Charleston Harbor and Fort Sumter

Besides eating ourselves silly while in Charleston, we spent much of the afternoon exploring and touring the harbor and Fort Sumter.  The weather could not have been better, wonderfully sunny, temperature around 80, with just a slight breeze.

The beautiful old buildings have been kept up and well taken care of.  The abundance of Palmetto trees make the streets and parks distinctly Charlestonian.

We happened upon a waterfront park with a great fountain, but as it had a list a mile long of rules for wading, and as a life guard wasn’t on duty, we decided not to risk it.

We drove over to Liberty Square, where the Harbor Cruise and Fort Sumter tour left from.  As we waited outside, we watched the sailboats and tour boats tool around the harbor in the sun.  The cruise took us along the shore of Charleston for about 20 minutes, and then headed out to Fort Sumter, at the mouth of the harbor where the Atlantic Ocean’s waters converge with the freshwater bay.

We had about an hour to explore the grounds of the Fort, as well as a museum on-site.  While the history of the Fort and its role in the Civil War is indeed interesting, the beautiful weather definitely added to this trip, allowing everyone to spread out over the property.