March 4, 2015

 Good evening everyone.
We finally drove into an area where there was some sun. Charleston, SC. It got up to 77 degrees with a bit of a cooling breeze.

First thing on the agenda was a visit to Fort Sumter where the first shot of the Civil War was fired on April 12, 1861.  We took a ferry from downtown Charleston, SC that took about 30 minutes to the Fort.  The Fort was built on an island that was created by Lt. Henry Brewerton, U. S. Corps of Engineers, in charge of the project. The 2.4 acre Island that the fort was to be built on, was constructed from 10,000 tons of granite brought in from New England, along with about 60,000 tons of other rock.  The project was started in 1829 and still not completed by the start of the war.  Fort Sumter Island 

When Major Anderson of the Union Army was defending the Fort from Apil 12 to the 14th, this was the flag that flew over the fort.  As part of the surrendering of the Fort, he was allowed to take the US Flag with him.  It was later returned to the National Park Service and then returned to the Fort.

Finally, a Where's Grammie picture.

As the war progressed, the shape of the cannon shells evolved from the typical round ball shape which probably had a maximum range of a little over a mile to a more modern projectile that was fired from a rifled bore and would go over 3 miles.  There are still 3 shells embedded in the fort.  In the picture below, notice the embedded shell in the lower left.

Back in the city of Charleston we saw a sign that reminded us of a sign in Maine, but not really comparable to ours.

Across the Cooper River is a huge museum better known as the USS Yorktown. CV-10 was decommissioned in 1970 and became a museum and is a National Historic Landmark.  In the background is the Ravenel Bridge which has a height of 186 feet to accommodate large ships to access the harbor of Charleston.

One of the ships that was just leaving the harbor today delivered foreign made cars.

The parking lot is not nearly full of new cars but when we were at Fort Sumter, 2 more ships arrived with more cars.

This evening we had dinner at a place called California Dreaming.  A unique feature is the boat dock where one can drive a boat to the restaurant, have a fine meal and then ride away.  No traffic, no parking fees...and it was a 2 minute walk from our room. Couldn't resist a sunset  picture.

From the 4th to the 8th of March there is a BB&T Charleston Wine and Food Festival. Finally an unplanned surprise. It features chefs from around the country as well as pastry chefs, beverage professionals and food writers.  Disappointed that there were no tickets available...not a bit with the ticket prices. 

Maybe we can get to Memphis on the trip turnaround  Memphis

Thanks for keeping an eye on us.

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