Fired up about Folly Beach!

First things first: a little blog housekeeping to attend to. So that you all might maximize your blog-reading experience and get a little edjumication, I've added a new feature to today's blog, and gone back and edited yesterday's blog. Anytime a building, historic site, or excursion is mentioned I've made the name of it a link to either the official website of that place or thing or at the very least a Wikipedia page so that you can pick up random bits of useless trivia or perhaps be assisted in planning your very own Charleston vacation. OK. That being said, on to the events of today.

Keith and I decided that after our late-night ghost hunting adventures of the previous evening, and since we are on vacation afterall, that we'd really enjoy it and both sleep in this morning. We got up in time to grab breakfast at the hotel, but then didn't get around to venturing out until noon-thirty this afternoon. We stepped outside our hotel and found a pedicab at the corner and asked him to drive us first to Starbucks (we have our priorities straight for sure!) and then to the waterfront so we could find a mansion to tour. Our cyclist cabbie did just that..and our day had begun!


Our cabbie was a marine biology student from the College of Charleston. It was his first day of work and we were his second fare ever!!


Keith and I in the pedicab in front of Starbucks.

We had our pedi-cabbie drop us off at the Battery (also called White Point Gardens) where we took a stroll under the live oak trees on paths that were made wide enough for two ladies in hoop skirts to walk side by side. We then headed north again up the waterfront along the sea wall until we reached the Edmonston-Alston House where we stopped in to take a tour. The house was originally build buy Mr. Edmonston and then sold to Mr. Alston, whose descendants still own the house (one of them lives on the 3rd floor to this very day!). The Alston family and their friends gathered on the various porticos to watch the first shots of the Civil War in 1861 between South Carolina soldiers and Ft. Sumter, in the harbor across the street.

Keith and I standing on the sea wall with the Edmonston-Alston house in the background (the pink and white house just over my shoulder).

After our home tour we continued along the waterfront until we came upon the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon and decided we'd like to take a tour of that as well. Many historic events happened in this building...over 250 Charlestonians and other men were held prisoner by the British during the Revolutionary War, although the space was originally a storage area for various cash crops such as cotton and indigo. Tea was also stored and hidden there during the Charleston Tea Party and various pirates were also rumored to have been held there. The original Charleston sea wall runs directly beneath the building and can be seen in the dungeon. Upstairs, the building boasts two more floors of historic rooms...including where the U.S. Constitution was ratified in South Carolina.

Keith took this fantastic picture in the Provost Dungeon.

On the stroll home we passed the Market Street Winery, a local winery. They were having a tasting so we stopped in and got to have a sip of five of their wines. All of their grapes are grown in South Carolina in their own vineyards and other types of fruit are purchased from local growers. We'd recommend the Lord Ashley Elderberry or the Shaftsbury Blend if you decide you'd like to try some Market Street Wine.

I was pretty proud of this photo that I took of the bottles of wine for sale.

Since it was raining when we got back to the hotel we figured we'd hop in the car and hit some further-away sights instead of walking in the rain. I'd wanted to see the Citadel so we went there first. Fortunately, the rain stopped as we pulled in so we hopped out and took pictures from the Summerall Field (the main lawn in the center of campus). We also found the Howie Bell tower to be unlocked and climbed to the top of it to see the "organ" that controls the bells. (I'm not sure that we really were supposed to have access to that...but no one stopped us...and it was cool. After we left, we joked that we should have played Happy Birthday or Pop Goes the Weasel or something on it just for fun.) We also visited the Chapel and took pictures in front of the "Daniel Library" which I thought was cool.

The Citadel.

After the Citadel, we drove over to Folly Beach for a simple stroll on the beach (and of course had to stop for Italian Ices on the way from a street vendor!) that turned into the event of the evening as you will soon find out. We had to park outside the gates of the Folly Beach park because the parking lot had already been gated closed for the night. Keith had his camera with him (as always) and snapped some great pictures of the salt marsh on the bay side and a beautiful house that I liked next to the entrance to the state park. We had a nice quiet walk on the beach...hunted for sea shells and splashed our feet in the warm salty sea for about 20 minutes before we headed back. It was quite the dramatic end to the day!

Keith took this picture of a pelican at Folly Beach.


Keith picks up sea shells on Folly Beach.


A view of the salt marsh and the house I thought was so beautiful.

When we reached the boardwalk again, we looked up to see that the roof of the beautiful house I'd liked was on fire! We hurried through the parking lot and were soon able to see that the fire department and police were already on the scene. A small group of neighbors had gathered and since our car was blocked in, we hung around until the fire was out. The owner of the home was home alone out on her balcony and unaware that lightning had struck her house and set it on fire. A family renting the house next door was walking back from the beach and saw the roof on fire and called up to the woman who had the presence of mind to shut off all the electricity before exiting the structure. No one was injured and the fire seemed to be confined to one corner of the roof, but Keith and I couldn't imagine the extent of the water damage from the fireman's hoses. Fortunately, the fire was put out about 30 minutes after it started. I'm sure we'll see it in the paper tomorrow.

Keith's initial distance shot of the house on fire.

A closer shot of the burning house.

You can clearly see the corner where the lightning hit the house.

Firemen were on hand from the Folly Beach, James Island and Charleston Fire Departments.

Keith's passat is dwarfed...and blocked in by the James Island Fire Department Truck and the EMS ambulance.