Day 26: Charleston, SC

Stop 21 / State 11:  Charleston, SC

Savannah is very close to the border so we crossed the line shortly after starting out this morning:

Today's trip was 132 miles.  Rain was forecast for Charleston but, once we passed through an intense downpour about 20 miles out of town, we didn't see another drop.

After getting ourselves installed in our campsite, we took off for some sight seeing.  Our plan was to see Fort Sumter (where the first shots of the Civil War were fired) and then go into Charleston.  We set the GPS for Fort Sumter and were very confused when it took us to Fort Moultrie.  Guess we didn't realize that Fort Sumter is an island.  The park headquarters and visitors center for the Fort Sumter National Monument is at Fort Moultrie.  You can catch a boat to Fort Sumter from there.  We didn't but we did take this picture across the water:

Fort Moultrie is interesting in its own right.  It was in existence during the Revolutionary War and was the sight of one of the first big American victories.  It was used all the way through World War II.  Here are a few pictures:

Then we took off for Charleston.  Very pretty city.

There's a beautiful park along the waterfront that has several beautiful fountains that are designed with wading in mind.  Our younger grandson would be in there in a flash!

Many beautiful, old houses, most of which appear to have lovely, enclosed gardens:

Even the alleys are lush:

This stretch of multi-colored houses is known as Rainbow Row:

We wanted to get out of the heat so we went on a tour of the old Exchange and Provost Dungeon.  This building was where all of the cotton and indigo that passed through Charleston was traded.  The world price for cotton was determined here.  The main floor was where all the trading took place.  The amazing arched brick basement was meant to be used for storage but, when the British took Charleston, it was used to jail American political prisoners.  Conditions were so deplorable that it became known as the dungeon.

This picture is of the upper floor where social events took place.

Here's our daily trailer picture:

This park is located beside a lake that apparently has alligators.  The hosts say that they've seen 2 small ones and one large one.  Maybe we'll actually see a living alligator here.  So far, all of our alligator sightings have been road kill.  Not surprisingly, alligators aren't very agile when it comes to dodging traffic.

-J-