I had to pass briefly through Alabama and Georgia to get from Florida to South Carolina. It was a short push through Alabama, which did not offer any rest areas. It was not a long ride through Georgia, either. That state does not seem that much different from Florida, along the Interstate, anyway, except that the billboards often advertise peaches for sale instead of oranges. I stopped at one small farmer’s market because it advertised on billboards almost every few miles from the welcome center all the way to exit 58, where it was. Actually, it was a bit of a disappointment. I was expecting something bigger, given all those advertisements. But it was a small house converted into a farmer’s market that sold peaches and other seasonal produce, pecans, peach slushies and ice cream made in a small machine right there, candies and other local pecan and peach sweets, peach and pecan bread, and local tourist junk, like a dried out head of a baby alligator. (Who buys that kind of thing?) I bought some peaches though I was worried they would go bad quickly in the heat of the car. They were sweet. Most of the workers there were college age kids. Some enterprising person had put big jars on the counters with signs saying “College Fund.” When I paid, the person taking my money asked me to contribute a few dollars to the college fund jar – supposedly they were all working their way through college. Who can resist an appeal like that? Then I drove on to South Carolina.
I decided that I needed a night in a hotel. There is camping on James Island State Park, which is just outside the city, but after the previous couple of nights, I wanted a real bed. The economy motels/hotels along route 17 into the city, where the cheapest hotels are to be found, were almost booked up. They also charged a lot. I ended up at a Hampton Inn and Suites, which charged as much for a room for one person as the others did (except Motel 6, which is in a league of its own, but that motel chain is the lowest of the low in more than just price). It was much nicer though. I definitely got more for more money, from a more comfortable bed, cleaner room, and free Wifi, to a nicer pool and breakfast. I decided to splurge and spend an extra night at the hotel and see more of Charleston and one of the plantations around it.
Charleston is an interesting city with a long history. I drove to the historic district and parked there. Since it was a Sunday, parking was free. I was near the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon building, so I went inside. It was close to 4:00 p.m. by then, so I got in to the last tour through the dungeon part. The guide was dressed like Blackbeard, the pirate, whom he played in various other reenactments and parades. Blackbeard is part of the history of Charleston, though he was not captured and killed there (though Charleston leaders tried). The basement of the exchange includes part of the original half-moon battery from the original wall around old Charleston. Archaeological digs turned up that part of the wall under the exchange. The tour guide showed us part of it. We saw the walls where a large amount of gun powder was hidden from the British troops during the revolution, and staged figures that illustrate where Stede Bonnet, the 'gentleman pirate' and his men were imprisoned. Then we saw a section, also with mannequins, that showed where so many of the revolutionaries had been imprisoned there while the British held the city during the revolution. It was apparently a terrible imprisonment in incredibly close confines that must have smelled horrible. After the tour, I roamed around the upper floors, seeing the old building and many of the artifacts that were on display there, from articles of clothing that dated to the colonial period, to drawings and maps of the area and buildings up through the civil war. Then the exchange closed.
I wandered around the historic district looking at the old houses and buildings, including an old Huguenot church that is still in use. I also wandered along the park by the waterfront, which was very nice with fountains, green grass, park benches, and shady trees. I could see the grand Revenal bridge from there, along with the many boats using the harbor. I ate dinner at a the Griffon Pub, which had one dollar bills with names and message on them pasted all over the walls, beams, ceiling, and really anything that was a permanent surface. The bar served some good, local brews. It had a good black bean burger as an alternative for vegetarians (which I am - it is hard to get vegetarian food in the South, I have discovered.) I then drove back to the hotel, but first drove by the Citadel, which is on the other side of the city. It didn't look like much. (See photo, above.) It is the setting for Pat Conroy's book, The Lords of Discipline.
I went back to the hotel and slept, soundly, in a real bed and air conditioning.
I decided that I needed a night in a hotel. There is camping on James Island State Park, which is just outside the city, but after the previous couple of nights, I wanted a real bed. The economy motels/hotels along route 17 into the city, where the cheapest hotels are to be found, were almost booked up. They also charged a lot. I ended up at a Hampton Inn and Suites, which charged as much for a room for one person as the others did (except Motel 6, which is in a league of its own, but that motel chain is the lowest of the low in more than just price). It was much nicer though. I definitely got more for more money, from a more comfortable bed, cleaner room, and free Wifi, to a nicer pool and breakfast. I decided to splurge and spend an extra night at the hotel and see more of Charleston and one of the plantations around it.
Charleston is an interesting city with a long history. I drove to the historic district and parked there. Since it was a Sunday, parking was free. I was near the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon building, so I went inside. It was close to 4:00 p.m. by then, so I got in to the last tour through the dungeon part. The guide was dressed like Blackbeard, the pirate, whom he played in various other reenactments and parades. Blackbeard is part of the history of Charleston, though he was not captured and killed there (though Charleston leaders tried). The basement of the exchange includes part of the original half-moon battery from the original wall around old Charleston. Archaeological digs turned up that part of the wall under the exchange. The tour guide showed us part of it. We saw the walls where a large amount of gun powder was hidden from the British troops during the revolution, and staged figures that illustrate where Stede Bonnet, the 'gentleman pirate' and his men were imprisoned. Then we saw a section, also with mannequins, that showed where so many of the revolutionaries had been imprisoned there while the British held the city during the revolution. It was apparently a terrible imprisonment in incredibly close confines that must have smelled horrible. After the tour, I roamed around the upper floors, seeing the old building and many of the artifacts that were on display there, from articles of clothing that dated to the colonial period, to drawings and maps of the area and buildings up through the civil war. Then the exchange closed.
I wandered around the historic district looking at the old houses and buildings, including an old Huguenot church that is still in use. I also wandered along the park by the waterfront, which was very nice with fountains, green grass, park benches, and shady trees. I could see the grand Revenal bridge from there, along with the many boats using the harbor. I ate dinner at a the Griffon Pub, which had one dollar bills with names and message on them pasted all over the walls, beams, ceiling, and really anything that was a permanent surface. The bar served some good, local brews. It had a good black bean burger as an alternative for vegetarians (which I am - it is hard to get vegetarian food in the South, I have discovered.) I then drove back to the hotel, but first drove by the Citadel, which is on the other side of the city. It didn't look like much. (See photo, above.) It is the setting for Pat Conroy's book, The Lords of Discipline.
I went back to the hotel and slept, soundly, in a real bed and air conditioning.