Tag: South Carolina

Charleston: The Holy City


I didn’t know what to expect when I went to Charleston, because I didn’t know much about the city beforehand. I allowed my South Carolinian friend to orchestrate my trip in her state, and I trusted her to take me to the best places. My trust was well placed, because Charleston is one of the most beautiful cities that I have ever visited.

After a 4-hour long road trip from Greenville, through Columbia and into the Charleston suburb of Ashley, the small room that we had paid for at the Creekside Lands Inn was a welcomed sight. The toilet was wobbly, and the air conditioner made our room feel like a freezer, but the hotel was well worth the price that we paid. As its name suggests, the Creekside Lands Inn is, in fact, next to a beautiful creek. There was even a wooden landing built out in the water, where you could sit and listen to the gurgling stream in the warm light of the lovely white Christmas lights that were strung along the railing. A few guests crabbed from the landing, and even if you weren’t interested in catching a fresh meal, the creek was full of life. Crabs blew bubbles in the sand, and gangly herons waded through the long, tall reeds that lined the water. It was a beautiful little place to relax after hours on the road, and it continued to be a welcoming and restful spot throughout our stay in Charleston.

After enjoying the water, and napping for a bit, we all gathered ourselves to find somewhere to eat. No one had the energy to drive into town, but looking through reviews of restaurants in Ashley we found the Early Bird Diner, famed for its chicken and waffles. The diner itself was cozy, complete with a game board library, and walls lined with quirky paintings from artists unknown. Tucked in a corner, we giggled as we read the menu and tried to decide which delicious southern dish that we were going to indulge in. Within five minutes, however, it was clear that all four of us were going to order the chicken and waffles. As for me, I had always thought that the combination sounded a little absurd, but being in South Carolina, in a restaurant with reviews that ranted about their chicken and waffles, I couldn’t resist. Needless to say, the Early Bird Diner effectively hooked me on the dish. Their waffles were wonderful, with a perfect accent of cinnamon sugar. The fried chicken was juicy, piping hot, and dipped in sweet mustard it actually was a spectacular mix of flavors.

Stuffed, we returned to the hotel and fell right to sleep- our minds set on the adventures we would have the next day.

Our second day in Charleston was the best of the trip. We woke up, spines slightly creaky from the extremely soft beds, stuffed ourselves on the included breakfast, and were driving into the city by 10. Our first stop was Patriot’s Point, which was something that I wasn’t all that interested in, but it turned out to be a really cool area. This was especially true, because I had yet to have the chance to explore any sort of Navy ship. Patriot’s Point offers visitors the chance to walk through the aircraft carrier the USS Yorktown, a destroyer, the USS Laffey, and a submarine, the USS Clamagore. The whole experience was enjoyable, despite my early reservations. The vessels are also functioning museums, and everything was beautifully well kept.

(c) AB Raschke

(c) AB Raschke


Amid all the exploring, there were two major highlights to the visit to Patriot’s Point. I particularly enjoyed getting to climb through the USS Clamagore. The prospect of being in a submarine, even one that was docked and surfaced, was somewhat intimidating. The small spaces inside hardly helped the instinctual discomfort of being closed in, but it only made seeing the vessel all the more exciting. My friends and I also bought lunch on the USS Yorktown, and had food as close to Navy-style as Patriot’s Point could get people to pay for. The food was actually pretty good, cheap, and it was fun to get to eat in the mess hall.

The ferry out to Fort Sumter leaves the dock at Patriots point, and once we had our fill of the ships, museums, and growing hordes of school children, we bought our tickets and headed out to the national park. While being somewhat smaller than I imagined it would be, Fort Sumter was a special place to see. The ferry crew shared a few stories with us on the way over to the man-made island that the fort was perched on. Once we had landed, a ranger took the time to lay down some ground rules and share more history with us before we were set loose.

(c) AB Raschke

(c) AB Raschke

I haven’t spent a lot of time in places so vested in American history, and being amid the old, war-torn walls made me feel more connected to my cultural heritage than I ever have. Fort Sumter is a way to reconnect to ages long since past, and seeing the places described in history books can only serve to spike curiosity. Besides that, the view of the Charleston port, as well as the surrounding ocean was utterly astounding. The only draw back to the whole excursion was a dangerous colony of fire ants, which had sprung up on the grassy hill in the fort.

After the ride back to the mainland, we headed into Charleston’s downtown proper. There we spent some time wandering the streets, and visited the famous Rainbow Market (which is a much friendlier name for a place also widely called “the slave market”). We learned that slaves had never been sold in this area, but the street had long been home to an open-air market to which wealthy urbanites would send their slaves to for supplies. Now, the market is just a place where tourists crowd eachother to buy knick-knacks and souvenirs. Personally, I didn’t enjoy pressing through the people that packed themselves into the market, and I found it so crowded that I hardly had the inclination to shop at all. That being said, the market hosted local artisans of all sorts, and shopping there had the potential to support small-scale businesses and local people.

(c) AB Raschke

(c) AB Raschke


We topped off our first full day in Charleston with a Bulldog Tour, the Dark Side of Charleston. Once the sun went down we all gathered outside of Bulldog’s picturesque store front, and once the tour started we were promptly led into an alley where we listened to our guide warn us that this particular tour was not for children. We spent the rest of the next hour and a half wandering downtown on foot and learning about the more secretive history of the city. I won’t spoil any of the stories shared by the tour guide, but the trip was well worth it.

On our last day, I was itching to get out and do whatever hiking we could close to the city. This led us to the James County Park, which was South Carolina nature-lite. There were some nice trails to meander down, and sections of forest, but for the most part it was, as its name suggests, a massive park. Most of the trails ran along manicured grass fields, and a small lake dotted with kayakers. The path also passed a rock wall, a water park, and camping areas. There was also the ever-present sound of yipping dogs and laughing children, which completes the atmosphere of any park. So, not the best place to hike, but this park is pretty wonderful in every other way.

After spending the morning in the sun, and away from the press of the downtown buildings, we drove back into town. With nothing planned, we decided to take some time to just walk around and take in the beautiful architecture of downtown Charleston. At face value, this was probably the least exciting thing that we did the whole trip, but I loved it. The buildings in Charleston are wonderful, and we even got rained onto someone’s porch by an afternoon rain flurry, which as an Arizonan is always a great thing.

Finally, after another delicious seafood dinner, we topped off our trip with one last Bulldog walking tour. One last chance to see the city, which is just as beautiful at night as it is during the day.

(c) AB Raschke

(c) AB Raschke

South Carolina: Greenville and Columbia

south-carolina-physical-map

The flight from Atlanta to Greenville is a little less than an hour’s flight, and utilizes a small, regional jet. As the size of the flight suggested, the Greenville airport was small and welcoming; the type of airport where it takes about two minutes to walk from the furthest gate to the baggage claim. We arrived too late in the day for us to see much of the town on our arrival. What I did notice immediately, however, was the wonderful climate (despite the ongoing argument, I am of the opinion the Phoenix’s heat is far worse than the muggy heat that we experienced in Greenville and Charleston) and the chorus of cicadas that was unlike anything that I had ever heard at home.

I found Greenville itself to be a wonderful place to visit. Its downtown area reminded me of Lawrence, Kansas with all its small boutiques and unique restaurants.

(c) A.B. Raschke

(c) A.B. Raschke

It also has a plethora of historical statues, artistic pieces, and the playful little “Mice on Main.” Of particular interest to me was the statue of Francis Marion, or the “Swamp Fox.”
(c) A.B. Raschke

(c) A.B. Raschke

I’m not much of a history buff, so I hadn’t heard of the man before, and besides being beautiful, his statue came with a plaque that was very informative, and served as the first of many history lessons that I would partake in during my trip. South Carolina is a land of American history, and that in and of itself makes the state a prime place to visit, explore, and learn about.

It was also while viewing Francis’ statue that I saw my first Mouse on Main. The little guy was perched at the Swamp Fox’s feet, complete with a revolution era hat.

(c) A.B. Raschke

(c) A.B. Raschke

As it happens there are nine of unique mouse statues in Greenville’s downtown which were inspired by Goodnight Moon and originally thought up as a senior project by Jim Ryan, and sculpted by Zan Wells. The little mice statues are hidden throughout downtown, and can be sought out by those interested in finding them all. There are souvenirs sold in some of the shops for findings them all, and there is a website with clues for finding them. Apparently, the mice have had to be placed twice because the first set was stolen one by one from the streets. Luckily, they were replaced and the hunt for the neat little art pieces goes on.

After exploring the shops for a time, we wandered into Falls Park on Reedy. Here the Reedy River flows through town, cascading over some lovely falls and weaving its way through the park which is complete with small fields of grass, swings, and the shade of massive trees.

(c) A.B. Raschke

(c) A.B. Raschke

The park itself is fairly new, having once been a degraded section of the river where industry in Greenville got its start and the waterway paid the toll. Now, restored and beautiful, the water still isn’t all that safe to wade or swim in but it provides a beautiful amenity to locals and visitors alike. In the middle of the city, It was a great place to relax and experience a bit of nature.

While in Greenville, we also visited the Greeneville zoo. which was fittingly small, but had a good assortment of animals. I even got to see a few animals that I had never seen before- like legless lizards. That being said, as someone sensitive to the treatment of animals, this particular zoo made me somewhat uncomfortable.

(c) A.B. Raschke

(c) A.B. Raschke

Food in the form of crackers was sold to visitors as a way to feed the animals, and while I have seen this type of entertainment before, and I had never noticed it being so misused. People were throwing crackers at the giraffes and aiming to hit the animals rather than just feed them. Likewise, the chickens and ducks were showered with large chunks of crackers, and people fed the food to animals with clear signs saying they were on special diets. I’m sure such behavior isn’t unique to Greenville, but accompanied by people screaming at the animals and banging on their enclosures, it was hard for me to stomach nonetheless.

A more peaceful place to visit in town was the Paris Mountain State Park. There is a small lake for swimming and paddling, a multitude of wooded trails, and no lack of picnic tables and shaded pagodas. Online maps of trails not only provide the length of trails but their general difficulty level, making them very accessible to visitors and locals alike. We took the Mountain Creek trail from its trailhead down to The Lake Placid loop and then around.

(c) A.B. Raschke

(c) A.B. Raschke

The woods along the trail were verdant, and the lake itself was beautiful. I especially enjoyed a section of the lake trail with passed over a small bridge in front of the lake’s dam, where water was cascading over the top in a small, steady waterfall. Interestingly, I had been warned by my friend’s mother that Paris Mountain wasn’t the best place in the area for hiking, but as a visitor, I found it to be well worth the trip.

Finally, we were not able to spend much more than a few hours in South Carolina’s capital city, Columbia, but while we were there we visited a small museum which I very much enjoyed and which surprised our group with its expansiveness.

(c) A.B. Raschke

(c) A.B. Raschke

Attached to South Carolina State Museum, is a smaller and separate establishment, the Relic Room. Judging by its name and the price (which was 5 dollars) we expected little more than a small exhibit with a few old objects from the past. Rather, the relic room had an expansive, although not permanent, exhibit about Gettysburg, which was very informative, and then had a permanent exhibit featuring South Carolina’s military contributions throughout time. Once again, I’m not a history buff, but this little place was interesting, and was a great place to spend a few hours. For those spending more time in Columbia it would be an easy place to visit in conjunction with the main museum, and joint tickets are available.

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