Fort Sumter

Fort Sumter

One of the highlights of our trip to Charleston was visiting Fort Sumter. We chose to depart from Liberty Square, but ferries also leave from Patriot’s Point, which is home to the USS Yorktown.

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There are things to see both inside and outside of the departure point:

Part of what made this such a memorable event was that it was also the children’s first boat ride, on the Spirit of the Lowcountry:

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The ferry takes the “long way” to the Fort, so that you can appreciate the view of both the harbor and the Fort itself (and if you’re really lucky like Turkey and I were, a view of a dolphin or two in the water), and so you can listen to the ranger narrate the history of it.

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Setting foot upon Fort Sumter is a humbling experience…just the thought of the history of the place is enough to bring a tear to the eye!

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There is another museum on the Fort grounds, as well:

Of course we had to get a few family photos while we were out:

This was one of two activities that everyone I asked said was a must while we were in Charleston…but be warned–I was also told to buy our tickets in advance, and based on how crowed the ferry was, I think that was good advice!

Markel Family Summer Vacation–Day Four

We had big plans for summer vacation day four, our first full day in Charleston, but our plans were a bit derailed due to a bedbug incident in our hotel, which was absolutely the worst part of our trip. After freaking out, and leaving the hotel to figure out what we were going to do, we went on our scheduled ferry ride to Fort Sumter. This was a very emotional morning for me, because it was both my first time seeing the ocean, and very humbling setting foot on a place that steeped in history. Both the boat ride (where Turkey and I saw a dolphin), and the fort itself were fantastic, and we had a great time.

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After going back to the hotel and switching rooms, which ate up more of our vacation time than I would have liked, we returned to downtown Charleston to walk around in the heat, and explore the Charleston Market.

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We also walked around to admire the many, many historic buildings. Since it was so hot, we also stopped to enjoy an Italian ice from one of the many street vendors that had a cart set up along the sidewalk!

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After our walk in the heat, we headed out to our one fancy dinner at Fleet Landing. This was one of the most amazing meals I’ve ever enjoyed, and definitely lived up to the hype. We had a table right next to the windows overlooking the water, and we saw a dolphin family playing fairly close to the shore. We also got to see a storm roll in over the harbor while we were dining, which was a fun experience.

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No further walking after dinner, because it was still raining, but we did drive around a bit so I could take pictures of Rainbow Row on East Bay, as well as the gorgeous houses on South Battery, and the beautiful White Point Garden.

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After I had my fill of photos for the day, we headed back to our (new) hotel room, and went for another swim in the pool. We also indulged in another vacation pleasure…watching cable TV in our hotel room!

Chickadee Thursday

Today, Chickadee got to visit Fort Sumter…and had her first glimpse of the ocean and her first boat ride, to boot!

She also got to eat dinner at Fleet Landing, where she enjoyed some delicious flounder, and saw a storm roll in, as well as some big boats and dolphins in the water!

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Quote

Quote of the Day

Fittingly, the first shots of the Civil War were fired at Fort Sumter, in Charleston Harbor. To most of the world Charleston was the symbol of the mysterious and magical, moss-hung, magnolia-scented South. To Charlestonians as well.

From Scarlett by Alexandra Ripley