Wednesday, September 11, 2013, Charleston, SC

Fort Sumpter

We got up at 7:40 this morning and I fixed coffee.  We drank some coffee and caught up on e-mail and Facebook.  Gerri called and checked on tours of Charleston.  We decided on a sea and land tour.

The tour office suggested we take the 11 AM harbor tour followed by the city tour by bus.

Charleston Skyline

Gerri started a load of wash, whites and we left for downtown.  It wasn't far away.  we found a spot to park on the street near the Aquarium, which was also near the tour ticket office.  It was a overcast day and we didn't expect much from pictures.  The harbor tour gave us an idea of all the history of Charleston harbor, which goes back to 1640.  Charleston was an important harbor during colonial times and played a significant roll in the Civil War.

Our first stop on this trip was in Oceanside, CA.  The park we stayed at there is about two hundred yards from the Pacific Ocean.  Nearly two months later we saw the Atlantic Ocean beyond Fort Sumpter.  On this trip we have been from sea to shining sea.  Except we saw them in reverse of the song and the Atlantic wasn't shining, too overcast.

There are homes and buinesses in Charleston dating back to colonial times.  Being from Las Vegas we quickly realized that the only thing we have that old is dirt.

Except for a few buildings Charleston has a low skyline.  Most buildings are four stories or less.

Charleston Waterfront

I wish I could remember all the dates and historical information we were given.

English settlers actually came here from the Caribbean and brought the style of architecture common in Charleston with them.  One common style is called single house.  The houses have no interior walls to impede the flow of air for cooling.  http://www.buildinghomegarden.com/charleston-house.html

After our tour the bus driver took us back to where the Jeep was parked.

A single house

After the tour we drove to an address on Rutledge to take pictures of a school that one of Gerri's Egg hunting friends attended.  When she attended it was a Boarding school, now it is a Day school.

We then went to one of the restaurants that the tour bus driver described.  It was a roof top on the Market Pavilion Hotel.

The restaurant wasn't what we were looking for in dining but had great views of the city and harbor.

Cooper River Bridge from the Market Pavilion Roof Top Restaurant

After leaving the Market Pavillion Hotel, we went through several buildings of the Charleston Market Place.  The market place buildings clear out every night.  The sales area seems to be rented out flea market style.  We did buy a couple of souvenirs.  For me a t-shirt and for Gerri, roses made from palmetto fronds.

Souvenirs of Charleston, SC

We decided to eat at A.W. Shucks a local seafood restaurant.  It was good food at reasonable prices.

We stopped at a CVS Pharmacy to pick up some items that I use to cover the nicks and bleeding that I experience from taking Warfarin.

Charleston Market Place

We headed back to the RV park on James Island.  I took down and stowed the colors and hooked up the Jeep in preparation for departing in the morning.

I dumped the black water but left the gray water hooked up because Gerri had started another load of wash.

Tonight was one of the first colorful sunsets we had seen for awhile.

Sunset over James Island

Tomorrow we travel about 115 miles to Hilton Head Island for a few days.  Maybe there we will get a clearer and closer view of the Atlantic.  Of course on our up coming cruise we will be sailing the Atlantic for five days.