June 17-20, 2009: Charleston, SC

Our last several days have been spent in Charleston, with repairs to be made to our propellers and friends to be visited. The weather has been beautiful but hot, making riding the bikes unbearable. We have been graciously hosted by friends and I will share some pictures of the last several days. We are now docked at the Charleston City Marina near the large fishing boat, named Fish and Grits.

We toured the old part of the city with its long narrow homes built to the edge of the street. The front door opened onto a long porch that runs the length of the house and provided a place to catch the cool breeze. There was a farmers’ market downtown at the old Citadel parade grounds that was full of flowers and fresh produce. We bought Summerville blueberries, peaches, fresh silver queen corn, some flounder fillets and a pound and a half of shrimp

We visited Fort Moultree with Tom’s cousins, Bob and Sue, and had a great time walking over the fortifications. The ranger there explained the origin of the South Carolina flag as a follow-on to the battalion flag of Fort Moultree – a blue field with a white crescent in the upper left hand corner. While most folks think the crescent is a new moon, it is actually the soldiers’ insignia, a gorget, a piece of armor that evolved through the centuries and was worn at the throat in the days of the Revolution. It had come to be recognized as a symbol of the soldier, a metal plate around the neck, tied with ribbons and sometimes engraved with the Kings Coat of Arms.

We also took The Next Thirty Years out to Fort Sumter, passing under the tall bridge from Mount Pleasant into Charleston. I remember this bridge from crossing it as a Girl Scout on our way to Savannah. My mother was very concerned about driving over it because it was so tall and a narrow two lanes with no edges. The bridge has now been upgraded and is 8 lanes wide with a bike/ pedestrian path on the side.

Beyond the bridge in the harbor, we tied up at the high fort pier. We arrived at low tide, but luckily they had ladders down to the water so we managed to climb up to the dock. They still have cannons there that were from the Civil War days and also portions of the fort as it would have been during the time it was used to protect the coast during WWII. It was about 100 degrees, but there was wind from the water. The views from there were wonderful of the entrance to the Cooper and Ashley Rivers full of sailboats. There was a regata of several classes of sailboats running the course. We also saw the old mansions along the battery from the water as well as the US Customs House.

Saturday night we rode out to visit some old Kiwanis friends and saw the old farm house where they live. It is on the National Register as one of the out buildings of a southern plantation here. The tide water was high along side their pier and the rosey sunset glimmered on the water.