Charleston, SC

Oak Plantation Campground

June 12^th through June 14^st

We arrived in Charleston on Sunday, after a short two hour drive from Columbia. It was very hot, but as promised, the campground had numerous large trees to provide some shade. Our campsite had little shade, but by late afternoon the shade improved as the sun sank behind the tall trees at the edge of our site. On Sunday night, we drove downtown to find the visitor center and just check things out. We ended up at an Italian restaurant/bar where we had dinner on one of their sidewalk tables. Even though it was still pretty warm, we had a nice breeze that made it very comfortable. We had a leisurely meal and nursed a bottle of Pinot Noir as we took in the evening activities around us. There were many people, many who appeared to be college students, out on the streets. Afterwards we went inside to the bar and watched the end of what turned out to be the final game of the NBA Championship. We made some “friends” setting at the bar. Some were nice people, rooting for Dallas, and then there were the others that were misguided (and ultimately dejected) Heat fans.

On Monday we left the RV early to take in the Magnolia Plantation and Gardens during the cooler part of the day. It was a nice tour with a lot of vegetation and animal life. We saw several alligators, and if you look closely at the murky-water pictures, you can see a couple of their backs. They also had a nice presentation about slave life on the plantation, and how slavery developed and then ended in North America. It was interesting to learn that only about 5% of the African people who were sold as slaves ended up in the United States. Most of them were sold into South America. The vegetation was past its blooming peak, and coupled with a current drought, the colors in the garden were not as impressive as they could have been. But, even without much color, the garden was amazing.

In the afternoon we went on a city tour of Charleston. This city may have more old beautiful houses than any other city we have been in. Had it not been for the post-civil war pillaging and burning and the hurricanes through the years, it’s mind-boggling to think about how many big old houses would exist in this city! Hurricane Hugo devastated Charleston in 1989, but the residents have done a great job of restoring the city to its pre-hurricane beauty. The cobblestone streets have been there since the city was first built. The cobblestone came from Europe, it was used as ballast in the bottom of the ships to keep them steady in the water. When they got to America they would simply throw the cobblestone on the banks and replace it with goods going back to Europe. The enterprising colonist used the rocks for their streets.

The city of Charleston bought new fire trucks, but when they were delivered they found out that they would not fit into their fire stations. Rather than damage the historic architecture by enlarging the doors, they sent the trucks back and ordered custom built fire engines that would fit. They are serious about maintaining the historic integrity of their buildings. The submarine is a replica of the "Hunley" that was used by the South in the Civil War.

We saw Fort Sumter, but it was so far out in the bay it is hard to distinguish it in the pictures. At the end of the day, we drove out to a park where this huge Live Oak is growing. The tree is called the Angel Oak, and its age is disputed between scientific conjecture and legend, but the tree is somewhere between 300 and 1500 years old (quite a span!). It was truly amazing and pictures really do not capture the magnitude of this tree. It has a trunk circumference of 25.5 feet and its shade area is 17,000 sq. ft. We finished the day by having a “gourmet” meal at the Waffle House.