Charleston

Charleston, S.C. was warm! We wore shorts for the first time on this trip, a far cry from the snow in Quebec City. Now there are people in the pools and hot tubs, others lying in the sun. In the morning, we took a horse-drawn trolley hour long tour of the historical district. The guide was terrific, very knowledgeable and low key. The horses were actually mules from Tennessee and were brothers that bickered with themselves! The first shots of the civil war were fired in Charleston and he seemed somewhat proud of that. Our tour took us through “Rainbow Row”, the mansions along the seawall that are painted in pastels and cannot have a change of color. The exterior color is required by to law to never change. The maximum height of buildings in town is 4 stories to allow all of the church steeples to show. There is one exception; a seven story condo building that was built before the height limits took effect.

After the tour, we walked through the Market, a four block long series of narrow building with open air, but covered, stalls in three blocks of the market. The forth block is covered and the shops are enclosed. In most shops, the owner must pack up their good every night and set up the displays every morning. It was very like the Pike Place Market in Seattle without the food vendors.

Back to the ship for lunch and then out again. We walked along the seawall, taking pictures, people watching and just enjoying the heat. A good day in a clean city. A nice way to end the cruise. Tomorrow will be a sea day and then we arrive in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday and fly home.

We will post a ‘home safely’ blog.
John & Colleen