Charleston

The last week of October, Lee and I spent a week in Charleston, SC. I love traveling this time of year when it’s not as crowded as the summer and the weather was perfect. And we loved Charleston – it was beautiful and Lee loved all the history.

When we got there on Saturday, we checked in at our hotel and that was pretty much it after the 5-hour drive. Sunday, we worshipped with the North Charleston church of Christ and had the best experience – again, this is always my favorite part of vacation. A friend who lived in Knoxville grew up in Charleston and her parents still attend this congregation so they were waiting on us when we walked in the door. Then we learned that the guy who has led singing at my home congregation in Texarkana since I was born….his mother, sister, and brother-in-law also worship here. What a small world! And the mother also knew Lee’s grandparents from when they were stationed at Charleston while serving in the Air Force. And that was over 30 years ago. I love how the church gives you so many connections! So needless to say, after learning all that, we were there for quite a while visiting.

The rest of the week we spent at historical sites, touring old homes and plantations, visited the Citadel Military College, and hearing all about pirates and the Civil War.

And just so you are warned, there are lots of pictures. Granted, I took about 500 during the week, so be glad I could narrow it down to the 30 or so below.

The bridge that separated Charleston from the town across the harbor where our hotel was.

Close-up! This is us on a day cruise around the Charleston harbor.

This is the Morris Island Lighthouse. It actually used to be where you could walk to it, but all the erosion and hurricanes have pushed it out to the ocean where it takes a boat to get to it now.

One of Lee's favorite things was our pirate tour around downtown Charleston and this is our pirate tour captain. Absolutely hilarious guy! And that parrot was real and talked.

Pineapple Fountain

The Custom House - one of the oldest buildings in Charleston and one of the last to be built in the country while we were still under British rule.

Me signing the Declaration of Independence at the Custom House. The Declaration was presented to the state of South Carolina in this room. Along with a ball given for the new president....some guy named George Washington....

The Calhoun Mansion - the largest privately owned home in Charleston which we got to tour. Although it doesn't look it from this picture, this house is 25,000 square feet! All I could think of was how I would hate to clean it.

Fort Sumter

Me at Fort Sumter

Lee with a Fort Sumter cannon pointed towards Charleston.

Driving up to Boone Hall Plantation. There were all these huge oak trees that lined the road up to the plantation for about a mile. They hung over the road and were so pretty!

The USS Yorktown.....took 4 hours to go through. Oh my, this thing was ridiculously huge! Reminded me of the USS Missouri in Hawaii, but I think this was larger.

Just in case you ever have to cook for a crowd....

Right next to the battleship was a submarine you could also walk through. Oh my, would I ever get claustraphobia if I had to stay on one these things for longer than about 30 minutes. It was cramped!

Lee could barely even get through the little doorways....I think there has to be a maximum height restriction to actually work on a sub.

Lee at Charles Town Landing - the original site where settlers came and then eventually moved to where Charleston is today.

Another plantation.....

This one had a petting zoo which was completely random. And go figure - the hunter makes friends with Bambi??

Getting ready for our tram ride around the plantation.

While on our tram ride through the lake/marsh that's on the plantation property, we saw lots of alligators sunbathing on these ramps they built in the middle of the lake. This one has lots of turtle friends with him. Our guide told us this alligator was probably 5-6 feet long. Yikes!

Our last night we walked the bridge that was in the first picture. Apparently, this is a big hot spot for runners/bikers in Charleston - it was crowded everytime we drove over it. However, driving and walking are 2 COMPLETELY different things.

What was I thinking when I suggested this? Not really sure....

Yay - we made it to the top! Needless to say, we only went halfway across and I was done.