Living with the Past |
For most people, eleven months without taking a trip somewhere doesn't seem like so long. To me it seemed like an eternity. Gina and I had spent the past seven months engaged in taking care of our brand new baby girl, Claire. This, of course, was a journey in its own way, and perhaps the most adventurous of our lives. Certainly it has been rewarding. We decided it was time to go off and see another part of the world. This time, though, we chose not to stray far from home, since we did not know how Claire would do with someone else for days at a time. We also couldn't take the one to two weeks that we would normally take to go abroad. So - where to go? |
Charleston fit the bill: great sightseeing, photogenic, a variety of things to see and do, very close to home, and pleasant in October. It took me a while to really get into planning for Charleston the way that I always plan for foreign trips, which means month after month of studying languages, history, food, culture, literature, and other things that might prepare me for what I would experience there. Well, I kind of had the language, culture, and food down, having spent most of my life in the South. I knew quite a bit about the Civil War from studying history for so many years in school, and honestly, I was just too busy to do much reading. I really didn't know what to expect from Charleston. I knew we would have fun because we hadn't traveled in so long, but I didn't know if it could live up to recent trips to Europe and Mexico. It was hard for me to get as excited about it as I did when planning other trips. As the time to leave approached, though, the anticipation grew. |
Day 1: Time for a Vacation |
Finally, after a few days of gradual packing and printing up some last minute information from the Internet, it was time to go. Claire was going to stay with Gina's parents. They had taken her for a one-day test run a couple of weeks earlier. We dropped her off at daycare and said our goodbyes as we headed off on our first trip in a year. We traveled by highways 40, 95, and 26, and reached Charleston in about 4 1/2 hours. |
On the way, just as on all the trips to the beach when I was a kid, I read all the South of the Border billboards. "Pedro says this, Pedro advises that...," many in what is supposed to be a Mexican accent. My amazement never ceases at how many of these billboards there are. They generally start around 100 miles on either side of the state line and must number 200 or more. Not only are they corny, but when you get to the place that all these signs are so heavily promoting, you will find a bunch of tacky souvenir shops, together with a few hotels, some gas stations, and a very very tall sign with a sombrero large enough to keep the sun off of Paul Bunyan's head. Not really worth a stop, unless you want to pick up a cheesy souvenir to add to your travel collection. In both directions, I threatened to stop, but Gina just kept saying no. Maybe next time. |
At about 1:00 p.m., we entered the city limits of Charleston. We had decided that rather than go to the hotel, we would maximize our time by seeing some of the city first. So we exited on Meeting Street, one of the main historic area streets and headed toward the visitor center. Charleston has a very large visitor center, where you can walk around and choose from a massive number of brochures on sites, restaurants, tours; even arts and crafts had a whole section. There must have been 10 brochures on ghost walks alone. There are also several windows, where you can talk to real people to find out the lowdown on what to do and how to go about doing it. Unfortunately, they were out of the walking tour books about which I had read. Well, they did have the German version, but my German was a little rusty, and I certainly didn't feel like trying to walk and translate at the same time. A guy could hurt himself that way you know - trip on cobblestones, get run over by a horse-drawn carriage, blow a neuron or two, or even worse. So I just got my information on house tours and tips on a good spot for overhead photos of the town, and we headed out for an afternoon of sightseeing. First, we wanted to move the car. There is some parking in front of the visitor center but not enough, even for the off-season. We had to wait almost ten minutes for a space to open up when we arrived. It can be expensive to leave your car there for a while too, although the first half hour is free. We moved the car to the parking deck across the street, where the hourly parking rate was less than half that of the visitor center lot. If you plan to leave your car at the visitor center for a few hours, you can save quite a bit of time by just heading to the parking deck right away. You just lose the free half hour. |
Before hitting the sights, there was a little matter of getting something to eat. This was not a problem. Just around the corner from the visitor center are lots of little restaurants. Rather than walk around looking, we chose one of the first places we came across. It was a small café serving burgers and sandwiches. There were very few people at that time of day, so we were able to get a nice spot by the window to look over the brochures we just picked up. Gina had a hamburger and fries, and I decided to go with the crabcake sandwich, which came with lettuce and tomato. The food was pretty good; I had never had crabcake this way. It was a little mushy for my taste, but it was very tasty, and it really hit the spot after a long drive. |
Our first tour stop was to be the Aiken-Rhett House, which is at the extreme northern end of the historic area, just a little past the visitor center. This area of town also includes the Charleston Museum and the Charles Manigault house. It was about a five minute walk through a largely African-American residential area. I was a little surprised when I saw a sign that said knock to enter. We were let in and directed to the souvenir shop, where you pay for tours. Few other people were in the house, since it was a Thursday, and October is sort of off-season. We paid $10 each for the tour. Touring in Charleston can get pretty expensive, as most properties range around $7 or higher, but you can save money by buying combination passes. Outside in the hall, we picked up small tape players and headphones for the self-guided tour. |
The hour-long tour, maybe a little shorter if you are not constantly stopping for photos, takes you through about eight to ten rooms and outside in the walled backyard. The house contained some furniture, but it seemed that the interior could use some restoring. I have since learned that the city is conserving, not restoring the property. The home's current state made it hard to believe that members of the Aiken family had lived in the house until very recently. This was pretty common, it appears. Families would just close off parts of a house, sometimes for decades, and continue to use the remaining space. |
One interesting thing about the interior of this house is that pieces of the original wallpaper have been maintained on some of the walls, and this is very untypical of the houses available for touring. Along with several large rooms used for living and entertaining, the tour included a warming kitchen on the lowest level. It was in this room that slaves warmed up pies and other foods before serving them upstairs. Eighteenth and nineteenth-century homeowners had a very healthy fear of fire, which led them to have much of the cooking performed in outer buildings. An 1861 fire destroyed much of the town. In fact, Charleston has faced more than its share of fires, plagues, wars, hurricanes, and other distractions. The outdoor portion of the tour is really the highlight of the Aiken-Rhett tour. The focus is two long buildings, which housed slaves and livestock. The slave quarters provide a rare look at urban slave life. The two-floor building has a hallway running the length of the structure, and on the interior side of this hallway are several rooms where slaves slept and worked. This is where they cooked the food too. There are windows in these rooms, as well as windows on the exterior wall. Good ventilation was important in Charleston's hot and humid summers. This may sound spoiled, but sometimes it is hard to imagine living in the South without air conditioning. |
The outdoor part of the tour also included a walk out on a piazza or long porch/balcony. Some people pronounce the double "z" sound like pizza, and some use a more Southern pronunciation by giving the "z" a long sound. Charleston houses are characterized by two things in particular: the beautiful gardens and the piazzas, some of which are truly massive. We also encountered our first joggling board, an item commonly found on piazzas. Basically, this is a very long, flexible-looking board, supported on legs at either end. Two people, sitting one on each end, would make it sway up and down sort of like a see-saw. We were told that when a man and woman were courting, it was popular for them to sit on a joggling board and "joggle" themselves across the board until they came together in the middle. I imagine this was the nineteenth century version of edging yourself closer on the sofa, then stretching to put your arm around the girl's shoulder. You both knew it was coming, but it was more fun to kind of ease into it. And back then, it was perhaps more gentlemanly and more acceptable too. |
When we arrived in Charleston, it had been raining, but by the time we finished half the house tour, the weather had cleared beautifully. The skies would be almost completely clear for the rest of our stay. We decided to spend the rest of the afternoon outside. After dropping off a few extraneous items at the car, we headed out for a tour of the northern end of the historic section, running from around the visitor center to the city market. We walked away from the visitor center on Meeting Street, one of Charleston's oldest and most popular thoroughfares, making detours when we reached interesting sites. Along the way, we passed several attractive churches, plus the second oldest synagogue in the United States (the oldest in continual use). Charleston is famous for its low skyline, dotted with numerous church steeples. This characteristic gave Charleston the nickname of the Holy City. You will find old churches of several denominations, including one established by French Huguenots. After King Louis XIV of France overturned the Edict of Nantes, which had protected French protestants from abuse for a hundred years, many of them fled to Charleston. One regret is that we did not have time to tour the interiors of any of the churches in Charleston, but I plan to put that on the agenda for our next visit. |
Another stop was the College of Charleston. I was thoroughly impressed with this part of town. The college campus is truly gorgeous, with beautiful old buildings and tree-lined walkways. I still think Chapel Hill has the most beautiful college campus I have seen, but this one came close. The whole area is populated with small shops and eating places, as you would expect. There are many quaint looking inns too that I would imagine make for a pleasant stay for visiting family members, professors, and tourists. We didn't make it to the Citadel, Charleston's most famous institution of higher learning. |
Eventually, we wound up at the market after about an hour and a half of walking around. The city market consists of four long shelters, stretching for a couple of blocks. It was not open this late, but we did get in a little browsing at the small shops lining the street. These were good places to pick up gifts. We visited a toy store, a Christmas shop, and assorted other places. The Christmas shop had a lot of newer Beanie Babies, and we bought several for Claire. There was also a candy store, stocked with a multitude of freshly made sweets. Everytime we passed this shop, we ate a sample or two, or three, or four... I kept saying that we should buy some candy, but we never did. We used the convenient historic area shuttle bus, which cost 75 cents, to return to our car. |
We had reserved a hotel in Mt. Pleasant, a community across the Cooper River from Charleston. This broad distance is spanned by two huge bridges, which provide pretty good views of the surrounding area, if you dare to look while driving. The Red Roof Inn is one of several less expensive chain hotels located in Mt. Pleasant within a half-mile or so of the river. It is a great location if you want to save money, or if you want to have convenient access to the beaches, Patriot Point, and downtown Charleston. |
The hotel was decent, but of course nothing special. It did save us lots of money, but the staff was the most completely incompetent and non-service oriented I have ever seen. In addition, many construction workers were staying at the hotel. That is not a problem if you are an early riser, as they do go to work very early, and they like to warm up their loud diesel-engine pickups in the parking lot even prior to heading out. We had three rooms assigned to us before finding one that was acceptable from a noise standpoint. The power went out due to a blown transformer in the vacinity, our alarm clock would advance itself as much as twenty minutes overnight, we always had to ask for fresh towels, and the room was never cleaned (supposedly, you were to place a sign outside requesting this basic service, but we never saw any such signs). The staff was particularly fond of assigning customers to rooms that were already occupied. They did have refrigerators and microwaves in some rooms. However, they could not guarantee that we would have these appliances when we arrived; it depended on which rooms were vacant. They were also only located in smoking rooms. Since Gina was still breast feeding, we got a room with a refrigerator. |
With the room finally squared away, we were on the way to dinner. I had read on an online review that The Wreck of the Charlie and Darlene served the best seafood in Charleston. It also said that the place was hard to find, so I called ahead to get directions. This was a good idea. The restaurant is located at Shem Creek, just up the road a bit toward Sullivan's Island. Shem Creek is the base for a small number of shrimping boats. The Wreck, as it is known, was not easy to find, even with directions. The directions went something like this: turn right on ..., turn right on..., after the bridge bear right on ..., turn left on..., after the tree in the road (yes there is a tree in the middle of the road), turn right on..., then turn left on..., go to the end of the pavement and look for the blue flag on the right (the restaurant has no sign). Well, after only one missed turn, we found the end of the pavement, but there was a pretty big looking pool of water. After seeing all the stranded cars on the news during Hurricane Floyd, which did a terrible amount of damage to my home state, I was more than a little cautious about trying to go through a pool of water without knowing how deep it was. We saw a few cars parked over at a building with a flag (not easy to see in the dark by the way, but at least it wasn't a black flag). We figured that if those cars could make it, we could too. We weren't turning around after all that. So we risked our lives for seafood by driving through what must have been a whole three to four inches of water. |
The Wreck is a pretty nondescript place. There is no fancy waiting area, and there really are not all that many tables. The walls of the part where we ate consisted of heavy translucent plastic wrapped around some planks. I wondered if this part was left open during the warmer months. The lighting was certainly romantic enough and particularly good if you happened to be with an unattractive partner. We could barely see. Each table was lit by a single candle. We had to circle what you want on the menu too, which was barely visible in the low light. Only a few other tables were taken at this late hour. I felt that most of the people were locals. I just don't think a lot of people know about the Wreck. There are a few big, much more visible, and more advertised seafood restaurants on Shem Creek too. The Wreck didn't advertise. After we ordered, we walked around outside by the boat dock; this was quaint enough. As an appetizer, we had boiled peanuts, a local specialty. These were pretty darned salty. Gina didn't like them very much, and I can't say that I loved them. We did eat quite a few though. For the main course, I ordered the fried seafood platter, consisting of scallops, shrimp, oysters, and flounder. Gina had grouper. The meals came with a hushpuppy or two (essentially fried corn meal for the non-Southerners), red rice (another local favorite), and slaw. The seafood was pretty good, but not great. The scallops, in particular, seemed to melt in my mouth. The flounder was cooked differently than what I had always eaten. It was not filleted, and the meat was much moister. Bones or no bones, it was pretty good. IThe only negative aspects were that it wasn't quite so inexpensive as the reviews would have you believe, and when Gina asked for extra hushpuppies as a substitution, she only got a couple. We spent about $35 without dessert. Not too bad, though. Charleston on the whole seems to be a little more expensive on average than the Triangle area of North Carolina. I just hope I can remember how to get there if I ever decide to eat at the Wreck again. I think I should keep those directions. |
Day 2: Courtyards and Cannons |
On the schedule for the first full day in Charleston were an early morning stop on top of a parking deck for photos of the city, a self-tour of the historic area, two house tours, and a mid-day shopping break at the city market. We got out by 8:30, but we were about 30 minutes behind schedule due to the alarm clock not going off and not getting our wakeup call (the power outage). The parking deck was just down from the market on East Bay. From the top we had a very good view of the harbor, including a distant Fort Sumter. |
The early morning light made for interesting light. The water had large bright patches from the sun. I decided to emphasize the effect and get a more abstract view of the harbor by exposing for the bright spots. I knew this would make the rest of the water go fairly dark. The view over the town was pretty good, but there were some construction cranes to avoid, and I would have liked to be a few floors higher. I was able to get some good rooftop shots though, as well as some very nice shots of St. Phillip's Episcopal Church in the golden light of early morning. |
I wanted to get to the Battery early, since I knew the light would be hitting it from the front then. The first stop on the walk was Whitepoint Park, a large, old park on the southern end of the Charleston peninsula. We thoroughly enjoyed spending half an hour or so at the park, where we ate breakfast on one of the many bench swings that hung from a large shelter. From the boardwalk that juts out into the river, we had very nice views of the harbor. Photogenic marsh grass grew along the shore. Along the center of the park were flowers, a large fountain, and a tree and bench-lined avenue. Charleston parks have lots of benches. |
The walk around the waterfront was wonderful. We entered across from Rainbow Row, a group of very colorful buildings on East Bay Street. There were small cobblestone side streets all along the area. We saw lots of law offices, indicating that this is prime real estate. We walked along the waterfront up to Battery Park. I think it was now that I first realized why so many people love Charleston. The architecture is truly beautiful. We passed historic house after historic house. Many of them were quite colorful, with rose being one of the more prominent choices. In the early light, the houses along the water took on a lovely warm tone. |
We stopped at the Edmundston-Alston House for a tour. Inside, we purchased a combination ticket that also included the Nathaniel Russell House, Middleton Place, and Drayton Hall. The latter two are plantations located outside of town. The tickets cost us $29 each, which amounted to a savings of about $7. I would highly recommend this tour, which lasted half an hour or so and was fully guided. |
A great thing about the Edmundston-Alston House is that most of the furnishings actually belonged to the owners. The walls were covered with very ornate wallpaper in the style popular during the 19th century. Gina and I particularly enjoyed the library. The family apparently had a great interest in travel, and the library contained many shelves of 19th century travel guides to places in Europe and Africa. I wondered if the guides contained a section on budget accommodations. If so, I doubt the Alstons read them. It was quite popular for well-to-do 19th century Americans to go on a "grand tour" of Europe. They brought back lots of souvenirs too - statues, paintings, rugs, and all kinds of items that must have been pretty difficult to fit in the old luggage. I guess they didn't have to worry about overhead compartments. The second floor piazza provided a view out toward the harbor. In fact, during the bombardment of Ft. Sumter, General Beauregard watched from this spot. Yes, there was a joggling board at this house too, on the first floor piazza. |
We continued on to Battery Park. There are still close to a dozen cannons and mortars around the park's edge, some of which were used by the Union forces to shell Ft. Sumter. The park is filled with large moss covered trees, benches, and statues honoring those who defended Charleston in the Civil War. Gina used a public phone to call Red Roof Inn customer service to arrange a change of hotel rooms after a less than stellar night's sleep, while I walked around taking pictures. There are several attractive bed and breakfast inns along this area, and really all through the historic section. We drooled at them as we walked by, and we even picked up a brochure for one. Maybe someday we will pay the $200 to $250 a night to enjoy a more relaxing visit to Charleston. |
We turned up Meeting Street, one of Charleston's most important streets. Virtually every building has a lot of historical importance. We went into the Nathaniel Russell House for another tour. Gina's mother called our cellular phone as we were waiting for the tour group to form, and we talked baby talk with Claire --- mostly a-da and da da da (her favorites at the time). We usually ended up talking to Claire a couple of times per day. |
Nathaniel Russell was a popular, transplanted Yankee merchant, who made a large fortune in the shipping industry. During the American Revolution, he sided with the British and went off to live in England. While away, he had a change of heart (or did he realize that the colonies might actually gain independence?) and returned to Charleston. Well, he wasn't too popular with the locals now and they made him sit out in the harbor for months before he was allowed back into the city. He had lost his fortune during this time but managed to make a new one by way of marriage to the daughter of a prominent merchant. The house has been used for a variety of purposes throughout its history, including service as a girl's school. Until recently, it was decorated with many period antiques. There is still a decent amount of furniture to be seen in the house, but a lot was removed after researchers decided that much of what was on display was not really in keeping with the period after all. Perhaps the highlight of the house is a free-floating staircase that winds its way all the way up to the third floor. At the stairs, the curators have displayed a beautiful, massive portrait of a woman who frequented the Nathaniel Russell home. Particularly interesting is an oval room that features two large mirrors and very detailed woodwork. Most of the house is currently undergoing significant restoration - painting, wallpapering, and re-furnishing. It should be quite interesting to see the changes in a few years. |
A few basket ladies had set up shop on the sidewalks of Meeting Street. These baskets made of sweet grass are as much a part of the Charleston persona as palm trees and shrimp and grits. West African slaves brought their basket making skills to the area more than 300 years ago. I wanted to get a few photographs of the ladies. From past experiences, I knew that craftspeople in touristy places don't always like being photographed unless you are buying something, so I asked one lady if I could take her picture. She said yes and went about what she was doing. Across the street, I didn't ask and a lady grew very angry and said "no pictures unless you buy." Of course, I just said no problem and walked away. I must admit, I have mixed feelings about this type of attitude. In a way, I think people who work in a highly touristed area like the Charleston historic district or Charles Bridge in Prague (where I encountered the same from a puppet salesman) should expect to be photographed. Heck, not everyone is going to buy a basket, and how did she know I wouldn't come back and buy one later. The same with the puppets because I did indeed buy three puppets from a nearby stall. On the other hand, I respect individuals' right to privacy even in a public place. It is always a good idea to ask if you think someone will be offended by you photographing them. |
After lunch we headed toward the market for a little shopping. Items ranged from refrigerator magnets to local crafts. One thing we learned was if you see something you want, buy it. The vendors can change from day to day. There were many more basket displays. As nice as these baskets are, it must be hard to make a lot of money from them with so much competition. I guess the prices weren't bad compared to all the work that went into making them, but it was a little more than I wanted to spend on this trip. I'll probably buy one next time. I bet I can get some great photos if I buy a basket too. |
We were absolutely exhausted from all the walking, so we decided to eat close to the hotel at a place named Sticky Fingers. This place specializes in a large variety of barbecued ribs and has locations in Charleston and Mount Pleasant (where we ate). I knew nothing of the restaurant but what I had seen in advertisements, and we planned to eat there as an easy meal that did not require driving back into Charleston. It turned out that the food was excellent, and I certainly would not hesitate to go back again. The price and service were good too. |
Day 3: Beaches and Forts |
Today was to be a beach day, but the weather didn't quite cooperate. We had planned to get up for sunrise on the beach, but we were so tired that we decided to sleep a bit later. The alarm ensured that we made it, however. The clock had advanced 20 minutes overnight, so we awoke much earlier than we had planned. We drove to Sullivan's Island and stopped at the beach by the lighthouse. The drive only took about fifteen minutes. The sun was just above the horizon as we reached the beach. I can't say it was the most beautiful sunrise I had seen, and there was little to use for foreground subjects. The early morning light on the beach was terrific though, so I took shots of the water, boats on the horizon, the vegetation, sand, and seashells. I wish I had pulled out the tripod. We only saw a few other people. It was pretty cool and windy that day, so we didn't end up spending much time on the beach. |
We then drove over to Ft. Moultrie, which is on the end of Sullivan's Island. There is a nice area by the fort where there is a large pile of rocks facing the river. From here you can get good views of the fort, some picturesque beach houses, Ft. Sumter, and shipping traffic. Charleston gets a lot of container ships and even some cruise liners. There was a stiff and cold breeze blowing out at the water, so Gina was glad when I finished taking photos. Ft. Moultrie was an important defensive position during the American Revolution and the Civil War. Southern forces used it to fire on Ft. Sumter in April 1861, beginning the bloodiest conflict in American history. A large, black and ugly battery was built near it during the Spanish-American War period as part of a coastal defense system. |
There was actually an entrance fee for the fort, but we had no tickets. There was no one at the gate, so we were able to walk through without paying. Normally, I wouldn't think of doing something like this, but we only wanted to get a quick look, and we really didn't want to drive back across the road to pay at the visitor center. If you climb to the designated viewing point, you can get a great view of the interior of the fort. Ft. Moultrie's very geometrical shape and its colors of yellow, brick, green grass, and black cannons made for some very nice photos. |
The National Park Service runs the Ft. Sumter site. After we disembarked, a Park ranger gave safety instructions designed to protect us and the ruins of the fort. The ranger then offered a fifteen minute history lecture to those who wanted to listen. If not, we were free to roam on our own. In total, we were allotted an hour at the site. I decided to hear the story of the fort and found it well worth the fifteen minutes. I particularly was interested in learning how the fort differs now from the way it was in 1861, as well as finding out some details of the battle. Ft. Sumter is truly one of our country's most important landmarks. At one time it had three levels, but now there is basically just one. I guess you could say the fort is now only a shell of its former self. |
During the battle, the fort was caught in a crossfire between Ft. Moultrie and two other forts. People lined the waterfront and piazzas of Charleston to watch the fight. Part of the fort caught fire, and the smoke and flames made for pretty hairy conditions for the troops within. No one was killed during the battle itself. Ironically, the first death of the Civil War was accidental. As Anderson's men lowered the U.S. flag, accompanied by cannon fire, one gun blew up, fatally wounding one of its crew. Union bombardment during the war caused additional damage to the fort. Only one attempt was made to land men on the fort, but this failed. There are several different types of artillery on display. On one side of the parade ground, there is a large black monstrosity built during the Spanish American War. It was part of the same coastal defense system as the one at Ft. Moultrie. Since it was hard to remove it without damaging the ruins, the Park Service made it into a gift shop and restrooms. You can also climb on it to get nice views of the fort, Charleston, and the islands. |
We then headed over to a beach on the Isle of Palms, which is just on the other side of Sullivan's Island. Unfortunately, I think I enjoyed it a little more than Gina. It was pretty windy and a little too cool for her. I have read that you can sometimes swim in these water through October, but the water was pretty icy. It also didn't help the comfort level any that the sand was wet, so the cold water soaked through the towels to our clothes. |
For dinner, we went back over to Charleston to Hyman's Seafood Company. This restaurant and a kosher deli next-door are owned by the same family. I think some of its popularity comes from the location, as it is right across from the city market and just around the corner from Charleston's five-star luxury hotel, Charleston Place. It has quite a reputation with most travelers and has seen its share of celebrity visitors. All the travel guides tell you that there will be a wait to get a table. You can stand outside or at the bar inside. There were probably twenty or more people ahead of us. The hour wait wasn't bad at all though. In the meantime, we walked around to some of the shops. I had decided to buy a book or two to take home, and there was a large chain bookstore right beside the restaurant. Hyman's is known for providing large portions for a low price. We found out that in Charleston, "low price" is not really that low. For visitors from large cities such as New York, it probably does seem so, but most meals were more than we normally pay when we eat out. The prices were not really bad, as a usual dinner cost us about $35 to $40 with tip. It is just that four nights of this can get costly. Hyman's does a great job of advertising. Many of its tables have little plaques telling you the name of a celebrity who ate there. Names included Martha Stewart, Patrick Ewing, and AC/DC. As in most Charleston restaurants, there seemed to be good attention to service. At every place we ate, someone besides the waitperson came around to ask how the meal was. At Hyman's, one of the young Hyman men even comes around to each table "every night of the week" to greet diners. I joked that maybe this is just made up; perhaps the other employees take shifts wearing the Hyman nametag. "Who wants to be Mr. Hyman tonight?" I ordered some she-crab soup as a starter and used a coupon for free crabdip. Tonight, as usual, I was in a mood to really eat, so I ordered a whole bowl of the soup. Well, this was way more soup than I could eat, when combined with the crabdip - I did have a three-item platter on the way. She-crab soup consists of crab meat and crab roe. Hyman's soup had plenty of meat, and I found it quite good. As for the main course, I had ordered flounder (cooked in the usual fried filet fashion), shrimp, and oysters. The oysters were very tasty, and all the food was good. I would give the edge in taste alone, though, to the Wreck, and the price was about the same. It did seem that the portions were larger at Hyman's, though. Gina had the crispy flounder, which is supposed to be a house favorite. This is a whole flounder, fried with an apricot glaze on top, or you can get the glaze on the side. Gina ordered it with the glaze, but they brought it on the side. We both tried it, and while it was pretty good flounder, we couldn't really tell much difference between it and the normal fried flounder that I ordered. |
We had decided to use today for touring Ft. Sumter also, since it wasn't very warm. Patriot Points houses the world's largest naval museum, and its main attraction is the World War II aircraft carrier, Yorktown. It is also one of two departure points for tour boats to Ft. Sumter. The other is the City Marina over in Charleston. The boats were operating on a reduced schedule this time of year, so there were only two choices unless we wanted to drive over to Charleston. Passengers are supposed to start boarding about 15 minutes before departure, but they began more than five minutes early. Gina had gone back to the car, so we were not able to get a window seat. Since it was a Saturday, it was crowded. There are two levels to the boats, an open deck on top, and an enclosed one below. We did at least get decent seats up top, but I spent more than half the trip standing on the stern taking photos. The trip out and back was very nice, and it took about half an hour each way. I got up-close and personal views of the Yorktown, and on the way back the boat came close enough to Charleston for some nice views of the city from the water. A lens of at least 100 mm is helpful to get good shots of the city from out there. A container ship passed pretty close by, and we even saw some dolphins. |
Day 4: Plantation Hopping |
The Ashley River was lined with rice plantations until Sherman's troops arrived with their torches. They didn't burn the city, but only one of the Ashley River plantations escaped the firestorm. Today, we would visit Middleton Place and Drayton Hall. We decided to save Magnolia Plantation and Boone's Hall (near Mt. Pleasant) for a future visit. We arrived at Middleton Place right opening. We encountered very few other visitors during our few hours at the plantation. |
The Middleton family included a prominent member of the First Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. There is a house at Middleton Place, but you can only see a few ruins of what used to be the main house. Near the remaining structure are several outer buildings, where craftspeople dressed in period garb provide demonstrations of typical plantation activities such as leatherwork and milking. Most were empty this morning, and the house was not open until later in the afternoon. |
The gardens are beautiful and really are the stars at Middleton Place. These are the oldest landscaped gardens in the U.S. We walked along the riverbanks, by ponds and swamps, and through tree-lined paths. Along the way, you may see peacocks, cranes, swans, and ducks. At the stables are horses and goats. Near the outer buildings is a small duplex that housed freed slaves during Reconstruction. It took us about two hours to see the property. |
There was a nice restaurant adjacent to the craft shops. We were the first ones there. We ate a selection of low-country fare that included hoppin' john (blackeye peas and rice cooked with ham hocks or bacon), ham biscuits, and Huguenot torte (made with apples and pecans). The restaurant is more formal in the evening and requires reservations. The food was very good. I would love to visit Middleton in the spring when the azaleas and other flowers are in full bloom, but I bet it is a lot more crowded then. |
Drayton Hall is only a few minutes back down the road toward Charleston. It too sits just off the Ashley River between Middleton Place and Magnolia Plantation. There are several interesting things about Drayton Hall. It was the only main plantation house on the Ashley not burned by the Union forces, it is not furnished or restored, and the back of the house looks like it should be the front. |
We arrived at Drayton and got timed tickets from the gift shop for a tour of the house. The tours last for close to an hour and are well worth it for the architectural history and tidbits of information on plantation life. Because of its architectural importance (the oldest Georgian-Palladian style house in America), the house is not restored, but is preserved instead in its original condition. It has never had power lines or any of those other more modern contrivances. Most of the tour consists of the first floor and the cellar, where the house slaves worked. The back of the house is easily the most attractive, and since it faces the road, you would think it was the front. But no, the river side is considered the front because boats were often a preferred means of travel to the house. During the "disease season," when mosquitoes were rampant (as you can imagine with all this water), the house was often shuttered, and the family would live in the city. People spent a lot of time traveling back and forth from Charleston to check on their crops. The rear of the building faces a small pond and an old well, both of which make good foreground subjects for photographing the house. The house itself is an attractive rose-colored brick. The grounds don't compare to those at Middleton, but I found the area around the house to be very photogenic. Even if you don't go for the tour, it is worth a stop. There is no admission at the gate, only for the tour. By the way, I asked a tour guide why Sherman didn't burn the house. No one knows for sure. |
We were able to return to Charleston by mid-afternoon, but the two plantations could easily have filled a whole day, especially if the Middleton house had been open. We followed a walk through several smaller historic streets by watching the sunset from the Battery. |
We dined at Mistral, a French restaurant located near the market. The atmosphere was excellent from the posters on the walls to the soft French music and very proper waiter. We dined on tasty steak au poivre. On some nights this restaurant has live music. We were virtually alone in the dining room this night. We spent more for this meal than any other on our trip. Two entrees, and one dessert (can't remember if I had wine) brought our total to about $50. I highly recommend it. Man, you can really eat well in Charleston. |
Our hotel was very near the Patriots Point naval museum, and we planned to see the ships before heading home around 1:00. The aircraft carrier Yorktown is what everyone comes to see, but there are other ships to visit, including a destroyer that participated in the D-day landing at Normandy, a highly decorated Coast Guard cutter, and a submarine. On the shore is a replica of a Naval Advance Tactical Support Base, complete with helicopter, mess, watch towers, gun boat, and barbed wire. |
The Yorktown, named for an earlier version sunk at the battle of Midway, is itself one of the most famous ships in American naval history. We spent several hours on board, seeing what ship life was like and taking in the countless exhibits of memorabilia and ship models. Several fighter planes sat on the flight deck, and the hangar deck contained an impressive collection of World War II aircraft. Also on the hangar deck is the National Museum of the Medal of Honor. The displays include memorabilia and plaques honoring the recipients of our nation's highest military honor. We also took a ride on the flight simulator, which took us on a combat run over Iraq. It was fun but didn't compare to the Star Trek ride I went on in Las Vegas. It didn't take long at all to tour the submarine, whose rusted hull makes it currently most unseaworthy. I don't know what would be more claustrophobic, living in such tight quarters or knowing that I was couped up in this thing far beneath the surface of the ocean. The other ships were quite interesting as well, but we did a quick walk-through so we could hit the road home. Patriots Point is a great place to bring the kids and a must for anyone interested in military history. |
Charleston is known for its manners. In fact, it has been named "the most mannerly city in the U.S." on more than one occasion. And this extends to service. We received attentive and very polite service at all the shops and restaurants (a major exception was our horrible motel staff). Charleston is also known for its past more than its present, but this is a real living and breathing city, and there is much more to it than old buildings. Nevertheless, Charleston simply oozes with history from the plantations to the homes on the battery and the church steeples that dominate its skyline. This is what I loved most about it, and the people there seem to take it pretty seriously. This is a great place for walking. Just pick a street anywhere in the historic area and soak in the atmosphere of piazza after piazza and courtyard after courtyard. Stroll along imagining how much it must cost to inhabit and maintain one of these mansions. I am sure the restrictions placed on the residents make my own neighborhood covenants look pretty liberal. Somehow I don't think I would mind though if I could own one of those properties. Charleston is also about eating. You will not see many typical fast food places in the historic sections. Instead, you will find a wide selection of tasty cuisine that includes a lot more than seafood and grits. My most striking impression of Charleston was how much there was to do there. You could spend weeks seeing the historic homes, plantations, college campuses, forts, and churches, playing on the beach, relaxing in the parks, and experiencing all the wonderful food. If that is not enough for you, you can take ghost tours, slavery tours, carriage tours, Civil War tours, tours covering Charleston's scandals, and about anything else you can imagine. It certainly will keep me going back. |
Lasting Impressions |
Day 5: Ships Ahoy |
