Tornado – “a type of dinghy, designed to be crewed by two people” ⛵📣🌪😂
Another day and another state – Welcome to South Carolina ! Number 44 on our list.
What was supposed to be a straight-forward driving day developed a bit of excitement about halfway along, just before we reached the South Carolina border. We had left Atlantic Beach in the morning with overcast skies after overnight rain. It remained dry for quite a while, even with a few sunny patches, until a few light showers started to develop into quite a heavy downpour. Then all of a sudden very device we had in the car started an unfamiliar siren. This appeared –
Now I admit the rain was heavy and there were a couple of bolts of lightening but other than that it was a pretyty pathetic effort if it was a tornado – not a cow to be seen ! So maybe it was just the boating forecast – who knows ? !
Anyway, we moved on and pretty soon the sun was blazing down and by early afternoon we arrived in Charleston – on the coast of South Carolina midway between North Carolina in the north and Georgia in the south. It is the largest city in South Carolina but as is common in a lot of states, not the capital. And when I say large, it only has a population of 150,000. Ironically it was established in 1670, named after Charles II, and here we are seeing in Charles III some 350 years later !
Its significance in American history is tied to its role as a major slave trading port – almost half the slaves bought to the United States arrived in Charleston.
We visited the Old Slave Market Museum which gave an account of the origins and process of the slave trade in South Carolina – only a small museum but quite interesting. We then visited the historic City Market and market hall. Both of these are located in the French Quarter of the town.
We then headed back over the river to an area called Mt Pleasant where we were staying for the 2 nights at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites.
Right across from our hotel is a restaurant called “Grace & Grit”. Southern food has been a big hit with us on our travels in the area but the ubiquitous “grits” have been somewhat a let down. As we have only really had an “unauthentic” version we were happy to give it another go in “grits territory”.
Our dinner was quite a fabulous experience ! We were lucky to get an early booking and at the “Chefs Table” overlooking all the activity in the kitchen. And in Charleston it is “Restaurant Week” where all the particpating restaurants offer set menu dinners to showcase their offerings – at US$45 for 3 courses it was a steal !
On Day 2 we started with a trip out into the harbour to visit the location of the start of the American Civil War – Fort Sumter. The fort is built on an artifical island (originally a sand bar) and was built after the 1812 war with Britain right in the middle of the entrance to the harbour. However there were various delays and even at the commencement of the Civil War in 1861 it was still incomplete.
Union forces occupied the fort following South Carolina seceding from the Union in December 1860. In April 1861, South Carolina militia fired on the fort to start the war. The bombardment continued for a day and the Union troops were forced to surrender. Whilst it was almost destroyed over the next 4 years of the war, Confederate forces held it until the end of the war when it was evacuated as General Sherman’s Union forces advanced into South Carolina.
We were the first tour of the day and witnessed the flag raising – which today remembered the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks as well as the death of the Queen.
After our tour we went to an area called Battery Point – certainly the upmarket end of town ! The old houses are just beautiful and still immaculately maintained. We looked in a couple of real estate agents and you don’t get much change from US$3 to $4M around the area.
It has been a really hot day – low 30’s and high humidity – so we headed back to the hotel for a quick snack and cold drink then inland a little to visit the Charles Pinckney National Historic Site. Charles Pinckney was a politician who was also a plantation owner in South Carolina. He was a significant player for South Carolina during the period of the Constitutional Convention and the drafting of the US Constitution and was 1 of the 4 signatories of the Constitution from South Carolina. His contribution included some 15 sections he drafted being included in the final content.
Tonight was a much more laid back dinner at the local Pizza restaurant where we watched a couple of games from the 1st found of the NFL and cheered on Aussie Will Power as he secured the 2022 Indy Car series. Tomorrow – we head inland.
