A couple days after Christmas my husband and I traveled to South Carolina. The ending location goal was Charleston, South Carolina. We had to make one manditory tourist stop before getting there. That stop was Congaree National Park. I did zero research before going here. My husband just told me it was swampy so I wore rubber boots. We pulled in and it was raining. Despite being in the south it was still mildly chilly. What I expected was a swampy forest and mud. As we walked down the boardwalk in the forest I was pleasantly suprised at how peaceful this place was. There wasn’t a sound except the rain lightly hitting the flooded area. There were other people out there but it was like an understood expectation to be quiet and soak in the sounds of nature. I was in awe of how large the trees were. We were only there an hour or two but it was so worth the stop. I am glad we went in the winter. I have read that during the summer and spring it known for mosquitos and flooding. They must be so known for it that they even had a shirt in the gift shop that said, “I donated blood at Congaree National Park” with a picture of a cartoon mosquito on it.
Immediately after arriving in Charleston we checked into our hotel at the Hilton’s Embassy Suites. This hotel is formerly known as The Citadel a military college. The building was built in 1829 and has since been restored to a hotel.
Places we went to:
Middleton Place – We arrived at Middleton Place as soon as it opened that morning. We roamed the property grounds enjoyed seeing the sheep graze and admired the crazy big trees. The tour guide had us all meet right outside the old mill to hear him speak on the location’s history. As he was stating dates and events it began to pour down rain on us. I thought he’s going to cancel or have us move. But no, he didn’t, and we were all way too invested in his speech to move so we all just sat there getting soaked. What stood out to me was that the Middleton family still holds family reunions on this plantation. Immediately my first thought was “That’s incredibly distasteful” then the tour guide continued to explain that both ancestors of the slave owners and ancestors of the enslaved people come together once a year and celebrate as one family. They mourn the reason that brought them together but celebrate as one family because it was both their home and both their heritage to be remembered.
Rainbow Row – Located at 83-107 E Bay St, Charleston, SC 29401 is a road with 12 houses painted different shades of pastels. It was originally painted to spruce up the town and now is a hot spot for pictures and has become a key feature of Charleston tourism.
USS Yorktown (CV-10) We signed up to tour The USS Yorktown (CV -10) and maritime museum. The USS Yorktown (CV- 10) was a navy ship that served in both World War II and the Vietnam War. The primary purpose of the ship now is for tours and historical preservation. In the ships prime it functioned like a small town. Inside the ship are bedrooms, bathrooms, a cafeteria, a doctors’ office, and of course the control rooms. The ship still made me feel claustrophobic at times and am grateful I do not live on a ship. We spent about 4 hours there total. The tour itself lasted around 90 minutes but you could arrive before the tour and stay after to continue to look around at everything. On the flight deck of the ship they kept several planes on display and even had some of the original planes that were used in battles and landed on that very ship. After exiting the ship you were also able to tour their Vietnam war museum and tour their re-creation base.
Fort Sumter – Along with National Parks my husband and I love to visit forts and learn the history of them. Fort Sumter was a must for him. Fort Sumter was built right after the war of 1812 but was then later used again during the Civil War. Fort Sumter is on a man made island and you must take a boat out to it. The boat ride there is 30 minutes. The tour of the fort and island is 1 hour. This was plenty of time to see everything as well as hear our tour guide speak. I enjoyed hearing about the history of the fort. As far as artichture and beauty goes it was not one of my favorites. I realize it has been through a lot with being shot at and being shot out of but I have enjoyed other ones more. My favorite part of the tour was actually the boat ride.
Charleston City Market we walked through and did not see much that perked our interested. There were many talented artist set up and many vendors with neat things to sell but none of it was appealing to me personally. I also did not want to purchase a piece of art work on a road trip and risk breaking it so we mostly went with the intent of looking only. The more I travel the less interested I am in buying souveniors and focus more on making memories with experiences. I still highly recommend going because it is a great experience. There might be the perfect piece of art you are looking for.
Joe Riley Waterfront Park- we got up early one morning and went for a run. This is the perfect place to walk or run and take in the views and breeze of the harbor. After our run we walked up and down the streets admiring the newly renovated historic homes.
Sullivan’s Island beach- is a short drive from Charleston. We arrived there about an hour before sunset. There were not that many people out there at this time. There were just a few people with their sweet golden retriever that desperately wanted to become best friends with us. We saw several dolphins while walking along the water looking for shells. It was a perfect way to end the day as we quite literally watched dolphins swim off into the sunset.
Audrey Hikes a Lot 