The new year kicked off with a new travel adventure with friends Jean and Maria. Florida has been our go-to destination for the past two years, but this year we set our sights on South Carolina. We decided that Charleston, with its rich history, charm, and reasonably warm weather, would be ideal. We traveled there during the first week of January, and that was a smart move, since the weather in Charleston cooperated with our plans. It was sunny and warm most of the week, with temperatures in the high 60s to low 70s most days. We had no problems traveling there, thankfully, since that can be a problem during wintertime. Nor did I have any problems flying into and out of Newark airport. When I look at how much snow the New York area has gotten this past week, I'm glad I wasn't flying into the area this week as there would definitely have been travel delays or flight cancellations. Additionally, temperatures in Charleston are chillier now compared to the first week in January, and I just saw today that snow is forecast for the Charleston area this coming weekend.
We rented the entire second floor apartment of a charming old southern-style house not far from King Street, which is known for its many shops, restaurants and hotels. The two-story house had side porches on each level that ran the length of the house in addition to a back porch off the master bedroom on each floor. We arrived on a Sunday and settled in. Monday morning found us at a Publix supermarket shopping for a week's worth of groceries. We agreed that we would eat dinner out most nights and we did, with visits to the restaurants Felix, Prohibition, By the Way, and Hyman's Seafood, all of which served very good food, with highlights like crab cakes, shrimp and grits, and grilled salmon, among other dishes. A visit to Charleston is a deep dive into early American history going way back to the Civil War and to the era of slavery in the United States. We explored Fort Sumter, Boone Hall Plantation and Gardens, the Old Slave Mart Museum, as well as the City Market, the French Quarter, and an area of the city called Rainbow Row. We did a lot of walking the first few days but also took a minibus tour around downtown historic Charleston another day, The American Civil War started in Charleston at Fort Sumter, and slavery in South Carolina was widespread. Slaves were bought and sold in Charleston at the site of the Old Slave Mart Museum, which is a sobering reminder of the horrors of slavery.
It would be a good idea for most Americans to learn more about the history of their country. A visit to Charleston will immerse you in one of the more devastating and shameful periods of American history. It's hard to believe that we could have treated fellow human beings the way the slaves were treated. I was reminded of two books about slavery that I have read when we visited Boone Hall Plantation and Gardens and The Old Slave Mart Museum: 12 Years A Slave by Solomon Northup (12 Years a Slave: Solomon Northup: 9781631680021: Amazon.com: Books), and The Invention of Wings (Amazon.com: The Invention of Wings: 9780143121701: Kidd, Sue Monk: Books by Sue Monk Kidd. I can recommend them both, as they made a huge impact on me. You will not soon forget them.
In my next post, I'll include some photos of the places we visited in Charleston.
