Spared the worst effects of Hurricane Ian, I gratefully rejoiced today during a photo-walk along one of Charleston’s most historic streets

As it moved into the Atlantic and started to gain strength again, you can image how I felt seeing it aim for just south of Charleston, and then directly at this historic and beautiful city. Fortunately for us, it shifted more to the north and east,  and ended up hitting the coast about 40 miles north of us, thus sparing the city what could have been horrendous flooding from the storm surge that ending up pounding the coastal cities north of us, including Myrtle Beach. Even even though the storm was only a Category 1 hurricane with 85 mph winds, it was so huge it was fearsomely powerful and dangerous. But we were spared. I can’t even bear to look at the scenes of destruction in Florida. If will be years of recovery and rebuilding, but where and how?

In Charleston there was a huge sigh of collective relief. Whereas Friday was full of powerful wind gusts up to 60 mph blowing rain horizontally for hours on end, today I woke to a different world of sunshine, blue skies and puffy clouds. It was in the 70s. Idyllic weather. A total and startling contrast to Friday.

I was inspired to get out and walk and take pictures, first at the nearby state park, and then up and down Meeting Street in the Historic District of Charleston. Meeting Street has some of the oldest houses, gardens and buildings in the city, and stunningly beautiful architecture, much of dating to the mid to late 1700s. After visiting and living here most of my life, I never tire of the beauty of the houses and gardens. Today on my walk I couldn’t stop taking pictures. Everything seemed worthy of a composition in my camera, partly because I realized how much could have been lost in a storm the size of Ian when it hit Florida.

Once again I was so grateful to be able to enjoy these beautiful streets and architectural gems. Hurricane Ian, however, was in the back of my mind as I shuddered to think what the full force of that storm would have done to the historic district, as well as flooding and destruction everywhere else. 150 mph winds are simply unimaginable. After a very quiet hurricane season we here in Charleston got hit with Ian, mercifully much weakened, but still huge and destructive. We can expect more storms like that as the earth continues to warm up from human-caused climate change.

Today as I walked up Meeting street toward The Battery and Charleston Harbor, I managed to cast aside the wind and gloom of the days just past and enjoy the gifts of energy and vitality and a near-perfect, sunny early Autumn afternoon to be out taking pictures.,

A photo-album of Lower Meeting Street Scenes:

https://www.flickr.com/gp/camas/w088X74570