlottesville, Virginia, a funky college town which has a lot going for it. Still, after having grown up & lived the majority of my days in southern California, it's like a different world here: Cicadas throbbing in unison during sweltery summer days. Shrimp and grits on the menu (grits, yuck!). People who call me ma'am & sound like our president when they talk. Civil war battlefield after civil war battlefield after civil war battlefield. OK you get my point. So recently, the hubby Daniel & I took a trip to Charleston, South Carolina & I found it to be even more Southern than Virginia. A little too Southern, for my tastes, to be honest. What is RIGHT about Charleston is the eatin! It's mighty fine! I think I gained about 6 pounds on that trip. Fresh pecan pralines, fried okra (which isn't bad), shrimp, shrimp & more shrimp, oh & the catfish. Yum yum...otherwise, Charleston is an example of that once glimmering, prosperous Southern city that has never quite recovered since the Civil war. If you like architecture, go to see the magnificent manor homes south of Broad.But beware, just a couple miles outside south Charleston & you will encounter desperate poverty. And at the Charleston airport, there's a sign over the drinking fountain, reminding all of the Civil Rights Act, in case you'd forgotten! Yikes! No, I'll take Charlottesville thanks.