South Carolina -  May 2007

One thing that continues to fascinate me as we travel around the eastern United States is to learn how the each of the states came to be established and how the boundary lines were determined.  

I found out while we were in Savannah that Georgia was created in 1732 when Oglethorpe, together with 20 of his peers, petitioned the crown for a land grant in North America.  The new colony, named for King George, came from a land grant that was carved out of the existing colony of South Carolina.  As we traveled through South and North Carolina,  I was curious as to how they were established. 

Charles I first asserted England's claim to this area in 1629 by granting the land between 31°N to 36°N to Sir Robert Heath. The area was later named Carolina in honor of Charles I.  The Latin form of the name Charles is Carolus, the Latin word Carolinus means “of Charles.” This initial charter was eventually forfeited by Heath, as he never developed any settlements under it.  

In 1663, Charles II, son of Charles I,  created a new charter and awarded the area to eight of his most prominent supporters (the Lord Proprietors). The grant was given in appreciation for the assistance given him in helping to re-establish the monarchy in England. Charles I had been deposed and executed in 1649 as a result of his defeat in the English Civil War. It was not until 1660, with the death of his arch-rival Oliver Cromwell and the help of his supporters, that Charles II was able to regain the throne and re-establish the monarchy in England. This original charter for Carolina was enlarged by Charles II in 1665.  The boundary of the 1663 and 1665 charters are shown on the map to the left.   

The northern and southern sections of Carolina developed separately. The northern areas were mainly populated by immigrants from Pennsylvania and Virginia, while the southern portion of the colony was populated by wealthy English planters. Dissent over governance of the province led to a division between these areas in 1710, but it was not until 1729 that the Province of Carolina was officially divided into the Provinces of North and South Carolina. 

It took seven years before the Lord Proprietors could arrange for settlement.   The community, named Charles Town for  King Charles I, was first established  in 1670 across the Ashley River from the city's current location. By 1680, the settlement had grown, joined by others from England, Barbados, and Virginia, and relocated across the river to Oyster Point, which was better suited for defense against the Spanish who occupied the territory of Florida to the south.  There the colonists established their capital, later renamed Charleston, which was to become the chief center of culture and of wealth in the South.

We arrived in Charleston at the start of a Tall Ships Maritime Festival there. The picture to the left below is of the Gloria -  a spectacular tall ship from Columbia.  They were anchored off for a few days before the festival started - cleaning and polishing her until she positively gleamed in preparation for the throngs that would board her over the next few days.  

The Charleston waterfront is beautiful.  There's a long waterfront promenade with this lovely pineapple fountain in the center.  I asked Jeremy - '"Why a pineapple?"  He didn't know, but was happy to make something up - like "It's a little known fact that Charleston produces more pineapples each year than all of Hawaii."  I told him he'd have to work on that a bit before he opens his tour guide business. 

Water street runs along the promenade and is home to some very nice little places in the city - such as the one shown to the right below. 

I kind of liked the house shown on the left below with the neat curved front and the interesting dome roof.  This one's not on Water street, but nestled farther inside the city.

The building to the right below is the South Carolina Society building.  The society was founded by the French Huguenots  on September 1, 1737. This hall and school, built between 1799 and 1804, was designed by the noted architect Gabriel Manigault.  The portico, designed by Frederick Wesner, was added in 1825.  

The USS Yorktown is docked in Charleston at the Patriot's Point Maritime Museum. We did not get over there last year when we were in Charleston, but we made a point to go and visit the retired Navy carrier this time. 

Our good friend Captain Ron Hillenbrand (Ret.) was stationed on the Yorktown earlier in his career, so we thought it would be interesting to go see his old dental office there.  Jeremy clearly would have been 'height challenged' if he had been on this ship - as is shown by the photo on the right below. 

We found the dental office, and sure enough, there were some pictures of Lt Cmdr Hillenbrand hanging on the walls.  I've circled him in the picture on the left.  That's also him doing some dental work to one of the sailors on the right.  Just lean back and say 'AAWWWW'. This isn't going to hurt a bit!

Jeremy and I tried out the dental chair while we were there.  I have my usual 'What's with that HUGE drill, doc??' look and Jeremy looks like he is trying to drink something from the hose.  Good thing we weren't there when Dr. Ron was the dentist - don't think he'd have been too amused.

Continuing on our tour, we came across the ship's galley.  One of the things that they regularly baked for the troops were chocolate chip cookies.  (Also good for promoting the dental business, no doubt!) Of course, when you're making a batch of cookies for an entire air craft carrier, you need to enlarge the recipe a bit.  Following is the recipe and a picture of the ingredients for the Yorktown Chocolate Chip cookies:

Yorktown Chocolate Chip Cookies

110 pounds chocolate chips
165 pounds of flour
500 eggs
100 pounds granulated sugar
87 pounds of shortening
75 pounds of brown sugar
12 pounds of butter
3 pounds of salt
3 cups vanilla extract
1 quart of water
1.5 pounds of baking soda

Makes 10,000 cookies - or enough cookies to last one day on the carrier. 

Some pictures from the deck.  It was a bit of a soggy day when we were there, so we didn't wander out on the deck too much. 

We made our way up to the bridge, where Jeremy tried out the captain's chair.  The second picture is the view from the bridge.  

This is a picture of the view from the controls in the engine room.  When the helmsman on the bridge wanted to change the speed or direction of an engine, he'd send a command to the engine room - which would show up on the repeater (shown n the picture to the right below).  A sailor in the engine room would then spin the wheels for the engines (shown in the picture to the left below) to actually make the change. 

We also visited a submarine (the USS Clamagore) while we were at Patriots Point. The accommodations were a bit more crowded than on the air craft carrier.  The bunks for several of the crew were located around the torpedo tubes. 

Many of the bunks were on a mechanism that allowed them to slide out when in use, and tuck back out of the way when they were no longer needed. 

 I was curious about the name of the submarine. Balao class submarines (like the Clamagore) were named after fish.  A clamagore is a blue parrot fish found in the waters of the Caribbean. Pretty, but with a nasty bite!

The USS Clamagore patch is shown below. 

We found this amazing 'weather forecasting stone' at the harbor - seems to be a lot more accurate than the average TV meteorologist!

The schooner 'Spirit of Bermuda' out for a sail just prior to the start of Charleston's Tall Ships Maritime Festival.

The day before the festival started, all hands were on deck getting the ships ready.  This is the schooner Virginia pictured on the left and the Pride of Baltimore II pictured on the right.  The guy hanging over the boom on the Pride of Baltimore is standing on what are delightfully called 'rat lines.'  These lines extend under the boom (and also out under the bow sprit) - so that the deck hands can have a 'secure' place to stand when they're working on the sails.   

Tall ships lined up along the Charleston waterfront. 

One of the most spectacular ships to attend was the Gloria from Cartagena, Columbia. This three-masted barque is a training ship for the Columbian Naval Academy - similar to the USS Eagle for the US Naval Academy in Annapolis. (The Eagle participates in this event every other year, and unfortunately she was not in Charleston this year.)  Gloria is 249 feed long and was the largest ship to attend the festival this year. 

All visitors to the Gloria were greeted with a salute from the bridge officer as they boarded. 

Everything on this boat gleamed.  Check out the shine on the ship's bell. 

The festival included a pirate encampment where we got to meet and mingle with several 'unsavory' types...

There was also an area where boat builders of all ages were able to display their hand-built crafts.  The photo on the left is of a proud young man with a sailboat that he built.  

We also got to meet Bill Cox, a master wood carver who was working on some beautiful little wooden dolphins for his grandkids. 

Probably the most amazing boats at the show were some of the wood canoes and kayaks that were on display.  I'd be more than a little nervous taking one of these out for fear that I'd damage the amazing woodwork or varnish. 

Walking back to the boat, we passed by the old Citidal in the heart of the city.  The campus has been moved, and this building has now been converted to a hotel. 

Georgetown is a sleepy little fishing village just north of Charleston with a population of about 9000. Founded in 1729, Georgetown is the third oldest city in South Carolina, following Charleston and Beaufort.. We passed through here last year on our way north, and really liked it - so decided to stop again.  

The picture to the left below is of the town boardwalk which runs along the waterfront.  There are several antique stores in town and I found a doll in the window of one, a red-head sleepily hugging her Martini glass - reminded me of someone I know back home....

We wandered to the end of the boardwalk where we came across the Kaminski house.  The Kaminskis are a very old Georgetown family.  As you stroll through the downtown area you will find several stores bearing the name of Kaminski. 

The house dates back to the 1700's - the original structure being built in 1769.

Jeremy meets a new friend at the Georgetown docks.  He proceeds to give him antlers, and then apologizes for the indignity of it all.

Late in the afternoon, a small fishing boat pulled in next to us in Georgetown.  They proceeded to unload what can only be described as a 'mess of fish.'  Mostly dolphin with a wahoo thrown in for good measure.  On of the guys asked us if we wanted some fish for dinner.  Wow - yes, said we!  That would be wonderful. 

He proceeded to pull one of the smaller dolphin out and placed it on the dock next to our boat. 

Now, sad to say, but we are not fishermen.  We do not know how to catch fish, and we certainly don't know how to clean fish. 

I know, I know - how can we live on a boat and not know these things??

Anyway, when he laid the fish on our dock, both Jeremy and I stuck our heads out and, while thanking him profusely - stared at the whole fish like a couple of deers stuck in the headlights of a Mac truck. 

We confessed to being complete idiots and asked if we could get a lesson on how to filet a fish.

Fortunately, they were amused, and proceeded to take the fish they gave us - along with all of the others they caught - up to the filet table at the top of the dock. 

I took pictures while he expertly filed the fish and then handed us the fresh filets. 

Man, oh Man - that was the best fish we'd had in a long time!!

Updated June 26, 2007

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