Doing the Charleston

Charleston is full of history, having played significant roles in both the American Revolution and Civil War. The Civil War (also known locally as “The War Between the States” or “The War of Northern Aggression” to some) started here in Charleston when the Confederate troops attacked the Union troops at Fort Sumter and took over the fort. They held the fort for most of the war, thereby controlling access to Charleston harbor, then the richest port in the US. Amelia and Harmony, her friend from Wyoming, had a great time last week exploring Fort Sumter and seeing a reenactment of Confederate rifle tactics.

The next day, we visited a preserved plantation and learned about the planter economy in South Carolina and why it led to pressure for southern succession. At the time of the Civil War, seven of the ten richest Americans were South Carolina plantation owners. By the end of the war, most of the plantation owners’ wealth had been lost. Charleston has been a wonderful classroom for learning about history, geography, economics and natural history. We have taken advantage of the many opportunities to interest and engage our daughter, and even learn a little ourselves in process. One of the dockhands who moonlights here at the Charlestown Maritime Center, where we have been docked for over three weeks, is also a professional historian and re-enactor. Several times Amelia has prepared lists of questions for him (Why did the British wear red coats? What did the King think about the Declaration of Independence? Why was it against the law for slaves to go to school?) which he patiently answered.

Charleston is also a really fun town with beautiful restored homes and gardens, fantastic restaurants and wonderful harbor views. We’ve had a chance to see a lot of it during our three weeks. Our marina is well located, just steps from the aquarium (we bough a membership and have gone many times) and a short walk from downtown and the historic district. The lawn adjoining our marina is also used as a special events space, so there is a wedding or event here nearly every weekend evening. This is a little noisy, but means that we’ve also been able to sample the best of local bands from the privacy of our boat. Amelia has taken to dancing on deck to the ones she likes best. Earlier this week, guests at a rehearsal dinner at our marina – the bride was from Charleston and the groom from New Jersey -- were given sweatshirts that read either “North” or “South” in big block letters. The party proceeded to have a North vs. South baseball game. So I guess that with a little time and perspective even historic conflicts can be put aside.

We were thrilled when our friends from Wyoming sailed directly from the Bahamas (three days and two nights!) to join us for a week, and their company made our time here even more fun. We rented cars and all went to Savannah, another great southern city, for an overnight visit. Harmony and Amelia had a great time exploring, visiting the aquarium together and having sleepovers. One of Charleston’s more practical attractions has been its well served airport, enabling me to easily fly home to Canada for a few days to help out with my folks. My dad is recovering well; my mother is still in the hospital and likely to remain there for some time.

We arrived in Charleston after a slow slog up the ICW from Vero Beach in Florida, punctuated by a short visit to Ferdinanda Beach (it’s claim to historic significance is that the town was run by pirates for several decades) and a magical visit to Cumberland Island, a beautiful barrier island accessible only by boat and preserved as a national park. The island has many armadillos and herds of beautiful wild horses, and we had the opportunity to get close enough to get a good look as we hiked on the beach.

This week is race week in Charleston, and also the week of the local in-water boat show. There are many beautiful sailboats racing in the harbor daily, and watching them sail has made us yearn to be underway. We are a little sad to leave beautiful Charleston, but look forward to the next stage of our adventure as we continue our trek north.