Charleston, SC

11/18-19/07 Isle of Palms to Charleston
ICW 458 – 469.3

We arrived at the Charleston City Marina at 9:30 Sunday morning, ready to take full advantage of the day. We decided a Carriage Ride through the French Quarter would be a great way to see a large area in a short time. We didn’t know the City of Charleston had broken the French Quarter into four quarters to control carriage traffic! Each carriage is randomly assigned one of the quarters by the “Carriage Cops” as the tour begins. Unfortunately we didn’t have the luck of the draw with either the quadrant our carriage was assigned or the guide, whose lack of enthusiasm could only be surpassed by his lack of interest in giving the tour.

The Slave Market, covering three city blocks, was historically an open air market run by slaves. It now offers a wide assortment of touristy junque. The most interesting part of the Market was Gullah women weaving baskets of sweet grass, pine needles and bull rush. The basket weaving tradition originated in Africa and has been passed down from mother to daughter for generations. Baskets now bring a high price in shops, although bartering was very apparent at the market.

We spent the afternoon at the Aquarium, much to Bob’s delight, followed by the Fort Sumter National Monument.

Back at the marina, a local couple walking their dog on the docks stopped to chat. One thing led to another and Rob and Laurie invited us to their home for dinner the next evening. We discovered they are an entrepreneurial couple with two businesses: one producing premium ice cream - WhollyCow.com - and another importing coffee beans and selling a wide variety of gourmet high end coffees - IslandCoffee.com. Laurie prepared a traditional Low Country meal for us, Frogmore Stew: corn on the cob, sausage, shrimp, and potatoes. The dinner was delicious and the evening most enjoyable.

Earlier Monday we took a historical guided walking tour of an area of the city we missed on the carriage tour. The guide was outstanding and we learned a plethora of fascinating facts about the architecture and history and of the area. We had lunch at Fleet Landing, which had been a Navy demarcation point for troops during World War II. We finished the afternoon with a tour of The Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon, also very well done.

I was surprised to learn that Charleston is one of the three most visited cities in the United States, ranking with New York and San Francisco.