Charleston and Fort Sumter National Monument

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Charleston is sometimes referred to as “The Holy City” because of the five church spires that rise above its skyline. I had hoped that we would attend a service on this Sunday morning but we weren't proactive enough to find out times and locations. So instead, we took the shuttle downtown and found a cute little breakfast place called, “Sweetwater Cafe”. It was so much better than the highly acclaimed, “Toast” that we had gone to yesterday. First, there was no forty minute wait out on the sidewalk and second, we got a nice, cozy window seat instead of being crammed into a tiny dark corner.  They also had really good food and friendly service. I got to introduce Alyssa to grits, one of my favorite breakfast foods.

It was pretty chilly and starting to rain by the time we walked to the ferry terminal for Fort Sumter. I had bought a cheap, ill-fitting black beanie when we discovered how frigid it was in Chicago. The remainder of the trip we have used it to store our camera zoom lens in. Now even though my coat had a hood, I was forced to borrow the hat back for the day.

We found semi-dry chairs on the covered top deck of the ferry because we like being outdoors but it was pretty freezing. An audio presentation provided background information on Fort Sumter on the way over to the island as well as commentary on the passing scenery. A young Mennonite family sat in front of us, they and their two little kids clad only in dress clothes. I wished that I had something to share with them.

Fort Sumter National Monument

Though there is little left of its original fifty foot walls, Fort Sumter still has much to explore. We had an excellent ranger that was willing to give us a tour, even though it was pouring rain. He explained the different types of cannons that were used during the attack as well as how to load and fire them. For us, some of this was a refresher course, having learned it at Colonial Williamsburg.

Fort Sumter Ferry and cannons

We walked around the remains of the fort, looking at restored cannons, officers quarters, the battery and more.  It was amazing to realize that we were standing where Union soldiers had fought hold the fort almost 154 years ago. For 34 hours the duel went on. *“More than 43,000 shells or 7 million pounds of metal, were hurled at Sumter. Land and sea forces used traditional smoothbore guns and new rifled weaponry to pound the fort.”

8 Inch (200 lb) Parrott Cannon

Battery at Fort Sumter

Fort Sumter officers quarters

When the rain had pretty well soaked us, the tour moved indoors. There we found informative displays outlining the Civil War in detail. The more I read, the more I realized how little I really knew.

Artillery used in the Civil War

One plaque that was posted carried a quote by Abraham Lincoln that had both of us a little shocked. I'm wondering how many of you are familiar with the following quote.

While trying to both stay warm and absorb all that we had heard, touched and seen, we boarded the ferry once more. And then, stiff and chilled, we caught a ride on the local free trolley, back to our hotel shuttle pick up spot.

*quoted from a plaque above the artillery display

A Beautiful Day in Charleston

Saturday, March 21^st

 

We arrived in Charleston at 7:00 last evening, and with a broken ATM in the station, we were without cash for a taxi. By the time we had finished trying to get the ATM to work, there was only one taxi left at the station. Though my Mom was skeptical about his ultra-nice car and attitude, we hopped in and hoped everything would be fine. The man said he could drive us to an ATM machine since he didn’t take cards.

The drive was fairly long, but we didn’t regret paying $40.00 for it when we found out that the driver was a polite, Christian man. He turned on some gospel music and talked about everything from shrimp and grits to Jesus. It was a nice ride! As he pulled into the parking lot of our hotel, I reminded my Mom that he hadn’t taken us to an ATM. We guessed he was thinking there would be one in the hotel, and sure enough, there was! When my Mom asked how he knew there would be one, his response was that all of these “fancy” hotels have ATMs.

 

 

This morning, we got onto the hotel shuttle and were dropped off a couple blocks past the second stop, at a restaurant named Toast, recommended by the shuttle driver. Apparently it is the most popular place to eat at around here, so we waited outside for over a half hour. It’s rated the best breakfast place in the area, but we didn’t think it was anything to rave about. We were seated at a small table next to a group of four moms on a girl’s day out who had already had their daily dose of caffeine.

We mainly walked around and browsed in shops today, until we got on a carriage tour in the afternoon. The tour was definitely a great idea, and a lot of fun! Our tour guide talked the whole time, mostly about the old houses we saw as we rode along, but he didn’t have any set speech, so it was nice and laid back. We were amazed at how many dates he had memorized from when the houses were built, renovated, etc. The weather was perfect for a carriage ride, and we ended up with a really nice group of people on the tour. The beautiful horse, Shaina, wore rubber covers over the metal horseshoes to protect from the heat and hardness of the asphalt. The tour was especially funny when our guide pointed out many houses as his “favorite old house.”

 

 

Our pleasant ride lasted an hour, after which we stopped in a little place for some delicious ice cream. We sat on a brick wall and ate it, while listening to an older man playing his guitar. He broke into, “You ain’t nothing but a hound dog!” almost every time a dog walked by.

 

 

 

 

We ate supper later on at a place called Jim ‘n’ Nicks after going into a few more shops. It was a nice change to not spend the whole day in museums or historical tours.

 

Day Two in Williamsburg

Thursday, March Nineteenth

Today I put on a new pair of waterproof shoes, before we headed downstairs to get some breakfast at the hotel and walk to Colonial Williamsburg. We began the walk to the Visitors Center, and about ¾ of the way there, my left ankle felt raw, and when I looked at it there was a big spot of blood on the back of my ankle. The shoes had been rubbing on my feet, but it was too late to turn around and walk back to the hotel, so I put a few bandaids on my ankles, and off we went!

 

At the Visitors Center, we took a shuttle bus to Colonial Williamsburg. We arrived a little late for the first of a few reenactments we wanted to see for the day, but got to see the last bit of it. It was a cool experience!

 

Unfortunately, the events were somewhat close together in time, but far apart in distance, so we ended up having to rush from one end to the other. We saw a bit of the talk on rare breeds, and got to see some of the adorable sheep we had seen in the pasture the other day.

 

 

The rare breeds talk went on longer than we had expected, so we left to hear a speech by “George Washington.” At the end of his speech, he spent a long time answering questions. Because he stuck to the exact time period of this speech and to Washington’s character, many people were embarrassed by their seemingly dumb questions. This also went on for a long time, so we left early and went to eat lunch at the Shields Tavern again.

 

We were originally going to eat lunch at the bakery, but realized that they don’t have indoor seating, and it was quite cold outside. The other tavern was full of kids on field trips, so we decided to eat at Shields. This time we were seated on the regular level, right by a window. It was such a beautiful view of the shops across the street, and the strolling about of many people dressed in clothing that fit the time. How cool it was to see so many people (we assume they are extras, told to walk around and enhance the atmosphere) dressed up and having conversations that also fit the time period. We bumped into a man who discussed the weather with us in a very elegant way, and told us about it according to his “portable almanac device.” We thought that was pretty funny, but he was able to say it with a straight face.

 

After finishing our lunch, we visited the Capitol and got to see the general court.

 

Before we were allowed to enter the Capitol, we were given the usual rules by our tour guide about no food or drink, no photography on the stairs, etc. When he got to the part about chewing gum and cough drops, he said,

"If you've got anything in your mouth that wasn't put in their by nature or a dentist, please place it in the trash in front of the door. We will be more than happy to store it there for you until you get back. If you are tired of the flavor you had, feel free to trade it for any of the others. We have quite the growing selection!"

We all found this rather amusing.

 

It was so interesting to hear about how they would handle the crimes, and how even if people were acquitted, they were branded on the fleshy part of their thumbs with a “T” for “Thief,” or an “M” for “Manslaughter.” If someone who had been branded was convicted of another felony (felonies included theft of anything 1 shilling or more), they were hanged no matter what.

 

We also visited the public jail, or gaol, and even stepped into some of the very cells where many of Blackbeard’s pirates were held!

 

 

Earlier this morning, we went to the courthouse and sat in on a reenacted session. People from our group were selected to play some of the parts, and reenact a case that actually occurred. It was both fun and interesting!

 

After touring a few more places, we got on a shuttle bus and stopped at Merchant’s Square, which is a modern shopping and dining area. We went there to get some afternoon coffee at Aroma’s, since it was too cold to sit outside at the bakery in Colonial Williamsburg. It was nice, because we had some really good coffee and had a chance to warm up before going back to Colonial Williamsburg.

 

Since the reenacted assembly last night was so interesting, we decided to go to it again this evening. It was definitely different from last night, but just as cool!

Again, we got on a shuttle bus that took us to the Visitors Center, where we got out and walked back toward our hotel. This time, we walked straight to the Cracker Barrel restaurant, which was packed full of kids on their field trips. Because of this we didn’t get very good service, but we still enjoyed our meal. The leftover biscuits and gravy from my meal went to the kitties we saw last night!

We enjoyed the pool and hot tub one last time, then headed up to bed. We leave for Charleston, South Carolina tomorrow!