Charleston Chew

Odometer:16780




Gas: 2:37










Kes and dad hanging outside while Mom and Zoe check out the frozen yogurt shop outside the College of Charleston.















Not sure who this statue is of, but the lighting was nice so I grabbed the shot while on our after dinner walk.

This is a relatively new bridge on the north side of Charleston - very impressive addition to their skyline.

Taking a long walk on a short pier. :) This is the walkway to visit the aircraft carrier Yorktown and the submarine too. Both have been used as memorials/museums since 1975. Interesting to go through both but they are more floating memorials - the battleship in Wilmington was a better tour of what the ship was really like and what serving on one must have been like.

The sail of the sub - unfortunately I forget the name of it.

You walk through the sub from bow to stern starting in the forward torpedo room. The room was the living quarters and workplace of 18 men. When we told Zoe we were going on a submarine that went underwater she insisted on bringing and then wearing her swim goggles for "going underwater". You head back through the sub and see all of the different areas from the food prep room to the bridge to the engine room. It had about 80 men on board while at sea. It made us think our trailer was like living in a mansion. Just incredible that sailors serve on these things let alone with the potential to get shot/drown at any time too.

The family pic on the entrance/hanger deck of the aircraft carrier.

Zoe exploring one of the many jets they have on display in the hanger.

A nice view of the bridge taken from one of the elevator doors on the hanger deck.

Of course we have to included one of the aircraft carriers dental chairs. The ship had two ORs too that were much larger than the battleships too.

Just in case you are having a big party soon I included the navy's recipe for 10,000 chocolate chip cookies.

Having a late afternoon chill session at the Charleston campground - Zoe and dad racing their remote control cars. Zoe has forward and reverse down but still doesn't like to turn her car. She just sends it straight until it crashes into the grass and then we chase after it and do it again.

If you do make it to Charleston - you have to do a carriage tour of the downtown area. They are only allowed to go in the residential area in between 9-5 and it is crucial to see those areas. The history of the area is amazing. Everything from the house the confederate general was staying in when he ordered the first shot of the civil war to huge mansions built by slave traders.

There is a great pier on the north east part of town with views of Fort Sumter and the river heading west. There are large porch swings and a large fountain there as well. A nice place to sit for a bit while Zoe ran around some more.

Zoe making friends on the street in town - she will talk to anyone - just don't try to get close to Kes if she is around!

This is actually a street through town - we found out the day after we walked it that it is the most haunted street in town because it was the sight of duels. Obviously no cars on it - but there are many beautiful old homes along the way.

As any good dentist family would, we visited the dental museum in town. This was on our way there first thing in the morning - notice Zoe carrying her "race car". To put it mildly - she did not want to go to the museum.

Once we arrived at the museum - the doors were locked - shocking we know! You had to go into the library next door and ask to go in. :)

The first xray machine in South Carolina - the curator told us the exposure time was 20-30 minutes!!



The first electronic pulp tester - ooohhh, aawwwwhhh.

Some early extraction instruments - yes, they are the same ones we use today, maybe just a bit rustier.

Missy taking a closer look - they had some early anesthesia machines on the shelf there. Notice the row of old dental chairs behind her.

Zoe and Kes do humidity about as well as I do, so Missy graciously took them home for naps while I went on the boat ride and then explored Fort Sumter.

For those of you who don't remember your US history - this was the site of the first shots of the civil war. The fort was still occupied by a Union brigade for months after SC had left the union. Finally, enough was enough and they demanded the troops leave. The officer in charge of the Union troops said he couldn't until he had orders from DC. Then Lincoln sent a ship with resupplies down to the fort - when it arrived, it was fired upon by cadets from the Citadel. The ship was private and unarmed so it turned around and went back to NY. Then the confederates gave the Union troops a day to leave or be fired upon at 3:30 am. They of course didn't leave, the confederates waited until 4:30 am and then started firing the other two forts on the mouth of the river. The officer in charge of the confederates had actually been a student of the the officer of the Union troops at West Point and was not so happy about having to give the order - at least that is what history says - I want to know if maybe he didn't get the "A" he thought he deserved all those years back. Anyway, it of course went down hill from there.
Interesting facts about the Fort - the location was chosen by the Army core of engineers back in 1820 something - they were commissioned with building forts all along the US coasts after the war of 1812. It was a sandbar 12 feet under water at low tide. They thought it would be a good idea to pile rocks for a man made island and then build the fort on top of it. Construction began in 1829 and the fort was only 90% completed when the civil war began in 1861 - see, the government has always been efficient. Anyway, the fort was massive - three stories tall with room for 135 cannon. When the fort was fired upon, only around 40 cannon were ready to be used.

The confederates remained in control for over two years and that allowed Charleston to be the only functional port for the south during the war. The only problem was the union army did get ahold of positions to the south quickly during the war and shot at it continuously for the two years. The fort was constantly being rebuilt and torn down again by cannon fire. the interesting thing is was that the majority of people on the island who had to rebuild it and get shot at was actually black slaves, not confederate soldiers. The island was so destroyed that by the end of the war, it was just earthen walls, no real brick structures left. They actually had archaeological digs on the island after WWII. Anyway, very interesting history here, sorry for the rambling. :)


Charleston from Fort Sumter

A few of the remains.