June 6 to June 10, 2007
We arrived in Charleston, SC on June 6 to enjoy the beauty and learn some of the history of this very old city. The first afternoon we walked around parts of the downtown area. The Market is an open air market selling mostly hand crafted arts and crafts. One of the handcrafted items we saw a lot of there and all over the city is Sweetgrass Baskets. They have a long and interesting history. If you are interested please read about them and see pictures at http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1993/V2-442.html#HISTORY It is quite a story. The baskets are quite expensive. A small one, about the size of a dessert dish was $55. I am not sure why they are so expensive. We were quite surprised as the baskets we saw made by the Indians in Mexico were just as nice and much less expensive. These buildings where the crafts were displayed were originally tobacco warehouses. There are blocks and blocks of these old warehouses which have been converted to many kinds of businesses. Even the Visitor’s Center is a tobacco warehouse. Both of the days we were downtown it was very hot and humid so doing much walking was not fun. We did walk through a couple of The Market shops and then found a good seafood restaurant for our late afternoon fish sandwich lunch. The next day we went to Patriots Point. The USS Yorktown Aircraft Carrier is docked there. Inside are several WWII airplanes and two war museums. It was quite interesting to see the inside of this big war ship and see how the young men lived while on board. On the flight deck were a few fighter planes and we could imagine how they were able to take off and land without falling into the ocean. Also at Patriots Point are a Coast Guard Cutter and a submarine. The newest addition to Patriots Point is a War Memorial to Fallen Soldiers.
The following day we took the City Tour by bus. They also offer a walking tour and a carriage tour. Do to the heat we were very glad to be in an air conditioned bus. It was a narrated tour and the driver gave us lots of facts about the city and the wars. The mansions in the area closest to the ocean are just beautiful homes and well kept. They have ordinances there as in many historical cities that do not allow them to make major changes to the outside of these homes.

For history buffs, this web site gives much information about the history of the Revolutionary War http://www.ushistory.org/march/toc.html and this one the history of Charleston. http://www.sciway.net/city/history/charleston.html