Off to see Ft. Sumter, where the Civil War officially started, when those fire-breathing South Carolinians (first to secede!) reduced Sumter's wall to rubble in order to force the Feds off the island. We hopped in the car and told Samantha (our Garmin GPS director) to take us to Ft. Sumter. Off we went but the path got curiouser and curiouser until we wound up in a neighborhood that backed onto the water. Samantha said "Proceed to end of street and continue off-road". Really! So we looked at a map and found the place where the boats leave for Ft. Sumter.
When we finally got to the right place, we took a boat out to the site - passed the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier in the process - open for tours. We spent an hour at the Fort; lots to see and read about; interesting to see the rifled shells still stuck on the inside of the walls from the North bombardment after the South took and held the fort for years. Lots of interesting action took place in Charleston harbor, with lots of unique iron clad ships on both sides, submarines, floating mines, torpedoes and blockade runners. A great place to visit. AND it was a pretty nice day.
We got back, had lunch and then went back downtown to see the Battery section of old town. Very nice restored old homes - reminded me a lot of Alexandria but the houses were bigger and more Southern. Ate in place called Sermet's - another yummy meal. Walked around the newer town and then back to Mt. Pleasant. Bid adieu to Charleston. I really liked and if you ever get the chance to go, DO IT.
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