BLOGGED ALONG THE WAY: HOLY CITY EDITION

September 20, 2016

Steve's alarm clock went off so early this morning. So very early. I'm convinced that his alarm clock was put together in a sweat shop in hell. 

Since I was up (ahem) I decided to plan my day. I'm not very good at planning things, because I tend to just go along with whatever everyone else is doing, but I was going to be by myself so I had to do something! Armed with Google Maps, some brochures, and a trolley map, I decided that today would be an educational day!  Well, educational-ish. 

SO MANY MAPS!

I decided to forgo the trolley and walk across town.  First off, Charleston is really heckin' humid.  Like...bad humid. It wasn't even that hot, and it was cloudy, but by the time I was almost to my destination, my face and hair were wet. Yuck.  The walk wasn't even that far, or difficult, but still...bleh.  At any rate, I went on and finally made it to the South Carolina Aquarium!

There were otters there. Otters are my favorite.

You guys know how I love looking at fish things, so don't judge! This was the first time that I've ever been to an aquarium where I wasn't being rushed through, so that was nice. Unfortunately the place was relatively small, so I managed to go all the way through in about an hour. That was fine, though, because that meant I could be on the next ferry out to Fort Sumter.

I only had the most basic idea of what Fort Sumter was all about, so I learned a lot today! We had a 30 minute ride out to the island, and the ferry had a recorded voice telling us about all the things we were seeing. It was kind of surreal, because I swear that same voice does announcements for things at Disney World, only instead of telling you to stand clear of the doors, it was telling us about Indian massacres and war stuff. He was way too cheerful about it.  Oh! There were also dolphins that swam just ahead of the boat, so that was fun!

Ft. Sumpter gonna Sumpt.

I really enjoyed looking around the fort!  I went mostly because it was an important historical place and it felt like I should go see it, but I was surprised how interesting it all was.  We got to spend an hour out there, and I think I touched everything and read all of the signs. I even stood in the powder magazine and inspected the walls made of oyster shells and lime. There was a tour that told more about the place, and I kind of wish that I'd taken it to learn more about the place, but I was too busy looking around on my own.  The sun actually came out while we were there, and it stayed out until we got back. I bet you know what that means! My lily whiteness is now all red and hurty. Eh, whatever, I enjoyed myself.

I was starving by the time I got back, so I found a place called Saffron Deli & Bakery, thinking I'd grab something light and quick, but I was served an alarmingly huge plate of tuna and chicken salad, which was delicious, but way more than I could eat. It was a nice place, though, so I'd totally recommend it.  I didn't have a whole lot of time to do things before I had to head back to the hotel, so my last stop was at The Charleston Museum, which is the country's first museum! How cool is that? I wasn't able to see everything (I wanted to be back before Steve so that he wouldn't have to wait around on me) but I got to see a lot. It was really fascinating. There is an exhibit that covers the area of Charleston from pre-history onward, and it was very cool. I only made it to the Revolutionary War section before I realized I'd have to skip some stuff if I wanted to see the temporary exhibit they had. It was called Killer Fashion and it was, kind of hilariously, an exhibit about clothes and fashion accessories that people make from things they have to kill, or that can kill the people who make the stuff. That may not make much sense, so let me 'splain. There were things like Coral jewelry, because you have to farm the coral which kills it, and ivory, which of course comes from poached elephants. They also had corsets (which can do lots of internal damage) and things dyed with poisonous dyes, which can kill both the wearer and the manufacturer. I think it got a little preachy, though, only because it went so far as to talk about killing silkworms to make cloth, and killing the cochineal beetle to make red dye. Granted, you still have to kill something, but they're bugs for heaven's sake. They aren't exactly endangered.  Anyway, it was still a very good exhibit that I enjoyed looking at! I'm kind of thinking about going back later on so I can see the rest of the regular exhibits, but I'll have to wait and see if I have time.

By the time I was done there, it was time to head back to the hotel. I was so hot and tired by the time I got back, y'all. To give you an example of how hot and humid it had gotten, I sweated so much that the color from my clothes bled off onto my skin.  I'm not talking about brand new clothes, either. I'm talking about things that have been washed a lot before now! Gross! I had to take a bath.  This town will be a two shower a day place, I can already tell.

Steve got back about 10 minutes after I did and he was hungry because apparently the people he's working with out here don't believe in lunch breaks. We looked through Google Maps and found a restaurant called "Coast" which was a seafood place not far from where we are staying. After getting cleaned up, we walked over and had to go down an alley before we found it, but it was a great restaurant. It was housed in an old warehouse, and had super tall ceilings and exposed brick. The food was really delicious, too.  I had kale, on purpose, and it was good.

Now we are back in the room and Steve has fallen asleep, and my sunburn is itchy and my legs hurt, but it was still a really fun day!