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!

Charleston, SC

We traveled to Charleston yesterday and arrived at the park around 4:00pm. It is a national forest campground located on land that used to be Buck Hall Plantation with large, mossy trees and right on the inter coastal  waterway. We pulled forward into our site so we can see the boats pass by from our “picture window.” They are mostly private fishing boats and yachts. A really nice park about 25 miles from town. 
The road leading into Charleston is nicknamed “Sweetgrass Highway” because the Galluh women weave baskets from palmetto palms and sell them from stands all along the route. They are beautiful and intricately woven baskets of all shapes, sizes and designs but pricey. The small one I liked was $250.00. I don’t doubt it was worth it if you considered her time and expertise in making it but, I didn’t want it that much!
It was a gorgeous, 75 degree day so we decided to tour downtown Charleston. Our first stop was the Visitor’s Center to get the “scoop”  - and there we met Mark. He could sell you oceanfront property in Arizona! Talked us into “touring” the “historic” Church Street Inn and listening to a “little spiel about their property” – in return we got 2 free tickets for a carriage tour; 2 free tickets to tour Magnolia Plantation and 2 free tickets for a boat tour of the harbor and Fort Sumter – the three things we really wanted to do! How long could it take to tour around the hotel and hear why we should choose to stay there!!???  As we were leaving the Visitor’s Center, Mark came running out to recommend that we not mention we are traveling in our motor home because, after all, they want us to stay in their hotel! Well………come to find out the Church Street Inn is not a hotel but part of Festiva Resorts time share program. Duh, we are a little slow! Two hours later we are still listening to why buying into their plan is such a good deal! We were so nervous because they kept asking us questions about where we typically travel; what type of places we stay in and how much we usually pay; where were we staying in Charleston (luckily, I had seen an Embassy Suites on our way in town!) We were so afraid we would say “motor home” and get caught in our lies! I finally said “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude but we’ve been here 2 hours and it’s a beautiful day and I’d rather be out seeing Charleston!” That’s when they brought in the “big dog” – come to find out, he started out selling time shares on Canyon Lake, Texas! The deal was $30,000 (plus annual maintenance fees) for 6,000 points/year (used like dollars to buy time in their many resort properties) for 40 years! Doubt if we’ll feel like staying at a “Sandals” type resort when we’re 90 some years old! We said a firm “NO,” collected our free vouchers and got out of there! Figured it was worth it for $110.00 worth of tickets but we won’t get suckered again!!
We shopped around the Market – kiosks in the old renovated slave market – until it was time for our carriage tour. I bought a great new shawl. Charleston is the second oldest city in the United States – St. Augustine, FL is the oldest. The carriage took us all around the historical district and “south of Broad” – meaning south of Broad Street which separates the “haves” and “have mores!” Gorgeous old homes – narrow and deep properties - now worth millions! Many still have the iron symbols on the front that let the fire department know they had paid to be protected in case of fire; the old hitching posts; and the stone blocks next to the curb to step on when alighting their carriages. There are many “pineapples” – a sign of welcome - made of wrought iron and cement decorating the homes, fences and properties. Most have wrought iron fences and decorations but, they are not original because most of the original ironwork was melted down and donated to the Confederacy during the Civil War. We ended the day with a great seafood dinner and had  to laugh about Festiva!
This boat looks like it is parked in the middle of a wheat field!

Grandfather Mountain

We drove from Asheville through the Pisgah National Forest up to Grandfather Mountain today. The autumn scenery was spectacular! Most of the trees had lost their leaves as we got to the Blueridge Parkway (it is at a much higher altitude) but the sun shining through the forest was still beautiful.
There was a large park like area at Grandfather Mountain used annually for the "Highland Games" - a gathering of the Scottish clans. It reminded me of Jamie and Claire from Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series of novels. A wonderful read!
We ate a picnic lunch at the top of the mountain and walked across the mile high swinging bridge - which thankfully, did not swing! - and then drove into Blowing Rock, NC and shopped around the quaint town. We bought this neat little "fire pot" - a ceramic pot with an insert that you fill with a sterno like substance and presto, an outside fire! Sort of a cross between a campfire and a fireplace but small enough to store without Roger complaining!
Our travels took us back by Julian Price Memorial Park where we camped with Mom & Izetta and Heather & Kyle several years ago. Good memories!

We spent yesterday touring downtown Asheville. We went to the historic Grove Park Inn but passed on seeing the Biltmore Mansion when we found out it now costs $60/person! We saw it before with Heather & Kyle and decided seeing it with Christmas trees wasn't worth $120.00! They wouldn't even let us go to the Biltmore Winery without tickets to see the house!

We leave for Charleston in the morning!

Asheville, NC

We left Michigan on November 9th and headed south - following the sun! We are now in Asheville, NC where the temperature is 75 degrees - our kind of weather. We were surprised that the fall color was still so vivid here. It is beautiful country anytime of the year but autumn in the Appalachians is gorgeous! We drove to Chimney Rock today and hiked back to Hickory Nut Falls - the sun shining through the red, gold and yellow leaves made the trip lovely. It was only a 3 mile hike but we were tired - we had better get in shape quick if we want to explore Epcot with Megan!

Happy Birthday, Marion

We went to Kim & Jay's for a birthday lunch celebrating Marion's 70th birthday yesterday. Her actual birthday is November 25th but we celebrated early. Rick flew in from Atlanta and surprised her. Good to see him, unfortunately, Allison and David couldn't come because David was sick with croup. It was a fun afternoon with all of Roger's family and a chance for us to say good bye to everyone before we leave on Tuesday. None of my pictures turned out!!!

Happy Birthday, Emily!

Emily was 2 years old yesterday (11-5) - she's growing up too fast! Wish we were there for her big day but we will be soon! Roger's phone rang not long ago and when he answered this little voice said "Hi, PaPa!" - his heart melted!

Brrrrrr........

The outside thermometer read 23 degrees this morning. The leaves have fallen, the sky is gray for winter, there is frost on the pumpkins and ice in the ponds - all signs that it is time to get out! We are heading south soon, November 9th, before the white stuff starts falling. 80 degrees in Clermont today - my kind of weather! Florida here we come!