Day one in Charleston

I took waaaaaaayyyyy too many pictures on our trip to South Carolina! It’s taking me forever to go through them and organize them and resize them. So far, I’ve managed to get through my April 15th folder. So, here’s what we did in South Carolina on April 15th!

My day started with a walk on the beach…

After breakfast, we drove into Charleston and picked up some info and maps at the visitor center. We parked down at the end of peninsula and spent the rest of the day walking around old Charleston and taking lots of pictures. We also got talked into going to a time-share presentation – at least we got some free tickets to out of it :-)

We started off walking along East Bay Street and admiring all the beautiful houses. I overheard a tour guide say that the houses along East Bay Street sell for around $9 to $10 million. There was one for sale at a “bargain” price of $6 million. EEK!

I love the combination of old red brick and lush greenery…

The houses in Charleston have the most beautiful gardens. Some of the gardens are hidden behind beautiful doors. I kind of have a thing for doors. And horses :-)

There are lots of beautiful & intricate ironwork gates too…

Some pretty porches…

Lovely architecture…

It took me a while to realize that the lanterns that I assumed have fake flames in them are actually REAL gas lanterns with REAL flames. Very cool, and a little bit eerie at night. They sort of transport you back to the 1800s. Many of the houses have window boxes and shutters. The crescent moon on the blue shutters below is a popular symbol in South Carolina – it’s on the state flag that was designed in 1775 by Colonel William Moultrie. He was asked by the Revolutionary Council of Safety to design a flag for the South Carolina troops to use during the American Revolutionary war. Colonel Moultrie's design had the blue of the militia's uniforms and the crescent from the emblem on their caps. Click here to read more about the history behind the South Carolina state flag.

Fountains in Waterfront Park. The pineapple is a traditional symbol of welcome and hospitality throughout the south.

Our first day in Charleston was a bit grey, but the sun finally came out late in the afternoon and was joined by a beautiful blue sky…

And that was our first full day in South Carolina. I’ve just about finished going through my next set of pictures – they’ll be coming soon :-)

I have to say a huge thank you to my blog friend Kathryn at Take My Breath Away. Kathryn used to live near Charleston, and when I asked her for some suggestions for what to do there, she sent me a long list of places to go and things to do. We did almost everything she suggested, and it was all great! Thank you Kathryn for all your help!