This was also my first beach trip in two years. I didn't get to the beach last year before moving from Boston, and then I was too busy settling into Atlanta to get out. I don't have pictures of the beach, but I do have a very sunburned left foot to show for it. I clearly managed to put sunblock everywhere except one foot, walking sunblock advertisement that I am.
After some sun and relaxation (and crabcakes and hush puppies), we went into town to look around. Settled in its current location in 1680, Charleston has quite a history, as it was a player in both the American Revolution and later the Civil War. Charleston was also a major hub in the slave trade, as it was one of only two ports in North America where slaves could be unloaded for quarantine before being sold.
I have a fondness for all things Colonial since living in Boston for six years, and Charleston was no disappointment, with its historic buildings and cobblestone streets. Downtown Charleston has some absolutely beautiful historic neighborhoods. Originally built in the mid-1700s, Rainbow Row marks one section of row houses near the waterfront.
Quoth Wikipedia: "After the Civil War, this area of Charleston devolved into near slum conditions. In the early 1900's, Dorothy Pocher Legge purchased a section of these houses numbering 99 through 101 East Bay and began to renovate them. She chose to paint these houses pink based on a colonial Caribbean color scheme. Other owners and future owners followed suit, creating the "rainbow" of pastel colors present today. The coloring of the houses helped give the area its name."You can tell the really old buildings by how much the foundation has settled over time. This one was particularly noticeable, as the door has obviously been cut down a few times to fit the adjusted door frame.
The mansions at the tip of Charleston in the Battery Street area are a little younger (1800s), and much more extravagant. I am in love with the porches on all the houses:
Charleston is also where the first shots of the Civil War were fired, though we did not have time to get out to Fort Sumter. We did, however, get to the USS Yorktown, a retired WWII aircraft carrier that is anchored across the river from downtown Charleston.
On board is a museum of naval and maritime history, and you can also climb through all of the sections of the ship, through the 'guts' of the engine room and the brig and the living quarters, up to the mission room, the navigation rooms, and the flight deck. In the hangar bay and on the flight deck are dozens of retired fighter planes from WWI to near present-day, and one you can get inside.
Finally, we went to Magnolia Plantation which has some beautiful gardens, but unfortunately we were not there long before we got chased by a major thunderstorm.
There was plenty more to see and learn about Charleston, and since it's only five hours away, I may need to trek back. Though, I will think seriously about doing it again in spring or fall when it's not quite so hot and steamy!
