doin' the Charleston

This morning Keith and I left Columbia and drove two hours southeast to Charleston for a mini vacation! We arrived early afternoon and hit the ground running with a stroll around the straw market, homemade gelato from a local candy maker and shop, and then a carriage tour of downtown Charleston. The carriage tour was a great overview of the city and Keith and I found several places that we want to go back to and make sure we visit while we're here. (as a fun side note, the girl who sold us our tickets for the carriage tour turned out to have graduated from Keith's high school 2 years behind his brother Mark, and was the daughter of Keith's high school history teacher. Small world!)


Chris, our tour guide, hangs out in the carriage with our horse, Dakota. Dakota was a sweet horse, although she didn't seem the least bit interested in getting anywhere in a hurry!


A view of the Old Exchange Building (and Dakota's behind.) This building served a host of purposes but also housed a dungeon and was involved with the import and export of goods at the port.


A view of "Rainbow Row."


Our carriage tour company barn.

On the way home from the carriage tour we got take out (Ahi tuna sandwich for Keith and a fried grouper sandwich for me) from a local grill and then headed out to freshen up...this Charleston humidity is something fierce! At 9 pm we met in front of the United States Custom House for a ghost tour of downtown. Our tourguide, Noah, was a total history buff and told spooky tales of the downtown area. After the tour was over we headed in for the night where I'm writing this blog right now! Tomorow is supposed to be a little rainy...but we've planned both an indoor and an outdoor itinerary so we're ready for anything!

Keith took this cool picture of the U.S. Custom House where our ghost tour met!


This restaurant is supposedly one of the most haunted buildings in Charleston. A bankrupt cotton tycoon had sold a shipment of cotton worth around 30 million by today's standards. This contract was going to help him get his entire business back on the ground. As he sat in his office and watched boat containing the valuable cotton shipment sail out to sea, a drunken sailor on the ship dropped his pipe and the tycoon was forced to watch his entire cargo go up in smoke. He hung himself in his third floor office. Since then weird things have happened in the building. The third floor is now a bar and one group of friends claimed that a cold wind blew through the building and the furniture began to levitate and then stack itself up!


St. Philip's Episcopal church.


The graveyard of St. Philip's.