Civil War City of Churches and Palm Trees

This was our first visit to Charleston, and we expected it to be much like Savannah.  In many ways it is--lots of antebellum influence and seacoast terrain--but there is much more nostalgia for Civil War events here, whereas Savannah's focus seems to be on colonial history.  It's not surprising that Charleston identifies so strongly with the Civil War given that Fort Sumter is in its harbor and the opening shots of the war were fired there on April 12, 1861.  We've seen several forts in our travels, and they all look very much the same.  Fort Sumter's history gives it more relevance so we took a tour, hopping on a ferry to transport us there.

The bombardment that this fort endured throughout the war is impressive.  It's no longer the multi-tiered fortress that it was before the war, having weathered an estimated 7 million pounds of metal hurled at it.  It's a wonder that there's anything left at all.

One of the most-listed attractions in Charleston is the Arthur J. Ravenel Jr. Bridge.  It's the longest cable-stayed bridge in North America.  If the weather had been a tad warmer, we would have walked the 2.5 miles across it.

Near the bridge, the USS Yorktown is docked.  We've seen aircraft carriers, and HeM served on one during his days in the Navy, so we passed on touring this one, settling with taking a picture.

We took a bus tour of the historical district.  The streets are narrow and many of the houses tightly packed.  A style called "single house" is very prominent--houses of this style are one-room wide, very similar to shotgun houses in Louisiana.  In the more affluent areas, the houses are huge with the old servant quarters in the back.  The city is FULL of churches--not surprising its nickname is Holy City.  Much of Charleston is at or near sea level, giving the area its "lowcountry" moniker--hurricanes have caused a lot of damage in the past, and will again most likely.  Palm trees line many of the streets.  It's an interesting city, but we found traffic and parking to be difficult most of the time.

This was the last stop we made with our traveling companions.  Both motorhomes left Charleston together heading up IH26.  At the junction of IH26 and IH95, with an exchange of air horn blasts, our paths parted.  B&B are heading back to Texas, and we are continuing our trek northward.  We'll miss their company.  Our next stop is near Asheville, NC.  Looking at the weather forecast, we are putting ourselves in more winter weather.  It should be short-lived (we hope!), and we'll stay put for a month this time, giving spring a chance to really get established before we go any further north.