Ft. Sumter & Charleston

So after a very restless nights sleep, I decided to change my sightseeing plans for today thus allowing me to not have to get up at 7am. After another 2 hours of sleep, I grabbed my breakfast and headed out back to the pool. I made some phone calls and read some more of my book while soaking up some sunshine. I then got ready and headed into Charleston to Liberty Square in the Charleston Harbor so I could catch the 2:30 pm ferry to Ft. Sumter National Monument. Here are some pictures from the ferry ride as we passed by downtown Charleston. I had no idea that this city of rich, southern history sat right on the waterfront...it only adds to it's beauty.

The ferry ride to Ft. Sumter was only about 30 minutes and you can see from the pictures that it was the perfect day for a boat ride....blue skies for miles. Here is a shot of the remains of Ft. Sumter as our boat approached.
Ft. Sumter was where the Civil War began. South Carolina had seceded from the Union, yet Union forces still occupied strategic Ft. Sumter at the entrance of the Charleston Harbor. The South demanded that Ft. Sumter be vacated and when the North refused, on April 12, 1861, troops of the Confederacy fired on the Fort thus starting a 34 hour bombardment that eventually resulted in the surrendering of Ft. Sumter by Union troops.
This shot was taken out of a cannon window and if you look closely, you can see Charleston. I thought this was a cool picture of one of the old cannons from within the fort. The South held the Fort until it was finally evacuated on Feb. 17, 1865. During that time, the Fort experienced one of the longest sieges in modern warfare - for almost two years 46,000 shells, estimated at over 7 million pounds of metal, were fired at the Fort.
A view from the backside a top of the Fort and the flags that they fly today.

I forgot how much I love to learn about the history that took place right here in the United States. After a relaxing ferry ridge back I made my way through Downtown Charleston and ended up back near King St. and Queen St. to make my dinner reservation at 6 pm. Thanks to the suggestion of a sweet lady that I flew into Charleston with, I enjoyed a "Southern Supper" at a restaurant called Poogan's Porch. Poogan's Porch was built as a spacious, commodious home in 1888 and in 1976 was opened up as a restaurant serving Low country/Southern Cuisine.
The house was quaint and well restored. I was seated on the first floor in a room in the back which I imagine to have once been a sort of sitting/family room. I had a table nestled in the back corner next to the fireplace and the ambiance was very charming. I enjoyed a lovely glass of Sauvignon Blanc from Chile before my meal and they brought a small basket of homemade biscuits with a house specialty honey butter. It was delicious and the biscuits literally melted in your mouth. For my dinner I selected a dish called "Plantation Chicken". This was a lightly breaded, fried chicken that was stuffed with a creamy white cheddar pesto sauce, red peppers and country ham and was also plated with whipped potatoes and green beans. The entire dish was seasoned to perfection and I assure you that nothing was left on my plate. I think the last time I had an entree that looked and tasted that good was when I visited a French restaurant in San Francisco. And somehow I manged to let my food settle and had room for dessert, a piece of their Peanut Butter Pie. It was not as rich as I expected it to be so I was able to finish the entire piece. Needless to say a slight food coma was evident so on my way back to Isle of Palm, I stopped at an outdoor shopping area in Mt. Pleasant to walk off some of my dinner. Seemed like a perfect ending for another great day!