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. |
We dined at Le 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. |
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. |
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 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. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
Living with the Past Charleston 1999: Part II |
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 decided to use today for touring Ft. Sumter also, since it wasn't very warm. Patriots 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 Le 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 |
The One-eyed Traveler |
This page was last updated on: September 8, 2002
Text and photos copyright 1984-2002 Dan Woodlief |
