Charleston

South Carolina – Thursday, April 25

I’m really happy things worked out so that I ended up in Charleston again after all. It’s such a pretty city and it just oozes history. There are no skyscrapers in Charleston – religion was very important back when the town was formed, and there’s a law that no building can be taller than the city’s church steeples. And there’s all the elegant waterfront antebellum homes – with 2 and 3 levels of verandas, and houses painted in pastel colors. The walk along the Battery and through the park was shady and pleasant. There were lots of horse-drawn wagons out for city tours (mules pull the wagons too), and I caught bits of information from those guides as I walked all around. One wagon was stopped in front of some of old historic homes, and like many of them, it was 3 stories tall with a cupola on top. The cupola helped provide “air-conditioning” in the early days – homeowners would keave a door or 2 open on the first floor, and the ever-present sea breezes would blow into the cupola at the top of the house and make its way down to the lower levels, providing a little relief from the hot, steamy summers. We walked through town and neighborhoods, and made a PBandJ sandwich and enjoyed it in the park, and then walked some more. There are still a lot of streets named for the wharves they used to lead to, and some of the roads are still cobblestone (which is really bumpy to drive on). There were quite a few tourists out, but parking wasn’t too bad. I only had to walk about 6 miles to finish up the South Carolina walking, and ending in Charleston was a beautiful walk. I didn’t make a donation today since I did 2 yesterday.

So, that wraps up State #30 – all 56 miles walked, and all 7 donations given – Fort Mills’ Community Cafe, Anne Springs Close Greenway, USO of South Carolina, Samaritan House, Harvest Hope Food Bank, Totally Turtles, and Community Kitchen.

By this time, it was mid-afternoon, and I settled in for some car time…heading toward the next adventure.