NC11 (SC05) — Fort Sumter NM

A small island at the mouth of the Charleston Harbor is the site where the first major battle of the Civil War was fought.  Our visit followed the local standard: a 30-min ferry ride each way (for which one pays) and then a whirlwind 1-h tour of the remains of the fort, including a nicely presented 15-min overview by a park ranger and too little time to thoroughly explore the on-site museum.  With this being our 4th day in Charleston and our 11th day of travel, and with the heat remaining high in the afternoon (peak temperature in the mid 90s with moderate humidity), the rest of our day was low-key: lunch at an Iranian restaurant ("Saffron"), and a casual stroll down King Street (the main shopping street of Charleston), capped off by a long and warm walk home.  We seem to be settling into the rhythm of South Carolina …

NC10 (SC04) — More Historic Charleston

Okay, we're on vacation, so an early start isn't required.  We left our flat at close to 10:30 AM this morning, a much later starting time than on any of our recent trips.  And, it's really warm in the afternoon, so it takes a lot of stamina to stay out for a long day.  We called it quits this afternoon at 5:30 PM.  But during those 7 hours, we had a good time exploring more of old Charleston.  We walked the length of King Street.  Ingrid found her shopping groove at Lou Lou's.  We toured the Nathaniel-Russell House Museum.  We ate lunch at the Brown Dog Deli. We visited the Old Slave Mart Museum.  (We've learned quite a bit about slavery during this trip to SC and credit the many people and institutions who seem to be addressing the complex history of this topic with openness and respect for the dignity of all humankind.)  We ended our afternoon touring with a stroll through the historic Charleston City Market.  The photos are all street scenes, except for the final shot taken at our lunch stop.

NC09 (SC03) — Plantation and Fort

Today's outing included two quintessential elements of a visit to South Carolina: Boone Hall, a working plantation; and Fort Moultrie.  Both have deep histories, starting before the Revolutionary War.  They are both well set up to receive visitors.  The weather has drifted toward oppressive, with high temperatures in the mid 90s, high humidity, and surprisingly strong winds (which are not too comfortable for these high temperature plus high humidity conditions).  (There is a severe thunderstorm watch in the area this afternoon, but we've not seen any sign yet of storm action.)

NC08 (SC02) — Historic Charleston

Our pace has slowed with the warm and humid weather.  Orientation seemed the order of the day.  We're staying about 2.5 miles from the southern tip of the Charleston peninsula, so we left the car parked.  We visited the Charleston Museum, which, founded in 1773, claims to be "America's First Museum."  Among other things, we learned a lot about the important role of Charleston and South Carolina in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.  We walked down Meeting Street to The Battery and then back up along the east coast of the city to Waterfront Park.  After lunch at Harris Teeter (excellent bbq pork sandwich for $3.99!), we visited the preserved yet unrestored Aiken-Rhett House.  The audio guide there provided about equal treatment of the enslaved persons and the home owners in describing life in the building.  We were back at our apartment by 5 PM and without any driving the 7.5 h of touring felt like a full day.

NC07 (SC01) — Congaree NP

To drive directly from Asheville to Charleston takes about 4.5 hours.  We used about 7.5 h, with a detour to Congaree National Park in South Carolina.  This is a relatively young part of the park system, having become a national monument only in 1976 and then being converted to a national park in 2003.  It preserves one of the few remaining old-growth floodplain forests, which once covered a large proportion of the southeastern US.  We hiked a 2.4 mile loop on a boardwalk with a self-guided interpretive pamphlet.  Among the interesting features were very tall (up to 130 feet) loblolly pines, the bald cypress with the knobby ridges rising above the mud, and the dwarf palmettos.  Now that we are out of the mountains, the weather was very warm and humid (not unlike Singapore).  That's likely to continue throughout our four-day (five-night) stay in Charleston SC.

NC06 — Great Smoky Mtns NP

After saying "farewell" to Ron, we set off for the main part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  We traversed the main road that bisects the park, stopping at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center, then taking a brief hike up to Clingman's Dome, a longer hike to the end of Chimney Tops Trail, and ending at the Sugarlands Visitor Center.  This day was easily the most crowded of our time in Asheville, especially at Clingman's Dome.  The 2-h drive home was accompanied by about a half hour of heavy rain, the first of this trip.  I was impressed in learning from a movie we saw at Sugarlands about the concentrated biological diversity of this park.  (Hint: It's tied to the fact that the continental ice sheet from the last ice age stopped only a bit north of here.)  I was also impressed by how steep was the climb up to Chimney Tops.  Ingrid wants me to record that she was just kidding in the photo at the locked gate.

NC05 — Dupont Forest State Park

Today's outing was on the milder side but with some impressive river sights.  The Dupont Forest State Park is about 45 minutes south of Arden, NC, where we are staying.  With easy hiking, perhaps 6 miles altogether, we visited three impressive waterfalls: High Falls, Triple Falls, and Hooker Falls.  The third one had a nice swimming hole beneath the broad and not too high plunge.  The water was cold, but the air was very warm so we all went in.  We also visited (too briefly, because it closed shortly after our arrival) the Cradle of Forestry in American Heritage Site, which memorializes the establishment of science-based forest management on the George and Edith Vanderbilt estate, which later became the Pisgah National Forest (established in 1916).