Weekend in SC

Well, Chris has braggin' rights this weekend...
She got me out of the house and on a road trip.
We travelled to the small town of Aiken,
South Carolina. Aiken is known for its equestrian
flare. They are well known for their steeplechase
racing and polo clubs. And they don't like when
you sneak into the steeplechase races, but that
story is for another day.

Aiken tidbit: Whitney Polo Field, the oldest polo
field in the United States, was built by the citizens
of Aiken and funded by the Town Council in 1882.

The camera was out and I snapped a dozen or
so pictures in town, but really was not pleased
with most of them. Here is one that I do like...


As previously mentioned, Aiken is known for
its close association with horses and equestrianism,
and the downtown area is dotted with statues of
horses like this one. One side of the saddle is
represented by the American Flag, the other....

the British....

We also stopped by the Aiken Center

for the Arts. A nice display of local

art and an interesting collection of

balloon sculptures were on hand.

After a long, hot day what better way

to finish it off with a couple of ice cold

Sweet Tea drinks and a BBQ sandwich.

Much to Chris' disbelief I ordered a homemade

burger instead. It was good too! Oh, and did I

mention the Peanut Butter cake with peanut

butter icing. Got to love the south for its

down home food.

Flags

Flags have always been an interest of mine and I love to take pictures of flags, especially the US Flag. In my opinion, we do have one of the best looking flags in the world.

For those that wish, here is a nice website that will give you some quick factoids on flags of the world: http://www.worldflags101.com/

And here is a nice site on flag etiquette: http://www.usflag.org/flagetiquette.html

And finally, a link to international maritime signal flags:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_maritime_signal_flags

Flags are not the easiest things to photograph, the wind always seems to blow them "this way or that way" right as you press the button. Or just the opposite, no wind, droopy flag. OK, so now you know I have a gazillion shots of "not so great flag shots"....On with the photos.....

As I think I have mentioned before, my friend always flies an American Flag when we are on board, I believe this is the evening we were introduced to Norwegian Fish soup...



A snapshot I took on board one the the US ships when she visited Oslo....


I love this shot, it was taken from our neighbor's house in NC and looks down on our land (I ended up sending them a replacement flag as a gift for being so nice to us over the years).


Our flag stands out among the many....


One of the many pennants flown on board my friend's boat...


This was taken in the town of Aiken, GA
(The Brits do have a nice looking flag as well).


Again in Aiken, GA...


A variety of flags in an outdoor hall....


Our little friend was kind enough to pose for this picture (but was probably scoping the place out for leftover Fish soup)...


USA, USA...as the chant goes....Good luck to the US Soccer team who are playing Cuba today as part of the qualifications to go to the World Cup in South Africa in 2010. This is a historic match, as the last time the US played on Cuban soil was back in 1947. (http://ussoccer.com/)


Looking down Karl Johans Gate (main street in Oslo) on May 17th, Norway's national day...


And here we are celebrating the day....