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Charleston Trip Provides Many Highlights
Submitted by Larry Kludt and Mary Ann Kretz

For the eleven people that met at the MacDonald’s eatery in Athens on the morning of April 28th we knew that we would have a fantastic day of driving under beautiful skies and… we did!

Our leisurely drive, and the route put together by Tom Koballa, took us through many small Georgia & South Carolina towns and got us into Charleston with only about 30 miles spent on the interstate system.  We even got “caught” in a police check point of sorts, the purpose of the check point is still unclear to us.  Upon producing our driver’s licenses to the tight-lipped young officer we were allowed to proceed only to be passed minutes later by a speeding Cadillac, with no pursuing police, that evidently had a reason to evade the “check point”.  We arrived in Charleston at our lodgings and had plenty of time to freshen up before our excellent dinner at Mercato’s Italian Restaurant on N. Market Street followed by some after dinner socializing back at the hotel.

On Sunday morning, another gorgeous day, after walking around downtown Charleston and window shopping, we decided to take a carriage ride and did indeed learn some new facts about Charleston’s colorful history as one of America’s oldest cities. Prior arrangements had us scheduled for a 2:00 pm lunch hosted by the Coastal Carolina Corvette Club on Daniel Island, which we all really enjoyed, followed by a car viewing where they looked at our Jaguars and we looked at and asked questions about their Corvettes. This American icon has a firm foothold in the USA with a huge, dedicated membership and many clubs nationwide. We followed lunch by a twenty-plus mile trip for ice cream down I-26 and had a further opportunity to see their Corvettes and ask questions about the newer models, plans for future Corvettes as well as the older cars. We invited them to do some driving in the north Georgia mountains with us should some of them ever get to the north Georgia area. Since we’d had a late, big lunch we opted for crackers, chips, peanuts and plenty of red and white wine back at the King’s Courtyard Hotel where the two courtyards did make socializing relaxing and fun.

On Monday morning the Clevelands, Newells and Kludts decided to tour the Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. This is America’s oldest major garden and features tropical gardens, a waterfowl refuge, horticultural maze, herb garden, and a plantation house tour.
All of which we viewed while remarking how nice it was not to be working on a M-o-n-d-a-y!  That evening found us at Anson’s Restaurant, for another fine meal and lively conversation about what we’d seen and done during our visit. Mary Ann Kretz and Jim Anderson had opted to see the WWII aircraft carrier (Yorktown), a WWII submarine and other ships that are in Charleston harbor while we were at the plantation.

A trip to Patriot’s Point Naval and Maritime Museum is a mariner’s delight.  Four full-sized  WWII ships are on display and open to discover at your own pace.  It’s just a short drive from downtown Charleston across the modern and impressive Highway 17 bridge over the Cooper River, the entrance to the busy Port of Charleston.

Just as we arrived at the museum, tickets were going on sale for a trip aboard the General Beauregard for a waterborne trip to Fort Sumter, the sight of the first shots to be fired in the Civil War.   The fort is actually a manmade island built in the 1800s to protect the valuable natural harbor of Charleston.   The fort served as a Southern stronghold during the war but was eventually evacuated as Sherman’s troops advanced from Savannah in 1865.  It also served as a coastal defense establishment for both WWI and WWII.  There is a very nice museum and the highlight of the trip was the narration by the Forest Ranger describing the details of the first battle of Fort Sumter.  The tour boat winds its way around the harbor providing great views of the Battery houses and the very active harbor.

Arriving back at the museum, we decided to tackle the submarine first.  It was hard to imagine 80 men living aboard this vessel for extended periods of time.  There were only about 8 or 10 other visitors at the same time we were touring the ship but it seemed like there were way too many strangers in a very small space.  Imagine crawling into your cozy berth sandwiched in between two of the ten torpedoes carried by this fighting machine.

Next we moved to the destroyer USS Laffey.  The accommodations here seemed luxurious compared to the submarine but wasn’t enough to make us want to give up our cushy digs at the Inn.  The Laffey was part of the beach bombardment for D-Day and later survived direct attacks by five kamikaze planes in the battle of the Philippines.
 
The day was wearing on and our feet were getting tired so we headed for the Yorktown aircraft carrier next.  At nearly 900 feet long this vessel dominates the landscape in this part of the harbor.   The ship served in the Pacific fleet during WWII  and also in the Vietnam War.  She also served as one of the recovery ships for the Apollo 8 spaceshot.  We were greeted by a very helpful guide at the information desk.  The ship is so big that there are six different self-guided tours.  There are also many well-restored examples of historic airplanes.  The flight deck has examples of more modern planes and the bridge is also open for touring.  We completed three of the six tours and managed a ride in the flight simulator before it was time to head back to the Inn for happy hour and wine tasting.

Tuesday morning came too soon as we all met for breakfast and said our goodbyes before heading home and the next car event.