Charleston, Savannah, DisneyWorld, Fort Lauderdale (December 1999)

Coming Soon

Hotel:
Charleston Holiday Inn Link to my review

Restaurant:
Charleston Grill Link to my review 

Activities
Battery Row
City Market
Fort Sumter
Plantation
Savannah
DisneyWorld
Fort Lauderdale

Charleston: Charleston Grill (December 1999)

My spouse and I ate dinner at the Charleston Grill in late December 1999. The Charleston Grill is one of the finest restaurants in Charleston, South Carolina. Enjoy an exciting menu that incorporates tradition without being bound by it, then adds a few touches of creativity. From the moment you step through Charleston Grill’s double doors, you are greeted like long lost friends. The restaurant staff have carefully curated an ambiance that is all at once mellow and lively, traditional and contemporary. Soft jazz bounces off of wood-paneled walls and crisp, white tablecloths. Servers trained in the French tradition delight guests with each menu suggestion and wine pairing. Seamless service, orchestrated by the attentive, knowledgeable and approachable staff, sets the stage for an unforgettable dining experience.

Charleston: Holiday Inn (December 1999)

My spouse and I stayed at the Holiday Inn Riverview for two nights in late December 1999. This hotel's location is perfect for business and leisure travelers looking for lodging near some of the city's best attractions, restaurants, and shopping. Whether you are looking for long days on the beach, exciting nightlife, or beautiful historic sites, this hotel allows you to stay your way. Leisure travelers enjoy the many Charleston hotel deals that our property has to offer, including our close proximity to many area attractions such as the Citadel, Charleston Aquarium, Fort Sumter, Hunley Museum, and three of South Carolina's best beaches. After a long day of visiting Charleston, return to the hotel for a relaxing dinner at our newly renovated restaurant. Located just a few miles from Charleston Airport, guests enjoy the convenience of our 24-hour Business Center, a meeting room, and a fitness center. The hotel also offers a seasonal outdoor pool and complimentary scheduled shuttle service into the historic downtown area.

Theatre: A Christmas Carole at Civic Theatre (December 1999)

A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost-Story of Christmas, commonly known as A Christmas Carol, is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in 1843. It tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an old miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. After their visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man.

Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol at a time when the British were examining and exploring Christmas traditions from the past, such as carols, as well as new customs such as Christmas trees. He was influenced by experiences from his own past, and from the Christmas stories of other authors, including Washington Irving. Dickens had written three Christmas stories prior to the novella, and was inspired to write the story following a visit to the Field Lane Ragged school, one of several establishments for London's half-starved, illiterate street children. The treatment of the poor and the ability of a self-interested man redeeming himself by transforming into a more sympathetic character are the key themes of the story. There is discussion among academics as to whether this was a fully secular story, or if it is a Christian allegory.

A Christmas Carol has never been out of print and has been translated into several languages; the story has been adapted many times for film, stage, opera, and other media. With A Christmas Carol, Dickens captured the zeitgeist of the mid-Victorian revival of the Christmas holiday. He has been acknowledged as an influence on the modern Western observance of Christmas and inspired several aspects of Christmas, such as family gatherings, seasonal food and drink, dancing, games and a festive generosity of spirit.

Dickens divided the book into five chapters, which he labelled "staves".

Stave one

The story begins on a cold and bleak Christmas Eve in London, seven years after the death of Ebenezer Scrooge's business partner, Jacob Marley. Scrooge, an old miser, hates Christmas and refuses an invitation to Christmas dinner from his nephew Fred. He turns away two men who seek a donation from him in order to provide food and heating for the poor, and only grudgingly allows his overworked, underpaid clerk, Bob Cratchit, Christmas Day off with pay to conform to the social custom.

At home that night, Scrooge is visited by Marley's ghost, who wanders the Earth, entwined by heavy chains and money boxes, forged during a lifetime of greed and selfishness. Marley tells Scrooge that he has one chance to avoid the same fate: he will be visited by three spirits and he must listen to them or be cursed to carry chains of his own, much longer than Marley's chains.

Stave two

The first of the spirits, the Ghost of Christmas Past, takes Scrooge to Christmas scenes of Scrooge's boyhood and youth, reminding him of a time when he was more innocent. The boyhood scenes portray Scrooge's lonely childhood, his relationship with his beloved sister Fan, and a Christmas party hosted by his first employer, Mr. Fezziwig, who treated Scrooge like a son. They also portray Scrooge's neglected fiancée Belle, who ends their relationship after she realizes that Scrooge will never love her as much as he loves money. Finally, they visit a now-married Belle with her large, happy family on a recent Christmas Eve.

Stave three

The second spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Present, takes Scrooge to a joy-filled market of people buying the makings of Christmas dinner and celebrations of Christmas in a miner's cottage and in a lighthouse. Scrooge and the ghost also visit Fred's Christmas party. A major part of this stave is taken up with Bob Cratchit's family feast and introduces his youngest son, Tiny Tim, a happy boy who is seriously ill. The spirit informs Scrooge that Tiny Tim will die soon unless the course of events changes. Before disappearing, the spirit shows Scrooge two hideous, emaciated children named Ignorance and Want. He tells Scrooge to beware the former above all and mocks Scrooge's concern for their welfare.

Stave four

The third spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, shows Scrooge a Christmas Day in the future. The ghost shows him scenes involving the death of a disliked man. The man's funeral will only be attended by local businessmen if lunch is provided. His charwoman, his laundress, and the local undertaker steal some of his possessions and sell them to a fence. When Scrooge asks the ghost to show anyone who feels any emotion over the man's death, the ghost can only show him the pleasure of a poor couple in debt to the man, rejoicing that his death gives them more time to put their finances in order. After Scrooge asks to see some tenderness connected with any death, the ghost shows him Bob Cratchit and his family mourning the passing of Tiny Tim. The ghost then shows Scrooge the man's neglected grave, whose tombstone bears Scrooge's name. Sobbing, Scrooge pledges to the ghost that he will change his ways to avoid this outcome.

Stave five

Scrooge awakens on Christmas morning a changed man. He spends the day with Fred's family and anonymously sends a large turkey to the Cratchit home for Christmas dinner. The following day he gives Cratchit an increase in pay and becomes like another father to Tiny Tim. From then on Scrooge began to treat everyone with kindness, generosity and compassion, embodying the spirit of Christmas.