Charleston, why I will miss it so

I was driving to work this morning with my windows down and the radio blaring and I was thinking about how excited I am to move to New York and then it hit me I’m leaving Charleston, I’m leaving my home the one place I know like the back of my hand. My excitement quickly faded away and was replaced with a deep empty sadness; I began to think about my friends that by the end of the year will be spread across the country and how this summer I want everyone to get together for one last shindig, and how this past weekend Ashley and I went to the Market and how I found a ring that I want to buy before I leave so I can wear it always and have a little piece of Charleston with me. I began to wonder what my very last day will be like in Charleston, what will I do who will I see where will I go for the last time? Yes, I realize I can visit Charleston, but it won’t be the same and I know that.
So I have taken Ashley’s list of things she will miss about Charleston and edited it to reflect what I will miss.
a. Folly Beach. I grew up going to Folly Beach literally grew up going to Folly Beach. I can remember this one time when I couldn’t have been more than 4 years old, it was in the middle of winter and my mom had gone to Columbia to take the CPA exam so my dad picked me up from Kindergarten and took me to the beach. He bundled me up in my big purple winter coat (I love purple) and we went out to Folly Beach so I could play in the sand. I can remember it like it was yesterday I was so happy to be at the beach in the winter time.
b. The little painted boat on your way to Folly. This boat has been on the side of Folly Road since Hurricane Hugo in 1989. I don’t know when and I don’t know why, but people started painting the boat with birthday wishes, marriage proposals, graduation congratulations, and anything else you can think of. When I was 16 one of my good friends at the time painted the boat for my birthday, I still have the pictures some where.
c. Tom and Jerry’s on Folly Beach which is now Bert’s Market. I don’t remember when exactly it changed names, but it did. The name change was almost symbolic of my maturing Tom and Jerry’s was where I went with my Dad as a child after he dragged me away from the beach for a blue Nehi (does anyone remember those, do they still make Nehi) and a pack of candy, Bert’s was where I would hang out on any given summer night when I was 15 with my group of friends hoping we could convince someone to buy us a 12-pak or, now that I’ve stopped hanging out there and only stop by on my way to the washout, to legally pickup a 24-pak, a cup of boiled peanuts and an egg roll
d. the washout. the guys, the tans, the surfers, the sun, the water. Nothing like it.
e. Palm trees, oak trees with moss, Dogwoods, long grass, and wild flowers the vast open spaces that make Charleston so appealing to so many
f. Boiled Peanuts and beer from the Peanut man.
g. The Blind Tiger, Vendue Inn, Tsunami, Boulevard Dinner, Poe’s, Red’s Icehouse, Doe’s Pita, Eastbay Deli, Kickin Chicken, Mellow, Gilroys even Mad River. All the places I like to go either to drink, eat, or just hang out
h. Shrimp and grits. southern made shrimp and grits.
i. boys in sperry's, seersucker, rainbows, bowties, madras, crokies, costas, out on the boat with tan lines from their costas and crokies. It’s so wonderfully southern and so wonderfully charming. You cant beat a southern boy
j. 75 degrees in November. 75 degrees in March. 95 degrees in June
k. Riverdog's thirsty thursday games. $1 beers. grilled out hotdogs and turkey legs. I remember when the Riverdogs use to be the Charleston Rainbows (they changed their name for obvious reasons) I can remember running around under the bleachers chasing boys I liked and trying to find foul balls at the old baseball stadium
l. My family, my friends, and my cat
m.King Street, its one of the main streets in downtown Charleston so much is there
n. Carolina Cup: I won't be around to witness the event that is Carolina Cup. Horses, beer, and coeds dressed to the 9s in southern attire.
o.Carolina Gamecocks and college football season.
p. All the people that know me anywhere I go on a usual basis.
q. People with state flag paraphernalia, South Carolina is like no other state in that we have turned our state flag into a fashion statement
r. The Battery, Rainbow Row, the Market, McLeod, and all the history that makes up Charleston
s. Ability to leave my purse, belongings, car door, front door open and no one steals anything.
t.7 minute drive to work, 10 minute drive to the beach, 12 minute drive to downtown, 15 minute drive to mt. pleasant, and 20-30 minutes to go anywhere else I may want to go.
u. Going out on the boat almost every weekend to Capers Island. beer, water, fun and the sun.
v. Trivia at Kickin Chicken....fun while it lasted.
w. Walks along Waterfront
x. Being able to drive when ever I want, having the windows down and my hair blowing with the radio turned up way way too loud
y. Never actually having to use a winter coat.
z. Southern hospitality

Putting all these things aside I couldn’t be happier and more excited to move to New York, I’m ready to actually feel like I’m living my life. So look out New York here I come with my lovey by my side.