Martha Lou's

I love to read and just recently read The Hurricane Sisters by Dorothea Benton Frank. All of her books are good and I think you would love this one. Now, this is not a book review, but I just had to tell you a little bit about it. It was a very good read and an interesting lunch came out of it. Oh, you must know that Dorothea writes about Charleston and Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, where she grew up.

In the beginning of the story, Liz, Maisie's daughter, is bailing 80-year-old Maisie out of jail for walking a llama down Hwy 17. Maisie was arrested for animal cruelty, endangerment, and reckless behavior, even though she had the llama on a leash. The police put the llama in the dog catcher's pen and now Liz and her husband have to go get the caretaker from the farm because the llama is spitting on everyone.

I laughed out loud, when I read that page. It hooked me and I couldn't put the book down. The interesting lunch came about because in the book, Liz meets a friend for lunch at a restaurant in Charleston, SC called Martha Lou's.

This is what Liz said about Martha Lou's ......"Martha Lou's was one of those places you'd only know about if you were from Charleston or if a local took you there. The location was in, how do we say this diplomatically, a reemerging neighborhood. The building was as pink as a bottle of Pepto-Bismol featuring a sort of fabulous fish mural on the exterior wall, and the interior decor was a little to the left of chic. That said, you'd never put a better piece of fried chicken in your mouth. It was authentic, down-home, southern flare with no highfalutin nonsense."

Well, I had to know if this restaurant was real, so I googled it. Lo and behold, it was. And the picture on the website was just as Dorothea and Liz described it in The Hurricane Sisters. That meant one thing....I had to go. I told Cliff about it and the next thing I know, he planned a meeting with a friend from Charleston and we headed down for lunch, yesterday.

Liz mentioned that Debra, Martha Lou's daughter, was their waitress. So, I had to assume Debra was real, also. Sure enough, Debra IS Martha Lou's daughter and works at the restaurant, too.

I took my copy of The Hurricane Sisters hoping to get an autograph from Martha Lou. Unfortunately, she was not there yesterday during our lunch, but Debra was and she was delighted to sign my copy of the book.

What a fun adventure!

 Martha Lou's Restaurant

 This is Martha Lou. 

I took a picture of a framed photo in the restaurant. 

And, this is Debra. She was a hoot.

She was delighted to sign my copy of The Hurricane Sisters. 

As best as I can make out, it says....

"Debra Wally, much love to ya."

If you want to know more about this Southern soul food kitchen, go to marthalouskitchen.com. Or, if you're ever in Charleston, you'll have to stop by for lunch. I had the fried chicken and it was as good as I have ever had....so were the collards, corn bread and macaroni and cheese. 

Of course Cliff had a little to say....

Cliff said, "I want to order a round of chitterlings for everyone". 

Debra said, "I'm so sorry, we don't have any today. I have some in a bucket out back that I need to clean, but it could take 45 minutes to 2 hours and I just don't have time right now to clean them."

  

In my mind, I said, "Thank God, because ewwwww! I will never eat those."

Later,

Laurie

Adventures of the High Seas.......

I was hesitant to post this. I was afraid that it wouldn't be exactly what I'm going for in this blog, but decided what the heck. After all, this was an adventure for me....being a 50-plus-year-old cruise newbie and all. I was going to call it "Tales from the High Seas", but decided I couldn't because my sister, friends and I made a pact.....What happens in the Bahamas stays in the Bahamas. I can certainly give you some highlights of a great adventure, though.

A few months ago, Carla called to ask me to come along with her and two of her friends on a Bahama's Cruise. My immediate reaction was ....... "Are you crazy"? "You know I get motion sickness and sea sickness is THE worst". The very thought brought on flashbacks of some 30 odd years ago to a day spent on the high seas with my then boyfriend, Cliff, and his best buddy, Earl. Let me just say that visions of chunky eggs and tomatoes and hugging the side of Earl's boat filled my head. Well...I quickly snapped out of that and let me just interject here that peer pressure is strong. Carla easily talked me into going along. So, off to the drugstore I go. Two packs of Dramamine would probably do.

Carnival Fantasy Cruise Ship

Friday:

- Board ship in Charleston.

- Explore.

- Mandatory safety meeting.

- Set sail.

Uh oh......so glad I took a dose of Dramamine before boarding. Ship is rocking and rolling. Felt like a mild case of vertigo. Can't walk straight, keep bumping into wall. Going potty was worse. Prior to dinner, might better take another Dramamine. Feeling a little funny. Made it through dinner. Stop by a game show...still feel funny. Lay head on back of seat. Dramamine knocked my lights out. Woke up to Carla snapping pictures. Felt very vulnerable and violated. Not even funny. Pretty sure I snored at some point. Back to the room before an all-out drool fest commenced. Propped the balcony door open with a chair. OMG! A peeping Tom or Neck Craner lives next door. Hurry, get back inside!  Ahhhh, the sound of the wind and waves......sleep that night was sweet.

Saturday:

- Still rocking and rolling.

- Decided still had enough Dramamine in my system.

- Moved chair so we could close door. Neck Craner in full gear. Had my hair up in a towel and still had my gown on. Made his morning, I'm sure!

- Warned Carla......that's all I could do.

- Lounged most of the day on deck, sunning and watching the ocean flow by.

- My day to run, good thing they have a gym.

Uh oh.......planned to run 5 miles. Hopped on treadmill, ran a few steps and the shipped rolled right. Ran a few more steps and the shipped rolled left. Dang! Should of taken more Dramamine. After 2 miles, enough of this. Don't feel like puking in the gym. Finished with 2 more miles on the elliptical and 2 miles on the bike. Whew! Done! And no puking. Major accomplishment. Rinsed out my sports bra and hooked it to the arm of one of the chairs on the balcony. Sometime later, decided I better go get it before Neck Craner did. Finished the day with the Captain's dinner. Yes! I'm wearing my !New! Cowboy boots. Told friends about Neck Craner. One solution offered.....shake the "girls" at him. Gah!!! Not happening!!! Bedtime. Sneak out to balcony for chair to prop open door. Arrrgggh! Carla! He's out there again! Duck back inside. Good thing sleep came so peacefully. Homesick!



Becky, Carla, Janice and Me. Black was our signature color.

Sunday:

- Nassau

- Shopping

- Beach

Uh oh.......FYI, teenie tight men's bikini bathing suits and butt crack in the Bahamas? Yep, same as the states. Gross!!! Beautiful water, though. Back to ship for late lunch. More sunning and deck time.....sweet! By now, the only time Carla or I ventured out to the balcony was to grab the chair to prop the door open. Neck Craner was always waiting. Homesick!

Nassau Beach



Nassau Street

Monday:

- Freeport.

- Shopping in the parking lot. Really?

- That didn't take long.

- Ship leaving early today, no time to visit what is supposed to be the most gorgeous beach, ever.

- Head to the deck again.

Uh oh.........where's my camera? Got to find it...there is the most beautiful sunset, ever. Whew, found it. Leaving Freeport. Tugboat helped us leave port. Ahhh, that sunset! Ahhh, a full moon! All is well at sea. Except, homesick!

Shopping in Freeport Parking Lot

Becky, Janice and Carla sunning on deck and Sunsets

Leaving Freeport....Full Moon at Sea

Tuesday:

- At sea.

- Back to the gym. This time was able to run 3 miles on treadmill and 2 on elliptical. Hey, there's a jogging deck up top. I have to run on it, I have to. Wait....what? Eleven times around equals a mile. Well, that'll drive me crazy trying to keep up with laps. Decided 1/2 mile was enough. Pure gorgeousness!

Uh oh.........Need a Dramamine! Looks like we are headed into a storm. Sky is dark!! Began to rain. Seas not as rough as I feared. Learned to dodge Neck Craner. Sleeping with the balcony door propped open on the open seas....priceless!

Wednesday:

- Arrive in Charleston.

- OMG! It's cold!

- Disembark.

Uh oh.....Carla and I retrieved our luggage, strolled through customs with no wait and no problem. Our floor went first. Becky and Janice's floor went last. Major bottleneck in customs! Two hours later and we are headed home. Did someone say something about being homesick? Shoot, I'm ready to go again.

Hope you all get to experience a cruise one day. Just be prepared with Dramamine and decide ahead of time what you'll do if your next door neighbor is a Neck Craner. Other than that, the food was great and plentiful, the friends were so much fun and that south Atlantic Sea? Absolutely beautiful!!!!

Til next time,

Laurie