05-09 Charleston, SC

From 05-09 Oak Plantation Campground

May 9th we left Lexington and moved to the Oak Plantation Campground near Charleston, SC. This is a very nice campground and is probably the closest to downtown Charleston. I highly recommend it.

We went there to meet our son Ward who came down from Chicago. Ward is considering a move from Chicago and Charleston is one place he is considering. He did some job search while he was there, but nothing much turned up in his areas of interest or expertise. We enjoyed a great visit with him. The only downside was all the rain we experienced during our time in Charleston. That limited some of the touring we wanted to do. Still we visited the SC Aquarium, Fort Sumter, the Confederate submarine Hunley, and Patriots Point.

Here are a few pictures from the Aquarium:

From 05-09 SC Aquarium

From 05-09 SC Aquarium

From 05-09 SC Aquarium

Here are a few pictures from the boat ride out to Fort Sumter and the fort itself. Click here for more information about Fort Sumter.

From 05-09 Fort Sumter

From 05-09 Fort Sumter

From 05-09 Fort Sumter

From 05-09 Fort Sumter

From 05-09 Fort Sumter

From 05-09 Fort Sumter

From 05-09 Fort Sumter

From 05-09 Fort Sumter

Ward and I toured the Hunley conservation project. This confederate submarine was the first to successfully sink another war ship. Afterward the sub disappeared. Many searches were made over the years. It was finally found in 2000 by a team funded by Clive Cussler, author of many adventure books and an avid searcher of sunken ships. It was recovered and has been in a conservation lab ever since. It is kept in a tank of cold water that is only drained a few days a week to allow examination of the sub. Click here for a recent article about the investigation of the Hunley. We could not take pictures of the Hunley but I did take a few including a replica of the first model built in New Orleans and then sunk just before Union troops captured the city.

From 05-09 Hunley

From 05-09 Hunley

Our final visit was to Patriots Point where four ships are on display – the aircraft carrier Yorktown,

From 05-09 Yorktown

the diesel submarine Clamagore,

From 05-09 Clamagore Submarine

Destroyer Laffey, and Coast Guard Cutter Ingram.

From 05-09 Yorktown

We had toured the Yorktown when Ward was a young boy and wanted to go back. We spent about 1/2 day there and could easily have spent a full day or more. It was especially interesting to tour the submarine having last year toured a captured German U-Boat at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.

Here are a few pictures from our tour of the Yorktown:

From 05-09 Yorktown

From 05-09 Yorktown

From 05-09 Yorktown

From 05-09 Yorktown