Yankees Take Charleston

Our shuttle dropped us at the visitor center which is located in the old railway station. We went in with a list of places to see that my friend Brian had sent me, which a friend of his had compiled as an itinerary for visiting Charleston. We began our exploration of the city by signing up for a two hour guided tour given by a rather cranky driver. Our object here is to orient ourselves to the city, to hear some history that perhaps isn't in the history books, and to find places to which we might like to return. Check off on all of the above, so the tour was a success.

Lunch is the highlight of our day since we are eating breakfast and supper in the camper. Both our shuttle driver and our tour driver recommended Jestine's as a superb place for Southern food. The shuttle driver cautioned us that the wait could be very long--40 minutes--heck, at Paula Deen's in Savannah a two to three hour wait is common (which is one reason we didn't do that one). We were early, at any rate, and were seated right away. This is a down-home cooking, fried chicken, okra, collard greens kind of place, not expensive but quite charming and simple. Your napkin is a washcloth. We were even tempted into ordering a peach-blueberry cobbler, oh yeah!

Our first visit of the afternoon was the historic city market. It stretches for blocks and the outside may be old but the market itself is quite upscale tourist fare. At the west end, anchoring the market, is the Confederate Museum sponsored by--who else--the Daughters of the Confederacy. We didn't enter the museum but the outside architecture is lovely with vibrant colors and details. We have learned that Charleston has endured many natural disasters over the last few hundred years including fire, hurricanes, and most notably a major earthquake in 1886. Really, it is quite amazing that there are still historic buildings here at all! After a quick trip through the market (too quick for me, too slow for Jim), we started ambling back towards the visitor center. We walked into a square with a very tall statue of one of Charleston's favorite sons, John C. Calhoun. At the far end of that square, big white tents are awaiting audiences for Runway Week. We saw many interesting-looking designer-types with rolling suitcases and badges heading towards the scene.


Our next stop was the Joseph Manigault House where--what a pleasant surprise--I could take photos inside the house. The home was built in the Federal style in the early 1800's and is remarkable for its circular cantilevered staircase. It has been through many transformations in its long life but now the Charleston Museum has restored it and filled it with period furniture. The Manigault family used the home as a "town home" but lived on a plantation elsewhere most of the time. Plantations in this area mostly grew rice, a highly labor-intensive operation that required slaves and couldn't be maintained after "The War", as the Civil War is called in these parts. Tomorrow we will be taking a tour of Magnolia Plantation and its gardens.

The Charleston Museum was shortchanged in our schedule today. We barely had a good start before it was time to head over to catch our shuttle. We will go back later in the week. Tomorrow, we have decided, we are picking up a car for our last few days here. Someone told us today that Conde Nast named Charleston the best travel destination in the United States. We are about to test the truth of that.