~Charleston, South Carolina~

We have just finished visiting beautiful Charleston, South Carolina.   This is the view coming into the waterfront, downtown area.

We have had SO much rain the last few days and it was high tide as well so there was water flooding over all the roads.

We started off at Waterfront Park which is right along the Charleston Harbour entry.  The park has fountains, lawns, walking and jogging paths and a lovely pier with wooden swings!!

We were able to see Fort Sumter from the end of the pier.   It was from here that the first shots of the Civil War were fired.   We could also see the USS Yorktown - World War II aircraft carrier.

You can see how the water is coming over the edge of the path.

Look at those roads!!

We visited the Old City Market which is one of the nation's oldest public makets (1804).  LOTS of tourists enjoying all the crafts, souvenirs and "southern favourites" - sweet grass baskets, grits, etc...

Everywhere you go are these beautiful and sometimes quite creepy (depending on where you are) large oak trees with Spanish moss hanging from them.

A lot of people enjoy carriage rides which take them around the historic part of the city.

"Rainbow Row" is what this street is called as it has a series of colourful historic houses.

Then off to Battery Park and White Point Gardens.   This stretches along the shores of the Charleston Peninsula and is bordered by the Cooper and Ashley rivers.

Then we took a drive to James Island and  famous "Folly Beach".   Another lovely white, sandy beach with a long fishing pier (second longest on the east coast).  The pier stretches 1 045 feet into the Atlantic Ocean.   Once again due to the cold weather the beach was empty.

We then drove to the end of the island where we parked the van at the Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve and walked down to the ocean.   There were so many beautiful birds and lovely scenery!

Then on the way back "home" we stopped off at the Caw Caw Interpretive Centre.   We SO desperately wanted to see an alligator.  We did several of the walks around the park - all so interesting with the swamps, oak trees, ferns, birds, old rice plantations etc.....BUT.....NO gators!!!   Ahhhhhh !!!  Too cold "they" said!

It is a different world "out east" - all SO interesting to see.

Another GREAT day!