Charleston

No trip to Charleston is complete without taking a picture of the welcoming pineapple fountain!
Beautiful churches
Rainbow Row. These homes were built around 1740. By the Civil War this area on East Bay St was a slum. A home was bought and painted pink. Others followed with pastel colors. Why? No one knows for sure. One theory is they were painted different colors so the drunk sailors could find their way home easier. Or, perhaps, the light colors were cooler in the sweltering summer. Whatever the reason, these
13 homes sure look cute.
Back alleys and courtyards are so cute. Take time to look in the backyards!
So many beautiful homes! Beautiful iron work and architecture.
Live oaks everywhere!
Took a tour out to Fort Sumter. For those of you who've been to Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson, it was built the same way. But it was much, much smaller. It was built during the War of 1812 when the British invaded Washington by sea.You are on hallowed ground at the Fort. In 1861 the Battle of Fort Sumter started the American Civil War. 
We weren't able to see the real Hunley, the museum was closed. But did see the replica
The Hunley ( named after the inventor) was a Confederate submarine built in 
1863. Inside 8 men propelled the submarine that had a long pole with a charge on front
 Essentially, the idea was they would ram the side of a ship with the pole. But the Hunley was a death box for sure. During a trial run in 1863 she sank, killing 5 on board. Later that year, she sank again, killing all on board, including the inventor, Horace Huntley.
In 1864 she hit and sunk the Union ship USS Housatonic. However, she sank again and was never seen again...until 1995 when she was discovered on the seabed. She was raised in 2000.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the food in Charleston. We werent able to get into Fig or Husk. Neither had any available reservations. But, 82 Queen did not disappoint! These fried green tomatoes with pimento cheese on top were so tasty, but I would kill for more of that tomato jam!!
Dave's jambalaya was so flavorful with just a hint of spice. It was drier than the jambalaya in Nola, but it was our favorite.
My shrimp and grits with the crumbled bacon on top..😋😋 so good.
Both meals were so big, we had leftovers for dinner in our hotel the next night. Oh..and the SheCrab Soup..so good!
On our way to Charleston from Greenville we stopped at Congaree National Park for a quick hike. It was a swampy walk and the humidity was phew!!
Cypress knees everywhere. Looked like a forest of little moss covered Christmas trees.
Wild pigs
Someone was here before us!


































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