We never do this, but had planned on going to a pancake breakfast at the activity center of the campground because was about 100 yards from our site and we were running low on groceries.
We managed to keep a low enough profile to get in and out without incident (Chuck was there, talking politics with what seemed to be a willing participant), but Jordan wanted to check out the pond after hearing that there is a real live 'gator that lives there.
After breakfast, we took the 15-20 min drive into Charleston to go see Fort Sumter, and the visitors center on the mainland was pretty cool. This is from the monument just in front of the fountain - beautiful day.
As you can see, Jordan really enjoyed the wait for the ferry, and was very interested in browsing the historical exhibits detailing the events leading up to our nation's civil unrest.
I quickly found out that it was far more interesting pointing out cool boats and looking at the bridges. Of course this expanse of water would not be complete without a...
...reference to yet another cinematic masterpiece, or one of the largest flops in history. You decide.
As we finally got on the ferry to make our way to the fort, Kimberly and Jordan were doing their best "I'm the King of the World" while maintaining a very, very safe distance from the bow.
A few more minutes and we arrived. The fort is an interesting sight as you approach, it is positioned right in the center of the harbor, and the flags really catch your attention. The rubble is very apparent even from a distance.
Inside the fort, it was a pretty fascinating mix of visual history (in a few places you could actually feel like you were being taken back in time, some of the shells were still embedded into the 5' deep brick walls) and museum-type artifacts. This quote helped put the historical significance of what we were seeing into context.
From there it was just stunning imagery, with amazing levels of detail about each of the guns, the shells used, how long each were in service, etc. The National Park Service has done a pretty impressive job of restoring and maintaining things in this condition.
At the top of the fort, this semicircle of flags from different points in US history along with the South Carolina State flag dominate the view.
Here you see the enormity of the moment really impacting Jordan. She was so enamored with what she saw, she had to take some time to really let it sink in. Or, she was beat and wanted to find out if SpongeBob passed his driving test on the streets of Bikini Bottom.
Upon our return to the mainland, we took the tourist drive along the coast of Charleston, and saw some of the old Victorian mansions along the water.
Southerners definitely wear their school pride on their sleeve, and also on their back windows. It has been rare down here to see a car without some sort of sticker supporting some SEC or local school, especially in South Carolina (College of Charleston, Clemson, USC Gamecocks, etc). I half expected to see the Ol' Ball Coach kicking around in the entertainment district, but instead he was running a tight ship at practice.
We got back to the Big Truck just in time to hit the matinee version of the water park, but thankfully there were no cameras present. This time it was a bit busier since the sun was actually out, and once I rolled into the park the rest of the guests were in for a treat.
...a scene right out of the Everglades. Even though it has nothing to do with Charleston, this view with the airboat way off in the background gave me the perfect excuse to look up this theme song. Good luck getting it out of your head.
As I type this, we just got bombarded by what sounded like 3" hail, but it was actually just raindrops. I don't think the heavy stuff's gonna come down for quite a while.
Tomorrow is a full travel day, nearly 9 hours to Outer Banks (Buxton, NC) for some oceanfront goodness.
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