Charleston, SC

Yesterday we drove from Asheville to Charleston with a stop at Carl Sandburg's last home. This home, on almost 250 acres, was turned over to the US Park Service after his death. Carl Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American writer and editor, best known for his poetry. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, two for his poetry and another for a biography of Abraham Lincoln. The property is beautiful with the house sitting high on a bluff overlooking a small lake.

Today we took a harbor and city tour of Charleston. On the harbor tour, we learned that Charleston is a peninsula formed by the Cooper and Ashley Rivers, which flow into the Atlantic Ocean. We were told how South Carolina seceded from the Union as they feared newly-elected President Abraham Lincoln would abolish slavery when in fact he only hoped to prevent spread of slavery to the west. Lincoln did not receive one electoral vote from the southern states. The first shot of the Civil War was fired from James Island to Ft. Sumter, a small, 2-acre fort, sitting on a man-made island in Charleston's harbor. Lincoln was invited to a special ceremony at Ft. Sumter after the end of the war. His staff reminded the president that he was not well-liked in the South and he should not go to the ceremony. Instead, he went to the Ford Theater where he was assassinated.

Longest cable-stayed bridge in US

Typical Charleston houses in the historic district

After our tours, Arne and I took a trolley back to Market Street. We wandered through some of the shops and then went for dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. We shared a bowl of She crab Bisque. Arne had Southern fried chicken, which was good but didn't taste any better than my mother's country fried chicken. I had shrimp 'n grits, which was delicious with its Cajun seasoning. It was the first time I had ever eaten grits and our waitress was delighted that I liked them.

We are now back at our hotel watching the Bears run over the Vikings. Go Bears!!