Charleston’s Real History Commitment

What places you’ve visited best capture history as it happened?

“In Charleston, you can feel the echos of the past around every corner.” (Pat Conroy)

It didn’t take long for me to absorb Charleston’s importance in American History as I exited the cruise ship on Friday at 10:00 am. For upon reaching the end of the gangplank, I sensed the city’s longstanding maritime importance gazing. at the back side of the U.S. Customs House building where so many ship arrivals/departures in this important Atlantic seaport have been processed since the mid 19th century. Next joining with cruise passengers moving slowly inland, we obtained another look at buying and selling of Charleston’s wares from a more local perspective in a taking brief walk through the crowded corridors of the famed Charleston City Market.

After making our way to historic Meeting Street, we made a quick decision to skip our tour of the Charleston History Museum as planned and instead hopped on a free bus shuttle to the “heart” of the colonial district more southwardly bound. Before conducting our next afternoon walk again on Meeting Street, we followed a previous recommendation to have lunch at Hyman’s Seafood House  where I indulged in a delectable fish and grits dish called the “Carolina Delight.”

Now entering the hotter part of the day, we’d been granted  a second spurt of energy to saunter on foot south to the waterfront point of Battery Park. During this one mile walk, I took the liberty to photograph landmarks representing various eras of Charleston history such as tall steepled churches, immense antebellum mansions, and secluded, tree shaded gardens.

Taking a a short rest then at Battery Park, we entertained ourselves watching hungry  pelicans fly overhead and egrets scrounge for food on the shaded grass. But most importantly this brief rest provided welcome breeze relief energizing us to resume our footpath at a nearby boardwalk to regain sight of the sea. With over a mile back to the ship from the boardwalk, we next meandered more inland along smaller street corridors, as plenty more important photo opportunities caught my eye to enjoy. Such scenes most notably included the pastel  pleasing look of contiguous housing along famed “Rainbow Row” and several slavery information signs protruding from narrow cobblestone streets running down to the sea.

Experiencing good luck today, Ruth and I made it back to the ship just in time as at 3:00 pm as it suddenly began to rain. To conclude today’s sightseeing after dinner, we climbed to the top deck of our cruise ship to enjoy excellent harbor views in the distance of Fort Sumter, a naval battleship, and the Arthur Ravenal Jr. Bridge.

I hope you enjoyed reading about our most recent tour of Charleston, S.C.  Here’s some photos below from this day to further engage your traveling mind.