Fort Sumter. Charleston, South Carolina

I know, I know.

Esther has been telling me for a few weeks that I ought to post some pictures of my latest visit to South Carolina.

So here they are. I'm not posting all of them, but just enough to give you an idea of what we did.

The day after Christmas is Esther's birthday and she thought it would be nice to show me some of Charleston. Since I had never been, I thought it was a fabulous idea.

Being that the Civil War is one of my favorite eras in US history, one of the places I always wanted to visit was Fort Sumter, out in Charleston Harbor. This is where the first shots of the Civil War were aimed, so that was our first tourist-y destination of the day.




These two pictures above show the approach to Sumter as you get off the ferry and onto the dock leading to the old fort.



Here's the official sign outside the entrance.



Inside the fort stands this monument, dedicated to Union Major Robert Anderson and his garrison, who were defending the fort against occupation by Confederate troops.



One of the cannon used at the fort.



Inside the walls of Sumter, near what used to be an opening for one cannon to shoot from. Sumter's exterior walls are lined with similar openings.



Another pic of me inside the walls of Sumter.

I really enjoyed visiting Fort Sumter. Aside from the cold, brisk wind, the main thing I didn't like was the amount of time that the ferry company gave to see everything at the Fort, which was only one hour. What dragged the time down was waiting for everyone to get off of the ferry and into the fort, so the Park Ranger could give his little presentation. Once that was done we only had about 30 minutes to see the rest of the fort. Of course we could have caught the next ferry but that would have meant three hours on the island instead of just one. I think allowing two hours on the grounds would have been just right. I despise being rushed and I definitely felt like I was rushed. Especially considering the cost of the ferry per person. Not cheap, I'll tell you.

Fabulous

I've copied here the picture that Fondue Princess posted of Esther and me over on her blog.

Esther and I are getting along fabulously. I've been here for two plus days so far and everything has exceeded my wildest expectations.

Folks, let me tell you that eHarmony works. BIGTIME!!!!! The comfort level Esther and I shared talking over the phone and on Yahoo Messenger over the past three months has easily, easily translated into our comfort level in person.

So much so that I have to pinch myself at times to realize that I'm not dreaming.

We have been busy enjoying each other's company and enjoyed dinner and riotously funny games of rummy with Fondue Princess and her family.

Everyone here has made me feel so welcome and has made the trip well worthwhile.

I'll have more for you later, as circumstances allow.

'night from South Carolina!