Friday Hometown Shootout - Transportation

I'm deep in thought as I walk into the B&B studio for this week's "Public Transportation" theme.  I don't have much.  I haven't even changed my header from last week's theme.   I was going to try and get downtown to shoot the pedi-cabs that peddle around the market area but never made it.  And I can't find one picture I remember of one of a pedi-cab.  No big loss because I remember it was terribly framed in the camera with no real cropping fix possible. 

If it wasn't Thursday, I'd write a follow-up on the duck eggs, but that will have to wait until the weekend.

I figure I'll have to focus on some weird shots I have of the horse-drawn tour carriages in Charleston.

But when I enter the room, Bagman is, once again, over the top.  He his wearing a ten gallon hat and cowboy boots, doing a line dance by himself and singing "Save a horse, ride a cowboy!"  I always try to avert my eyes when I first see Bagman.  I noticed his hat and boots and am praying that he is wearing something more than that.  

"I hope that's a long-barreled revolver I just saw," I whisper to Butler.

BUTLER:  "I'm not looking either.  But I do think he is wearing pants, at least."

I risk a peek at the rhythmic Bagman.  "Whew!" I say, relieved. "A least you are wearing pants."

BAGMAN (spinning away from me):  "Chaps!"

BAGMAN (continuing): "Save a horse!  Ride a cowboy!"

It's a country western song by the Eagles.  Or was it the Steve Miller Band?"

BUTLER: "Big and Rich."

"Who?"  I ask but change the subject back to the task at hand.  "First I think I'll post some pictures of my car.  I really love my car."

BUTLER: "You can't do that!  This is about public transportation.  Your car is private transportation."

BAGMAN  (giggling) : "That means it's for transportation of your privates."

I glare at him and post the picture of the bus I took this week.

CARTA Bus -- CARTA stands for Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority although it keeps cutting back its bus lines and putting fewer buses on the road because it is running out of money so I think CARTA actually stands for "Can't Afford Raising Taxes Anymore."

BAGMAN (stops singing):  "Bo-ring."

Before he can start another song, I take over the audio and begin singing the old children's song:  "The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round, the wheels on the bus go round and round, all   through   the   town."    What do you want, heavy metal?!  I've got grandchildren.

And post another before Bagman can stop me.

"The people on the coaster scream and shout, scream and shout, scream and shout, the people on the coaster scream and shout all   throught   the   town."

"The Noah on the slide goes whee whee whee, whee whee whee, whee whee whee; the Noah on the slide goes whee whee whee...all through the town."

BUTLER (Interrupting):  "Foul!  That's a bicycle!  That's private transportation again!"

"No," I argue.  "The statues are public and the bike I'm on was rented at the beach and, therefore, public!"

But I'm tired of banter and besides the pedi-cab bicycle taxis (which I failed to shoot), Charleston's particular form of tourist transportation is the horse drawn tour carriages.

BUTLER: "Look like mules to me."

I should add that the two snapshots above were not photoshopped but taken through plastic window covers that sometimes hang on the open air market across the street from where the carriages line up.

And finally -

-- a reflection of a carriage Karen and I were riding in, the one time we did it.  Karen was saying, "You're not listening to the tour guide at all, are you?"

"Huh?"