Day 136: Charleston to Florence, SC

This morning called for a leisurely wake up and pancakes for breakfast. 

We then headed to Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant where we caught the 10:45 am ferry, called the Spirit of Charleston, to Fort Sumter. Ian saw dolphins on the sail over! Fort Sumter’s claim to fame is that it was the start of the Civil War, though as we learned, not exactly how one might expect. The Union soldiers initially occupied the Fort thinking it was in a strategic position as the gateway to Charleston Harbour. The Confederacy felt very strongly about keeping the Fort in Confederate hands and asked the Union occupation to leave. They didn’t, so there was some shooting at each other but nobody died. The Confederate army asked the Union occupiers to leave again and this time they agreed since they were out of supplies and ammunition however during the surrender process a gunpowder accident occurred killing a Union soldier. He is recorded as the first casualty of the civil war which eventually claimed the lives of 700,000 soldiers.

The Fort is overseen by the National Parks Service so the boys could earn their Junior Ranger badges here.

The fort is in rough condition and has been shot at and rebuilt many times both during and after the civil war. They cannons we saw were original to the civil war even if the shape of the fort has changed significantly.

After the fort, we ate the most delicious dill pickle tuna fish sandwiches. We then toured the USS Yorkdale, a World War II aircraft carrier anchored at Patriots Point. This was a huge ship. The number of airplanes on the flight deck and in the three hangers was substantial. It was impressive how many planes could fit. We checked out the bridge and brig, the galley and laundry, the engine room and soda fountain, and much more.

This is the wire the plane has to catch in order to land on the ship. If it can’t catch it, the landing is aborted and the plane needs to make another pass to try again.

Seamus at the helm.

Liam in the Captain’s chair.

The ship had a dry cleaning machine. Fancy.

Ironing machine.

Officers’ dining room and lounge.

The brig (ship jail).

Barber shop.

Soda and ice cream shop on the ship.

We pushed toward North Carolina in the evening, stopping just shy of the state line in Florence, SC. We were treated to big thunderstorms with huge bolts of lightning and a bright red sunset. We are sleeping parked on a service road parallel to the highway so we can easily finish the drive to the North Carolina Zoo in the morning.