Fort Sumter

It was cool and rainy yesterday so we stayed home and got some work done around the house. We took a harbor tour out to Fort Sumter today - where the first shot was fired that started the Civil War. It is located on a small man made island in the Charleston Harbor.  Made with stone and landfill shipped from the New England states long before the Civil War! A beautiful day and a good American history lesson. We drove around the Battery and some of the old neighborhoods, had lunch in downtown Charleston, and then toured the Citadel campus. The cadets were walking briskly around campus - in uniform, ramrod straight, making 90 degree turns in true military fashion. Looked a little too disciplined for me!!
On our way home we drove to the small fishing village of McClellanville and bought fresh shrimp for dinner. Yummmm! The moss draped live oak trees and the raised houses with wrap around porches are typical of the South.
South Carolina Trivia:
They served "boiled peanuts" as a snack at the first restaurant we went to - they are literally boiled with the shells on and served warm and wet. Nasty!
Charleston and the surrounding area is architecturally controlled, especially in the historic district. But even on the outskirts of town stores are hidden behind trees, boulevards and lovely landscaping. You can't tell if there is a Lowes or Walmart past the parking lot!
Charleston was the second richest city (per capita) in the states prior to the Civil War - mostly because of rice. There is very little rice production here now - due to global competition and because hurricane Hugo dumped salt water into the rice fields and ruined  the soil. And obviously, no slaves = no free labor! It remains a busy shipping harbor.
According to the park ranger on Fort Sumter, President Lincoln was invited to a ceremony on Fort Sumter Island commemorating the end of the Civil War but he declined feeling it too dangerous to travel to the South. He was shot by John Wilkes Booth while attending the theatre that evening!