“Charleston is an Extraordinary Place”

One of the first things on our agenda after arriving in Charleston was to take another tour.  When we start with tours we can usually figure out where to go next.     This time it was a little different.  You can get off and on the trolleys in Charleston and they are free but the driver doesn’t double as a tour guide.   

We considered  hopping a carriage but then we were concerned that the weather forecasters might be right and it really might rain hard. Instead we decided to go with Adventure Sightseeing.   Now the tour guide was very good.  She told us a lot about the historical area as we drove through it.  The bus itself needed quite a bit of inside work. Just about everything appeared to need a good cleaning or be replaced. 

The tour usually returns to the Visitor’s Center but we got off at the Old Market in the Historical District instead.  There we could revisit the places we wanted to see a little more of.  It also gave us a chance to get a bite to eat and walk through the Old Market.

Notice the houses appear to be built sideways on the street and that the front door isn’t really a door to anything except to the front porch.  We discovered there is a reason for this.  The doors were left open if they were accepting company.  Horses were the main mode of transportation at the time these homes were built.  Thus, clean-up didn’t always happen and the heat and humidity at times made the street odors unbearable.  Keeping the front door closed helped keep the odors out. 

Besides that taxes on those houses were assessed by the amount of street space they took up.  Thus, they were built with the narrowest side of the home on the street. 

There were also many of the older homes who had survived the 7.3 earthquake.  In order to strengthen the homes, earthquake bolts were installed in some of them to secure the bricks should another earthquake occur.  These bolts closed gaps in the bricks and actually worked.

Many of the Charleston streets had beautiful gardens and walkways.

We also visited the Citadel.  Remember the story years back when a female applicant was accepted in error?  There was quite a stir on that.  Now about 10% of the students at The Citadel are female.

The homes in the Historic District are very expensive.  Many   are being refurbished.  The cost of refurbishing is nothing to sneeze at either. 

This church is St. John’s Lutheran Church and it even has red doors. We were told the red doors indicated the building was paid for.

Well, the weatherman had forecast rain and storms to start rolling into Charleston after 10:00 AM. We had finished touring for the day and back at the motorhome before any rain started falling.   We were under a severe storm and tornado watch late afternoon and evening.  The clouds unloaded all the water they were holding.  It was a definitely a downpour.  Along with that rain came wind and terrific thunder and lightening and it was right on top of us.  We thought the thunder would never stop but would rather have that thunder than the tornados that were possible.  

The forecast the next day was about the same but it was mostly wrong. There was no rain and there was no storm.   I think the storms have now blown out to sea.  I hope that’s true, at least.

What did we think of Charleston?  We loved it.  However, now it was time to move on but we didn’t head exactly due north up the coast as we had planned.  We had a little detour and headed northwest about 67 miles instead.  What’s with that?

Well, Orangeburg, SC is where my family first settled when they made the journey across the Atlantic in 1752.  We were so close and we just had to make a stop.   First, we discovered Orangeburg had an Elks and that Elks had 5 sites with partial hookups.  That sounded great to us.

Can you see us hiding there?  We thought it was perfect.

  There was one place in particular I wanted to visit and it was the Salley Archives which is operated by the Historical Society in Orangeburg.  This building was built about where the first church in town, St. John’s Lutheran Church (eventually became Episcopal), once stood.  The Old Pioneer Cemetery was established in 1749 and is behind it.  Some pioneers are in marked graves but many more were buried there that no longer have markers.   Perhaps, some of my family were put to rest there … perhaps.

I spent an awful lot of time here  -------- > 

For such a small town population-wise, Orangeburg certainly seemed to be spread out and have lots of traffic.  We attempted to check out as much as we could.  Eventually it was time to find a local restaurant.  We discovered FATZ Café and had no idea it was a chain until we asked.  The food was definitely good and we finally got to taste a mustard based BBQ sauce.  Now we know to order it again!  Of course, I was only allowed to nibble but the box I took home should last two days.

PS …. I didn’t eat the fries.

I have discovered that South Carolina mosquitoes love me.  

Next, we hear North Carolina calling.

‘Tis life on the road.