Advertisement
Published: August 6th 2007
Only in the Deep South
A conjured image in my mind when I think about the South Land. Fort Sumter Museum, Charleston, South Carolina.We left Atlanta, Georgia, a tad earlier than what originally had planned, but unfortunately the blight journey delivered us right into the middle of notorious ritual of Atlanta’s Friday afternoon traffic jam. It was another opportunity to put our patience to the test among Atlanta’s worst drivers.
Or it might be because summer travel had already begun all across the continent.
Fortunately I was occupied by simple tasks of observing U.S. flags and South Carolina facts. South Carolina has secured its prestigious position as one of thirteen stripes on U.S. flags, which signify the original thirteen states to join the Union. One of the hardest questions to answer was whether South Carolina is a ‘red’ or a ‘white’ stripe (hint: it was the eighth state to join the Union). Thanks to Blake over the phone, we discovered that the stripes start with a red one, and we went from there.
We spent the night at the Hilton Garden Inn - North Charleston, only a couple minutes drive from the Charleston International Airport.
Saturday, June 9, 2007 - Charleston, South Carolina In my humble opinion,
Ironworks of Charleston
Historic Charleston is littered with these fine works. Texas and South Carolina shared many similarities. It might be a disagreeable judgment, but both Texans and South Carolinians seem to be overly zealous of their homeland state over their country. I remember my then coworker Paul, a South Carolina bred from Greenville, S.C. always bragged about his Clemson University and his beloved State. It turned out that indeed South Carolina has many things to be proud of, and we had an evanescent opportunity to taste some of it.
We started the day by visiting The Citadel, a military state sponsored college that holds the prestige among Cadets who are highly selected into the institution. The Citadel used to be an all male college, until its high profile case in 1996 when it ‘accidentally’ accepted a female Cadet, just to be dismissed as soon as they discovered that the Cadet was a female. The Supreme Court had to be involved, forcing The Citadel to be a gender equal opportunity institution.
Citadel Cadets’ uniform is significantly hinting the military’s influence, and its campus is divided into ‘barracks’, equivalent of collegiate fraternal organizations within the institution. Even though the summer session was in progress when we visited, the quiet campus
Flag of South Carolina
A familiar sight from living in the Deep South. It is the sacret crescent and Palmeto Palm of South Carolina. was opened for the public to visit. We managed to check out the Daniel Library, where a suggested museum was supposed to welcome us. Unfortunately we gave the lady curator a startled visit by walking right into her office on the third floor of the museum - she wasn’t aware that the museum was open on Saturday 12-5 as written in guide books and on its door. The apologetic lady had no slightest idea on how to even turn on the main lights, so we were just walked by seems to be interesting exhibits in the dark.
Charleston is one of the earlier European settlements in the United States, its history is dated back to 1670s and it was originally named Charles Towne, an honor to King Charles II of England. The States of North/South Carolina are also honored after the King’s name (‘Carolus’ is a Latin for ‘Charles’). Charleston’s historical list and facts are astonishing, but the City is mainly significant for American independence battles from the British in early 1800s, the controversial Civil War in mid 1800s and the Deep South slavery.
In the 18th century, three out of four African slaves were brought to the
A perfect house entrance
Just on some random residential in a Charleston street. new world through the Port of Charleston. It was eventually causing the Civil War in the Southern States of the United States of America. Although the Civil War was over more than 150 years ago; and you might insist that the White Supremacy was a thing in the past, one still can still feel its lingering around South Carolina.
The most flag sightings after the South Carolina’s crescent/Palmetto Palm flag is the Confederate’s, and followed by the United States’. It was an interesting fact that the integration of black students into South Carolina’s traditionally white college happened just about forty years ago in 1962 at Clemson University.
We spend the afternoon by walking around historic Charleston neighborhood, albeit the summer sun shined torturously over the city. Fortunately it was a pleasant walk, with many humongous live oak branches casting shadows over the sidewalks, providing a cool microclimate for us to walk under, for the most part at least. Charleston indeed is a beautiful city, aligned by antebellum houses that are mostly converted into museums and Bed and Breakfast place, particularly along the Market Street, Meeting Street, and the Battery. The highlight was the Calhoun Mansion, with its 25 rooms
Civil War
Small figurines depicting the Civil War between the Confederacy and the Union. Daniel Library, The Citadel campus. over 24,000 square feet (but due to its US$15 admission fee, we decided to invest our travel fund into some other alternatives).
A thing worth mentioning was the Charleston’s impressive ironworks. We enjoyed walking from one residence to the next - just to check out on what ironwork they might have, in forms of fences, garden ornamentations, and railings. We were eagerly strolling around for a couple of hours, so it wasn’t a surprise that by the end of the day, we were so exhausted from the heat. Our original plan on clenching our thirst over ‘Citadel’s Hangout’ Big John Tavern was replaced to a deli shop visit at the College of Charleston campus.
Either way, it was a delightful closing of our first day in Charleston.
Sunday, June 10, 2007 - Charleston, South Carolina/Rincon, Georgia Port of Charleston is said to be the second busiest harbor in Eastern Coast of the United States (the fourth in North America). It is globally connected with more than 140 countries, and has been actively operated since its founding in 1670.
As we had planned the night before, the touristy ferry service to the National Monument Fort
The Citadel secrecy
Behind the locked doors of 'Rare Books' Daniel Library bookshelf, lies the secret of the military society. Sumter, which is located at the mouth of Charleston Harbor, was departing at noon from downtown’s Liberty Square, and we barely made it to the ‘Spirit of Charleston’ ferry that subsequently brought us to the historic fortification. Through the thirty-minute ride to the island, we learned about several battles that signified Fort Sumter as an important spot in Charleston (and in the U.S.)
The ‘sailing’ part of the tour was enjoyable; we observed several pelican diving in search for food, and across the Harbor, City of Charleston revealed its splendor with its newest suspension bridge. The tour took us two and a half hour experience of the battle site visit, of which the pentagon shape fortification reminded me of El Morro of San Juan’s, notably for its cannons and ruined wall remnants.
As soon as we landed back, we continued onto Folly Beach, an hour driving from Charleston, where ‘A monument in danger’ Morris Island Lighthouse is located off shore. The lighthouse once was an element of a complete lighthouse station compound, but due to severe erosion, the lighthouse is the only structure left standing today. It was a hot, bright and humid coastal summer, and my idea
Padget Thomas Barrack (c.1922)
at The Citadel campus, Charleston. of walking on the white sand beach barefoot was hindered by its boiling sand.
We managed to arrive in Rincon, Georgia within Savannah’s vicinity, just an hour and a half later. Sunset was about nine this time of year, and after dinner at Applebee’s, we decided to run an epic journey across the South Carolina border due to Georgia’s law of not serving alcohols on Sundays. We packed up with a couple bottles of White Zinfandels and Merlots before heading back to Misty’s house to chill and to call out the night.
Monday, June 8, 2007 - Georgia This is where my blog this time got its title. It was a pure driving day for some unexplained reasons, starting around noon in Savannah and ending up in Atlanta around 10:30 pm. A normal drive from Savannah to Atlanta is within 4 hours at the most.
It involved Dustin’s compact Jeep Patriot, a five-year-old Ethan, Misty, her brother Jay, Aunt Halla, and dog Cloey (sp?). And of course we needed to fit everyone inside the tiny vehicle: five adults, one infant, one dog and about eight bags. In between dropping off a package for Chris by
The Citadel barrack quadrangle
Unfortunately The Citadel is closed for the summer. Otherwise this barrack would be occupied by the Cadets. Dublin’s Christian Center, many smoke breaks and pit stops, Dustin managed to leave his valuables over a Subway where we had had lunch, before realizing that we had to drive back to retrieve the missing bag. Tension ran high, and I was happy to finally touch down my home base apartment after dropping off Misty and her family at Stone Mountain.
‘Patience’ is the key word for me, and may God bless the broken road (of Georgia).
Advertisement
Tot: 0.406s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 35; qc: 142; dbt: 0.194s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.5mb
