Entering South Carolina was like entering WI in late spring time. Many of the trees were full of leaves and the grass was thick and green.
There were soft rolling hills, small farm villages with John Deere tractors scattered outside, and a friendly atmosphere.
Since South Carolina is rich with Civil War history, my focus was there. I crossed over the Arthur Ravenel Bridge, which was magnificant!
The first stop on Mount Pleasant was Fort Sumter. To get there, we boarded a small ferry and traveled across the Charleston Harbor for about 30 minutes each way. There were 3 dolphins jumping playfully along side the ferry, but they disappeared under the water whenever I tried to take a picture.
Once we got off of the ferry, we had an hour to explore. The walls of the Fort used to be 50 feet tall, but during the Civil War, the walls were destroyed. Ironically, that only made the fort stronger and more inpenetrable.
Fort Sumter is where the opening shots of the Civil War were fired on April 12, 1861.
Here you can see a canon ball impacted into the wall of the fort.
And this I found to be quite interesting! The builders used sand and seashells as "filler" in some places, so fewer bricks were needed.
I also found it ironic that the slaves (for the most part) were the ones building and maintaining the fort. Had it not been for them, the Confederates would not have lasted as long there!
Following Fort Sumter, I went to Patriots Point. The US Naval Support Base was small, but something I still wanted to check out. It looked like a war movie without all the soldiers. There was a mess hall, medic area, control center, and so on...
Now for the best part of the day!
I went to see the USS Clamagore, which is a 322 ft diesel-powered submarine.
After that, I went aboard the USS Laffey. Although much smaller than the next ship, this one is unique in that despite being struck by FIVE kamikazees and THREE bombs, it managed to stay afloat!
Saving the best for last, I boarded the USS Yorktown 10, which is almost 900 feet long!! This aircraft carrier was split up into 6 parts. My favorites were the engine room and the planes on the deck.
This is me attempting to salute.
And here were the paratroopers (being a skydiver, I had to include this).
After hours of walking around and filling my pea-sized brain with more naval and marine information than it can handle, I thought it would be a good time to call it a day and eat. Nearby was a "low country" seafood place on the water. Shortly after sitting down, the sun began to set and the sky turned into brilliant pinks, purples, and oranges, which reflected off of the water.
Being in the south, I ordered crab soup and shrimp and grits with collard greens. I did not think I would like it, but it was amazing! I'd say this is to Southerns what Shephards Pie is to the Irish. The grits were like mashed potatoes, and aside from the sauteed shrimp, there were peppers, sausage, and a tasty sauce covering the dish.
Although I sat down alone, I ended up meeting a couple from the mountainous part of South Carolina, and joined them for dinner. I have to say, this was the first time I ever met a dolphin whisperer. LOL Suzanne and Tom were a lot of fun to talk with and each had some amazing stories to share. Needless to say, it was a delightful dining experience and a great way to say goodbye to South Carolina.
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