Our second full day in Charleston. We wanted to explore Fort Sumter National Monument, so we drove the short distance to Patriots Point again and this time boarded a much larger boat for the trip across the bay. Fort Sumter is where the first shot of the Civil War was fired. On April 12, 1861, Confederate artillery opened fire on the Federal fort, and the forces there surrendered two days later. Geography of course played a role, since this is such a strategic location. Culture and economics, though, also played a part, as South Carolina was the first state to secede, and largely over the issue of slavery, the same system that helped make Charleston so wealthy.
After our tour of the fort, we had a late lunch at Sticky Fingers, a southern bbq chain. (We were informed by a tour guide in Asheville, NC earlier on this trip, that bbq is a noun, not a verb!). Purely in the interest of academic research, I felt obligated to sample as much local cuisine as possible, so I ordered the smoked sausage, beef brisket, and pulled pork platter with sides of bbq baked beans and collard greens, and sweet tea to wash it all down. All five varieties of their bbq sauce are also gluten free, so I had to sample them as well. My eating habits have definitely changed since my wife and daughter are with me, and I may regain the weight I lost earlier in the trip. We've been walking more, though, so at least I'm burning off some of the calories!
 |
| Our tour boat. |
 |
| Not our tour boat. The USS Yorktown, now a museum at Patriots Point. |
 |
| View of Charleston as we headed out to Fort Sumter. |
 |
| Another tour boat. |
 |
| Fine southern cuisine. |
Such sacrifices you continue to make on your trip, yummers!
ReplyDeleteGreat photos of the fort!
ReplyDelete