Adam plays with the Revolutionary War soldiers he got the previous day in Savannah
Derek is crashed (Adam is faking) on the drive into Charleston
The visitor center in Charleston was very nice
Adam and Derek were intrigued by the lady making baskets
Trolley map - we rode them all over the city jumping on and off at various points
Checking out a Civil War submarine
Me and the boys waiting on a trolley
Fort Sumter where the first shots of the Civil War were fired
Waterfront area with Aquarium and Fort Sumter National Monument
Watching a big cruise ship leaving the harbor
Big flag that flew over Fort Sumter
South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union
Adam can't resist playing with soldiers in the gift shop
We walked over to look at some of the huge cranes used to load and unload cargo
We walked through town to another area on the waterfront with a nice fountain
The kids decided they wanted to change into their bathing suits to play in the fountain. Helen's not so sure about the idea of changing in the port a potties.
A beautiful day gave way to an even more pleasant evening
The nice weather and impending sunset brought lots of people out to the pier
A huge tanker makes it's way under the picturesque suspension bridge
Horse drawn carriages add to the city's ambiance
Adam looks at some headstones in one of the many courtyards
Meeting Street Inn where Helen and I stayed for romance back in the days before kids
Leaving dinner at Sticky Fingers before heading to Myrtle Beach
Bye Bye CharlestonSunday May 30, 2010
We had a 50 mile drive into Charleston in the morning. The town was pretty crowded with people for the Memorial Day weekend. There was a big festival going on near the College of Charleston which made it congested trying to get to the Visitor Center. At the Visitor Center we watched a short film, gathered a bunch of material, and purchased all day passes on the local trolley system.
The kids were mesmerized by a local lady who was weaving sweetgrass baskets. Helen told the kids about how she had seen the beautiful baskets when she visited Charleston years ago and how she was told to try to bargain with the basket sellers,but when she tried to bargain the lady got upset and told Helen how she had to go out into the swamps to harvest the grass and how much time it took to make the baskets. Helen felt bad and meekly walked away.
We took a trolley down the main street in Charleston, Meeting Street, to the area along the waterfront known as "The Battery". Meeting Street was filled with shops and the sidewalks were bustling with activity. The Battery was beautiful with a big park and big beautiful houses. The kids noticed the "hurricane rods" from the film at the Visitor Center that were driven into the framing of the houses to hold them together during big storms. We also saw all the beautiful porches on the houses that faced the southwest in order to take advantage of the prevailing wind currents. Before air conditioning, many people slept on their porches when it got really hot.
We took another trolley to the aquarium area and the Fort Sumter National Monument where we learned about how the first shots of the Civil War were fired at Fort Sumter. At the museum bookstore we bought the boys a book about the Civil War.
We took another trolley to the aquarium area and the Fort Sumter National Monument where we learned about how the first shots of the Civil War were fired at Fort Sumter. At the museum bookstore we bought the boys a book about the Civil War.
We walked to another waterfront area with a nice park. The boys changed into their bathing suits and played, along with lots of other kids in the fountains. The weather was beautiful as the sun started to set. There was a pier with big swings and lots of benches and the pier was filling up with people finishing off their day and enjoying the beautiful sunset.
I pulled out Adam's netbook and Derek got out his iPod Touch to look for restaurants in the area. We found that there's free WiFi all over the place. Why pay for a cell phone with a data plan. We picked out two possible choices, FIG (Food Is Good) and Hyman Seafood. FIG was closed and the wait at Hyman's was over an hour. We reluctantly chose Sticky Fingers Barbecue instead. We just hate to eat at chain restaurants when we know there are good local restaurants. In spite of Sticky Fingers being a chain restaurant the dinner was good and we felt much better with food in our bellies.
I pulled out Adam's netbook and Derek got out his iPod Touch to look for restaurants in the area. We found that there's free WiFi all over the place. Why pay for a cell phone with a data plan. We picked out two possible choices, FIG (Food Is Good) and Hyman Seafood. FIG was closed and the wait at Hyman's was over an hour. We reluctantly chose Sticky Fingers Barbecue instead. We just hate to eat at chain restaurants when we know there are good local restaurants. In spite of Sticky Fingers being a chain restaurant the dinner was good and we felt much better with food in our bellies.
We headed out of Charleston on Highway 17 towards Myrtle Beach. I read about another good camping site, Huntington Beach State Park, on the Gaiddus family Road Trip website and we were going to try to camp there for the night. Unfortunately, we were thwarted again by it being Memorial Day weekend so that there were no vacancies.
Typically I drive but we decided to switch it up since Helen is navigationally challenged and doesn't like the pressure that comes with being the navigator. She likes to just go to sleep or read her trashy novel. If I drive I usually end up snatching the map from Helen while I try to drive at the same time. She's a pretty good driver except for waiting to the last second to see that she needs to switch lanes and then having to turn all the way around while braking to see that she has room instead of smoothly making the transition. Better safe than sorry I guess.
I researched the Hampton Inn's in Myrtle Beach and opted for the Hampton Inn in the Broadway at the Beach area rather than the ocean side location. I wasn't exactly sure what "Broadway at the Beach" was but it sounded like fun. We arrived just before 11 pm. There was a big boardwalk area next to the hotel with carnival rides all lit up. We were exhausted, but the kids wanted to go check it out. Unfortunately (or fortunately for us grown ups) just as we were heading out, the rides shut down for the night. Whew!
Typically I drive but we decided to switch it up since Helen is navigationally challenged and doesn't like the pressure that comes with being the navigator. She likes to just go to sleep or read her trashy novel. If I drive I usually end up snatching the map from Helen while I try to drive at the same time. She's a pretty good driver except for waiting to the last second to see that she needs to switch lanes and then having to turn all the way around while braking to see that she has room instead of smoothly making the transition. Better safe than sorry I guess.
I researched the Hampton Inn's in Myrtle Beach and opted for the Hampton Inn in the Broadway at the Beach area rather than the ocean side location. I wasn't exactly sure what "Broadway at the Beach" was but it sounded like fun. We arrived just before 11 pm. There was a big boardwalk area next to the hotel with carnival rides all lit up. We were exhausted, but the kids wanted to go check it out. Unfortunately (or fortunately for us grown ups) just as we were heading out, the rides shut down for the night. Whew!
