Great Journey of 2019 - Season 4
Day 1 - Mar 7
My cousin Jeff and his wife Sharon picked us up at the motel at 830 AM. I am glad that Jeff drove. He has been to Charleston before. He also has a bigger vehicle and will hold the four of us more comfortably.
"Charleston, the South Carolina port city founded in 1670, is defined by its cobblestone streets, horse-drawn carriages and pastel antebellum houses, particularly in the elegant French Quarter and Battery districts." Our first destination today was the French Quarter to take a horse-drawn carriage ride through town.
It was interesting to hear how the elite class, using slaves, filled in the swamp lands and built the buildings. We learned that the town was over come by fire, that parts of it were leveled by the gun fire of war and how the different architecture styles impacted the buildings. We felt our guide/carriage driver knew the town. Here it seem that a guided tour of any type is vital, otherwise we would have just wondered the city scratching our heads.
On our own we wondered through a cemetery and found the tomb of Vice President John C. Calhoun.
After lunch at the Blind Tiger, we took the tour boat over to Fort Sumter. "Accessed by boat, this fort with ruins, gun emplacements and a museum saw the Civil War’s first shots." At the fort we attended the end of the day flag lowering ceremony. We also toured the walls and saw evidence were many shells impacted. We learned that at the beginning of the war the Confederate forces bombed the fort and then took control when the union forces surrendered. We also learned how the Union forces shelled the force to ruins at the end of the war. Interestingly, we also learned how the fort was updated and used as a defense during WW II.
My cousin Jeff and his wife Sharon picked us up at the motel at 830 AM. I am glad that Jeff drove. He has been to Charleston before. He also has a bigger vehicle and will hold the four of us more comfortably.
"Charleston, the South Carolina port city founded in 1670, is defined by its cobblestone streets, horse-drawn carriages and pastel antebellum houses, particularly in the elegant French Quarter and Battery districts." Our first destination today was the French Quarter to take a horse-drawn carriage ride through town.
It was interesting to hear how the elite class, using slaves, filled in the swamp lands and built the buildings. We learned that the town was over come by fire, that parts of it were leveled by the gun fire of war and how the different architecture styles impacted the buildings. We felt our guide/carriage driver knew the town. Here it seem that a guided tour of any type is vital, otherwise we would have just wondered the city scratching our heads.
On our own we wondered through a cemetery and found the tomb of Vice President John C. Calhoun.
After lunch at the Blind Tiger, we took the tour boat over to Fort Sumter. "Accessed by boat, this fort with ruins, gun emplacements and a museum saw the Civil War’s first shots." At the fort we attended the end of the day flag lowering ceremony. We also toured the walls and saw evidence were many shells impacted. We learned that at the beginning of the war the Confederate forces bombed the fort and then took control when the union forces surrendered. We also learned how the Union forces shelled the force to ruins at the end of the war. Interestingly, we also learned how the fort was updated and used as a defense during WW II.
We finished the day eating dinner back in Charleston's French Quarter at TBonz with Jeff and Sharon. We followed up dinner with a ride back to our hotel.
Day 2 Mar 8
We learned yesterday that Jeff and Sharon have never ate at a Waffle house. Well, LoriAnn and I have never ate at one either. So we made plans for breakfast with them at the Waffle house. Jeff and Sharon picked us up this morning at the hotel and drove us the short block to the Waffle house near the motel. There I made the mistake to not order a waffle like LoriAnn did. Regardless, my hash brown scramble was very good.
After breakfast we headed over to the Patriots Point Cold War Submarine Memorial.
"Located on Charleston Harbor, the Cold War Submarine Memorial stands as an enduring tribute to the dedicated men who served in our submarines during this unique and dangerous period in our nation's history"
I was one of those dedicated men. This memorial stands as a tribute to me and the thousands of others that went out in those big black submarines. We walked around the memorial and found the bench that was dedicated to the submarine I served aboard; SSBN 654 George C Marshal. In addition to contributing fund for the bench, I also played a role in getting the funds gathered. Some may argue that I didn't serve on the boat for the glory. Regardless, I fault back a few tears during this visit. I will try to capture more on this in a separate post in the future.
From the memorial, we drove over to the Boon Hall plantation. Driving into the plantation we passed through a growth of large oaks that lined both sides of the road.
Our visit started with a wagon ride around the existing plantation where we learned about the Crops grown on the plantation throughout its life. At one time, the plantation was the one of the largest growers of pecan. After the ride we toured the old plantation house. The first floor is open to visitors. The top floor is reserved for the existing family members.
After the house tour we visited the existing slave homes. Each home told a portion of the life of a slave. At the end of the day we listened to a descendant of one of plantation slaves tell us about her great grandmothers life, and the Gullah dialect. "Gullah [guhl-uh]: Mother tongue of the African people; mixture of the African Dialect and the English Language"
We learned yesterday that Jeff and Sharon have never ate at a Waffle house. Well, LoriAnn and I have never ate at one either. So we made plans for breakfast with them at the Waffle house. Jeff and Sharon picked us up this morning at the hotel and drove us the short block to the Waffle house near the motel. There I made the mistake to not order a waffle like LoriAnn did. Regardless, my hash brown scramble was very good.
After breakfast we headed over to the Patriots Point Cold War Submarine Memorial.
"Located on Charleston Harbor, the Cold War Submarine Memorial stands as an enduring tribute to the dedicated men who served in our submarines during this unique and dangerous period in our nation's history"
I was one of those dedicated men. This memorial stands as a tribute to me and the thousands of others that went out in those big black submarines. We walked around the memorial and found the bench that was dedicated to the submarine I served aboard; SSBN 654 George C Marshal. In addition to contributing fund for the bench, I also played a role in getting the funds gathered. Some may argue that I didn't serve on the boat for the glory. Regardless, I fault back a few tears during this visit. I will try to capture more on this in a separate post in the future.
From the memorial, we drove over to the Boon Hall plantation. Driving into the plantation we passed through a growth of large oaks that lined both sides of the road.
Our visit started with a wagon ride around the existing plantation where we learned about the Crops grown on the plantation throughout its life. At one time, the plantation was the one of the largest growers of pecan. After the ride we toured the old plantation house. The first floor is open to visitors. The top floor is reserved for the existing family members.
After the house tour we visited the existing slave homes. Each home told a portion of the life of a slave. At the end of the day we listened to a descendant of one of plantation slaves tell us about her great grandmothers life, and the Gullah dialect. "Gullah [guhl-uh]: Mother tongue of the African people; mixture of the African Dialect and the English Language"
For dinner, the four of us met their son Zach at a restaurant called Salt Water Cowboys that was located on a channel. There was great food, fun drinks, fantastic fellowship, and entertaining scenery on the water.
We ended the night back at the motel where we said our goodbyes to Jeff and Sharon. It was a great two days. We will miss them, but we know we will see them again. But now we start Season 5 of this journey. A season that will have be filled with little fun, and lots of work.
Don't forget to come back for season 5!
You can easily follow this site by entering your email in the spot in the upper corner.
We ended the night back at the motel where we said our goodbyes to Jeff and Sharon. It was a great two days. We will miss them, but we know we will see them again. But now we start Season 5 of this journey. A season that will have be filled with little fun, and lots of work.
Don't forget to come back for season 5!
You can easily follow this site by entering your email in the spot in the upper corner.
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