Kathy and Art Changing Course: Charleston, South Carolina

     I'm getting a bit behind in updating this blog and my reason is that we have been having so much fun in Charleston. I have always wanted to visit this city, from the time I lived in New Orleans in the 1960's (where many comparisons to Charleston were made) up through last summer when Art and I came here on one of our road trips. On that visit, we were unable to do any sightseeing because it rained like hell for 2 days straight and we gave up hope that we would ever be able to get out of the car.  So I'm glad we had this opportunity to come back.
     This update begins last Sunday (4/18) when we left Beaufort and meandered up the Intracoastal towards Charleston. That part of the trip was pretty uneventful, save a boat leading us around a dredging barge and the occasional shallow water that raised our blood pressure until the depth sounder again registered numbers that allowed us to breathe. Everyone talks about being grounded at one time or another, but it is an experience we hope to avoid.
     As we neared Charleston, we were given a dose of Southern Hospitality that was way beyond our expectations. In the photo below, look at all those Charlestonians rushing up to us in their boats to welcome us to their fair city:

Okay--moment of truth. The Charleston Air Show was going on that day and the Blue Angels performed on both Saturday and Sunday. Most of these folks had taken their small boats into Charleston Harbor to watch the show (the Blue Angels performed over water) and were on their way home as we approached. For a while there, I thought we were back in Los Angeles traffic--there were boats everywhere and all were pretty bad drivers at that (probably too full of beer to pay attention). We had a few near misses and lots of excitement, but we obviously made it through unscathed.

We docked at the Charleston Maritime Center near the historic downtown area and were doing our usual "getting settled" routine when I heard a lot of noise. I looked up to see the Blue Angels team with a lead plane flying very low right towards us. We could almost see the pilots, they were so close. I was jumping up and down, screaming and carrying on like an idiot when it suddenly occured to me to take a photo. By then, they had passed, but I still captured their formation:

We spent our first two days in Charleston taking care of boat related odds and ends. And finally it was time to be tourists. Chareston has taken the concept of "charm" to its limits. It has cobblestone streets, historic homes and buildings, churches up the wazoo (more on that later), beautiful gardens and a waterfront area with no rivals. Here was one of the first sights we saw off the boat:

There were flowers and decorative wrought iron everywhere.

     The fountains were spectacular, but as I walked next to one in the waterfront park, I found a sign with the park rules that included:
     *Swimming in the fountains only from 6 am to 12 am
     *No more than 25 people allowed in the fountain at one time
     *No spitting or blowing your nose in the fountain
and a few others that I thought must have been written in the 20's, or as a joke, but they were serious. Here is a shot of the next fountain I came across, complete with the usual beach warning:

No swimmers today.

The real tourist fascination for us was the architecture, specifically the houses. In Charleston, they are called "single houses," known in a lot of other places as "shotgun." They are one room wide and built to avoid the sun and capture the breezes. From the street, there is a "proper" front door, but it opens up onto a porch, which they call a "piazza." Check out the photos below and you can see what I mean: