The Journey

Friday, November 12, 2021

Post #87: Back in Charleston, Y’all

Monday, November 8, 2021

Ah, Charleston, one of my favorite cities.  Many others agree as it was voted No. 1 Small U.S. City each year from 2011-2019 by readers of  Condé Nast Traveler magazine and No. 1 City in the U.S. by the readers of Travel + Leisure (2013-2019). Of course, this last accolade is a bit difficult for a Bostonian to swallow (after all, they don’t even have an MLB baseball team nor a world renowned art museum and symphony—I could go on, but instead I’ll try to show a little Southern graciousness...) 

Charleston has a rich history, well-preserved architecture, a fabulous restaurant scene, a vibrant arts community, beaches and golf, and a booming economy, including a commercial port that ranks 6th in the nation with over $72 billion in imports and exports moving across its docks. I mention this because we docked at the Charleston Maritime Marina the three times we’ve visited—and were rocked like a hobby horse each time one of those giant container ships passed by!

Given that we had only a few hours before casting off again, there was only one item on our “to see in Charleston” list this fall:  getting together with Jason and Rebecca from Pleiades, one of our six Bahamas boats from last winter.  I don’t know if anything like this has ever happened to you after time away, but once we returned to our “real” life  with the family in DC and back home in Boston, it was easy to slip into a state of disbelief about the adventures we had in the Bahamas. Did we really meet all those wonderful new friends in the middle of a worldwide pandemic? really travel together for 3 months to islands surrounded by liquid turquoise? Or was it all just, as Joni Mitchell sang, one of “life’s illusions, I recall”?

I’m happy to report: Jason and Rebecca are real!!  It was great fun to catch up on all their news—boat projects, plans for their next trip, and to hear about Robert and Drew, their two teenaged sons who inspired us to “just jump in” at every turn.  They’re hoping to sail all the way to the western Caribbean and Belize for some fabulous snorkeling. What a trip that will be!

We had just left Charleston on our trip north last May when I stopped writing in this blog. I hope you’ll excuse the delay, but here are some musings from that spring trip when, vaccinated, we visited more of the city, including Ft. Sumter.

We took another horse-drawn carriage ride in the spring.  Charleston has a unique way of controlling the areas the carriages (there are 5 companies) visit to minimize vehicular traffic disruption. Shortly after your carriage loads up and sets off, the driver stops at a little kiosk where a randomly drawn “bingo ball” determines what route your carriage will take.


 In the fall of 2020 we traveled around the restored homes in the elegant Historic District.


Last spring we saw a completely different part of the city, including the University of Charleston and the first low-income housing development in Charleston—not exactly what most tourists expect to visit but we appreciated the “insider’s tour.” We even drove by the Old City Jail built in 1802.  It housed Charleston’s most infamous criminals and during the Civil War, Confederate and Union prisoners of war were incarcerated there.  Most notably were many African American soldiers from the 54th Massachusetts Regiment who were captured after their assault on Fort Wagner in 1863. Today it is used only as a venue for ghost tours while it awaits a major renovation.


Like Boston (or Concord, MA) historic preservation in Charleston is rarely an easy task. According to our tour guide, there’s an unofficial “75 Year Rule” that doesn’t allow for any changes to a home or building that has been in existence for over 75 years without the approval of the city. I think even the Concord Historic District Commission might be intimidated by the Charleston Board of Architectural Review!

We spent a second day in Charleston last spring and took the ferry out to Ft. Sumter National Historic Park. Here, at the fort named for South Carolina Revolutionary War patriot Thomas Sumter, the opening shots of the Civil War were fired on April 12, 1861. It remained a Confederate stronghold protecting Charleston’s harbor for the next 4 years, bringing in war supplies and shipping out cotton in payment.

By the time the war ended in 1865, the fort’s impressive 50-foot high walls had been pummeled for months and were reduced to a pile of rubble.  Excavation and restoration continue even today.


Visitors gather around for the raising of the US flag at 10 a.m. each day, reminding us that, despite all our differences, we are one nation. 




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