Charleston, South Carolina

Wednesday and Thursday (May 18 - 19) found us in Charleston, South Carolina. We really enjoyed our stay there! We crossed the beautiful Arthur Ravenel Bridge as we entered Charleston. It has 8 lanes and was opened in 2005. Really impressive!!

Arthur Ravenel Bridge

Our resort, The Lodge at Alley Inn, was in the heart of the historic area. Great location!! The third suite on the bottom floor was ours, and it was just a few steps to the fountain and the lobby. It was a lovely spacious suite with a lot of character!

The Lodge at Alley Inn Resort was built in an old warehouse.

The living room of the suite had a mini kitchen to the right of the fireplace.

Our bedroom had a beautiful rice carved four poster bed.

After checking into the resort, Danny and I drove to Patriot's Point to take the ferry to Ft. Sumter. On the way we saw a pod of dolphins swimming the ferry. A couple of interesting facts we learned were that it was built on an man made island at the mouth of the harbor and even though the fort was almost completely demolished, no one was killed in that first Civil War battle. One Federal soldier was killed after the battle when during a 100 gun salute was being given, so the the salute was stopped.

The ferry boat that we took to Ft. Sumter.

Ft. Sumter as seen from the ferry.

Ft. Sumter's exterior walls were thick and housed the cannons.

From the top one of the structures in the fort looking over the fort wall toward Charleston.

Within the fort there was a five story building that housed the federal soldiers and officers.

Here's Danny taking in the sights at Ft. Sumter.

Late that afternoon, we strolled through the Waterfront Park which had a long pavilion on the pier with porch type swings, lots of fountains and a walking path along the waterfront. We enjoyed watching huge tankers and a cruise ship sail into the port. Then we walked down the "Battery" which is a street of beautiful old homes across the street from the sea wall. Some of the old houses were painted pastel colors and were nicknamed "The Painted Ladies". Most of the old mansions had their own private garden.

The next day we took in the Charleston City Market and bought a few souvenirs. One of the local specialties was basket made of some type of marsh grass. Very pretty and very expensive!

We also toured The USS Yorktown, an aircraft carrier. There was so much to take in there!

We enjoyed dinner a great restaurant named Hyman's and then spent an hour or so strolling the streets of historic Charleston looking at the great architecture of the buildings, churches and shops. I found Charleston to be filled with fascinating photo opportunities!