After breakfast this morning we drove to the Market St area and went to the red barn to book a carriage ride. The next one was leaving in about 15mins & there was room on it. We booked a combo ticket which also gave us a harbour cruise. While we were waiting for the carriage to arrive, we patted the miniature Franciscan donkeys. They got their name because they have 2 ridges of hair on their backs which looks like a cross. There were also horses, mules & chickens in the barn.
There were about 14 of us in the carriage pulled by 2 mules, Hope & DGB. The driver told us they use mules rather than horses as they are stronger and have better health than draft horses. They have been used as work animals in the south for over 5000 years.
The driver had to be allocated a zone by 'the city' before we could leave the main street. A lady came out of a box on the corner & put a sign with a 3 on it on the back of the carriage so we headed for zone 3. I have no idea what the differences are between zones 1, 2 & 3.
The driver was born & bred in Charleston & had lived here all his life apart from a 5yr stint elsewhere in the military. He had a strong southern accent & I had to concentrate to understand him.
He gave us a great insight into the town's history. A big portion of Charleston is built on landfill. It used to be marshland. It was also surrounded by a brick wall centuries ago. Parts of the wall still exist. There was a big fire back in 1861 which wiped out a third of the city. After that the city decreed that only bricks could be used in building. That still stands in part of the city today.
We passed lots of beautiful wooden houses that were built before Australia was settled. Some were painted in pink, yellow or blue and all had a porch on the side. There was a door to the porch and then the main front door was on the porch. Lots of them had gaslights out the front, window boxes full
Of coloured flowers and all the gardens were lovely. Some streets were cobblestone. Many of the houses had separate 'houses' for the kitchen & servants. Legend has it that hush puppies (the ones we tried yesterday) got their name because the servants had to carry the food that had been cooked in the kitchen house across to the main house & the working dogs would bark & try & get it. The servants started frying up batter balls to toss to the dogs with the command 'hush puppies' so they could carry the food across freely.
There are a lot of churches in Charleston - all different denominations. We passed through one street that had a small cemetery in between the houses. The church had burnt down in the great fire but the cemetery remained. A typical house style in Charleston is the single house. This is one room wide by two rooms deep. They are 2 stories. Occasionally there will be a double house which is 2 rooms wide by 2 rooms deep. There are no tall buildings in Charleston. The law states that no building can be taller than the tallest church steeple. The tallest hotel is only 8 stories high.
The palmetto palm is native to South Carolina and appears on the state flag. The name palmetto and/or the design appears on a lot of things from company logos to souvenirs & the carriage driver pointed some of the trees out to us.
There are also a lot of things around with a pineapple on them. We found out today that the pineapple is a symbol of hospitality. But, if you find a pineapple cut in 2, you know you have outstayed your welcome.
Charleston has a lot of Civil War history which the carriage driver told us & was continued by the boat captain later.
The carriage ride went for an hour and we got off about 11.10am. The cruise left the wharf at 11.30am so we didn't know if we would make it. But, the wharf wasn't far away & we got on the Carolina Belle for a 90min cruise. It was extremely hot but we sat up on the open deck rather than inside. Once the boat got moving we got a breeze.
Charleston harbour is a meeting of the Ashley & Cooper rivers which then flow into the Atlantic Ocean. We could see a distinct line where the 2 river currents met. The captain told us how the harbour and the forts around it played a significant part in the Civil War. I don't remember a lot of it as we were distracted by the bottlenose dolphins swimming and jumping around boat. At the harbour entrance was Fort Sumter. This is where the Civil War began. The boat didn't stop at the fort but we got pretty close and could see some old cannons & the various flags flying. Across the other side was Fort Moultrie. This was built in the 1700s long before Fort Sumter. It was used to ward off British occupation in 1776.
Besides the dolphins, there were lots of brown pelicans dive bombing the water & picking up fish. There were even butterflies flying around the boat. We first noticed colourful butterflies yesterday & there seems to be a lot around.
It was very nice to be on the water escaping the heat for a while. Once we got back into town we had lunch at Sticky Fingers, a pub just on the next corner from the hotel. Their specialties are ribs & pulled pork smothered in the smoky BBQ sauce popular in the region, hence the name. Luckily for us they also had chicken sandwiches and cocktails. I had a massive watermelon margarita. Yesterday we found a place called Wet Willies. We didn't know what it was but it had cocktail glasses on the sign. Inside was a row of slushy machines in a wall. There were 18 different flavours to choose from. It was a perfect way to cool down.
After lunch we got the car & headed to Summerville. In the tourist guide it sounded similar to Charleston but it was disappointingly boring. We looked in a couple of the galleries but it was very quiet. At least we saw another part of the area. It was late afternoon by the time we got back to the hotel. We stayed in the cool for a while before heading out later for dinner. The carriage driver had pointed out a few restaurants this morning so we went to one of those. It was called Barbara Jean's & the house speciality was crab cakes. They were delicious!! In keeping with trying southern culinary delights, I had collard greens as one of my sides. It looked like spinach and tasted just as bad. The waitress gave me some clear Tabasco sauce type sauce to have with them. I'm glad I have tried them but I won't need to order them again.
We have a 6hr drive to Daytona Beach tomorrow. We plan on leaving about 9.30am. If my wallet hasn't arrived by then I am in trouble.