March 12

Click on thumbnails to see full photographs.

We had a simply marvelous day in Charleston (3-12). We had a quick look at Fort Moultrie (where Edgar Allen Poe once served) and a stop at Patriot’s Point, permanent home of the WWII aircraft carrier, Yorktown. We then spent most of the afternoon in the city of Charleston – visitors’ center, market, Rainbow Row, the Battery, Dock Street Theatre, churches, graveyards, alleys, private gardens – what a place. Downtown Charleston has all of the colonial history of a Boston or Philadelphia, but has truly retained its colonial look and charm while the others have simply become big cities with some historical buildings. I found myself thinking throughout the day “this is a great place to visit and a great place to live.”

One of the highlights of downtown Charleston was meeting a real southern gentleman of 80 or so years of age. He had just stepped out of the door of his 18^th century home on Rainbow Row as we approached. He spent a few minutes talking to us about his neighborhood and the history of Charleston. I just love that slow, soft speech. If you ever watched the Civil War series on PBS and heard narrator Shelby Foote – well it was just like that.

Our last tourist spot of the day was the Angel Oak on James Island, a few miles south of downtown Charleston. It’s a very old and very large Live Oak (that’s the species name) tree. Although its age cannot be precisely determined because the species tends to develop heart rot, its estimated age is 1500 years. It’s not very tall (about 65 feet), but what a wingspan! Its longest branch is 89 feet and its shade area is about 17,000 square feet (i.e., 100’ x 170’). It is quite impressive.

G.A.S.P.

(Great Adventures to Scenic Places)