August 18-20, 2014: Charleston, South Carolina

August 18-20, 2014: (Note: I am documenting this trip almost three years after I took it so many -- if not most -- of the details I describe may not be accurate.) Ruth and I decided to take a vacation with my mother to visit Charleston, South Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; to be followed by a Rhoades Scholar (aka Elderhostel) tour of the houses of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe in Charlottesville, Virginia. We started our travel by visiting Charleston, South Carolina first. The hotel I had booked was quite elegant.

Hotel lobby Charleston, South Carolina

We began our sightseeing by taking a tour of Fort Sumter. Near the harbor was the US Custom House.

The following pictures show scenes of the trip leaving the mainland, going by a bridge that spans the harbor, arriving at Fort Sumter, and the fort itself.

Visitors' Center for Fort Sumter

Visitors' Center for departure of ship to Fort Sumter

Charleston, South Carolina shore as seen from boat going to Fort Sumter

Fort Sumter entrance

Cannon at Fort Sumter

Cannon, Fort Sumter

Notice thick walls of the fort

Flags at time of Fort Sumter

View from top of Fort Sumter

View from top of Fort Sumter

Remnant of flag flown at Fort Sumter during the war

 We took a horse and buggy tour of part of the city. Here are two pictures taken of this tour. They really don't do justice to the architecture that was part of this beautiful city.

Horse and Buggy tour of City of Charleston

Later we took a tour of a southern mansion which housed hundreds (if not thousands) of art pieces collected by the eccentric owner. Artistic objects adorned every inch of every room There was really no place that one could sit and the owner uses this house as his residence. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photographs inside the house.

 There were plenty of other mansions in the neighborhood that looked very inviting.

There were several outstanding restaurants that we ate at. One of them was the Peninsula Grill, famous for its coconut cake (I had seen a cooking show in California some time ago about this cake and decided to check it out.) Here's a link of the picture of their coconut cake. Peninsula Grill Coconut Cake

Later we shopped at the market.

Central Market Charleston, South Carolina

Central Market Charleston, South Carolina

 As we left Charleston, we stopped by the Citadel military school which is close to the city.

Our visit to this city was quite memorable, especially seeing all the elegant mansions, and eating at the city's excellent restaurants.