Friday - Day 131 - Chasing Charleston

Charleston, South Carolina is the epitome of southern hospitality.  No matter where we were, what we did or who we met, charm was upon us.

We started our day with a horse and carriage ride through downtown Charleston.  The history, architecture and views were both entertaining and interesting.  Our tour guide was nice and knowledgable.  We learned all sorts of little facts about Charleston.  

On our Horse and carriage ride

We walked by the water, and admired the view as kids played in the pineapple shaped fountain.  A pineapple has much symbolism in Charleston.  During the war, wives would put a pineapple outside their house when their husband was home from war and it was an invitation to come in and visit.  If a house guest was visiting and an upside down pineapple cake is served,  this is a southerner's polite way of letting them know the guest had overstayed their welcome.

Margaret & I, in Front of Pineapple Fountain

Along our walk by the water

We ate a light lunch of She-crab soup and appetizers unique to the area.   The waitress was extremely pleasant as most of the wait staff is in Charleston.  It boggles my mind how sincerely cordial everyone we spoke to was.  The charm engraved in the culture. 

Charleston is well-known for their She-crab soup

We visited a museum, in the Daughters of the confederacy building.  It had a creepy, haunted dungeon below and a beautiful ballroom on the second floor, that once entertained George Washington.  We took a tour of the dungeon and learned about the many uses for it over the years dating back to the Revolution War, an interesting time period.  Pirates were normally welcomed into Charleston's port, until 1718 when Blackbeard tried to over run the city.  He and his crew were captured and held in the diseased infested dungeon, until they were eventually pardoned and returned to piracy.

Down in the Dungeon

Us with our tour guide with the ghostly photo

At end of the tour, one of us asked our tour guide if the dungeon was haunted; the tour guide hesitantly told us about orbs appearing in people's photos and about a girl getting pushed off a bench by an invisible force.  Afterwards the tour guide, gave us a private viewing of his personal photo, someone had taken of him a few months prior.  The photo was of him giving a tour and there was a ghostly figure standing right next to him.  The figure had similar legs that were very easily distinguishable, both in civil war clothing.  Our guide was dressed in period correct clothing.  The photo was intriguing and the most interesting photo I have ever seen. 

I think we all enjoyed our day chasing the sites and history of Charleston.  

Along our stroll through the city