Babymooning in Charleston
Once I convinced Ryan to go on a Babymoon, we landed on Charleston as our destination. With its historic attractions, spring-like temperatures and fresh seafood, it felt like the right place for a last getaway before our little one arrives. It was the perfect fit!
Here’s a recap of some of the areas we visited and fun we had…
Downtown
We did a lot of walking around in downtown Charleston on our first day, taking in some of the well-known spots. Narrow cobblestone and uneven sidewalks (definitely watch where you’re walking!) were lined with palm trees and historic buildings and houses. We first walked to the Waterfront Park, which had many beautiful trees, plants, flowers and the popular pineapple fountain. Then we continued along the harbor coastline to Battery Park and White Point Park, which features numerous Revolutionary and Civil War-era cannons and statues of influential Charlestonians. White Point Park was lined with beautiful, large Live Oak trees. The trees are named for their year-round foliage. The Charleston area has Live Oak trees as old as 400 years.
We were most impressed with the beautiful historic houses we saw. The homes had details we aren’t used to seeing … porches (sometimes multiple levels), shutters, gas lanterns, window boxes filled with flowers, and intricate ironwork. Most houses were surrounded by gorgeous, elaborate gardens. Even the alleys and walkways we saw were not lacking in detail and beauty.
We saw the street of colorful houses known as the Rainbow Row on East Bay Street. The 13 historic homes are painted various pastel colors to match a Caribbean color scheme and one of the most photographed locations in Charleston.
Historical Sites
From Colonial times to the Civil War, Charleston has played a prominent role in our country’s history. We visited a number of historic sites and museums during our stay. The first place we toured was the Old Exchange Building & Provost Dungeon. This is one of the most historic buildings in the city; built in 1771. The tour was informative and here is some of what we learned:
It was within this building that the South Carolina ratified the US Constitution in 1788 and became the 8th state to join the union.
During the American Revolution, British forces converted the bottom floor of the Exchange into a military prison known as the Provost or “dungeon.” The conditions were very harsh for prisoners and some died while imprisoned here.
Before the British’s two-year occupation of the Exchange, the Patriots had walled up 10,000 pounds of gunpowder in a secret chamber on the bottom floor. The British never discovered the gunpowder.
President George Washington visited Charleston for one week during his Southern Tour of the United States in 1791 and attended multiple celebrations and events in the Great Hall of the Exchange.
Enslaved people were sold outside of the Exchange on an open space near the north side of the building.
We knew we wanted to visit a plantation while in Charleston. There were four to choose from and we ended up picking Middleton Place. A National Historic Landmark, Middleton Place is an 18th-century rice plantation comprised of 65 acres of America's oldest landscaped Gardens, the Middleton Place House Museum and the Plantation Stableyards. It was the home of four generations of Middletons, beginning with Henry, president of the First Continental Congress; Arthur, a signer of the Declaration of Independence; another Henry, Governor of South Carolina, and William, a signer of the Ordinance of Secession. At one point in time, the Middleton family operated 19 plantations encompassing some 63,000 acres of land and owned more than 3,500 enslaved people.
The House Museum – built in 1755 – is a surviving portion of the three-house complex that once stood on the plantation grounds. The original houses were burned by Union troops during the Civil War. The House Museum was filled with belongings of the Middletons, many of which survived the war because they were buried or hidden before the start of the war.
The gardens are peppered with camellias, azaleas, magnolias and myrtle. There were many Live Oaks with Spanish moss hanging from the branches.
The Stableyards had historical re-enactors (in the areas of pottery, wood-working and blacksmithing) on hand, demonstrating the skills and technology used on the plantation in the 18th century. There was an array of animals as well – draft horses, cashmere goats, sheep, hogs, chickens and water buffalo – all of which were once raised on the plantation. Since we were visiting in the spring, the sheep and hogs both had babies, born as recently as two days prior. We also saw small alligators with their young near the waters.
Eliza’s House, a modest two-family duplex of formal Middleton slaves or Freedmen, was also found on the plantation. Slaves often returned to their owners after the war, not knowing what to do, and would work for them or do crop-sharing. The house was named in memory of Eliza Leach, a South Carolina African-American who lived in the house until her death at 94 in 1986. She worked for the Middleton Place, performing a variety of duties. The house has historical exhibits and a list of 2,800 enslaved people who worked on the Middleton plantations.
What we learned from our visit is that the cash-crop of Charleston area wasn’t tobacco or cotton as we suspected but instead rice. Known as Carolina Gold, the rice arrived in the area around 1685 and was responsible for the area’s rise to prominence in the colonial era. Rice production was very difficult work and required a large number of field slaves as well as several enslaved experts. Rice planters relied on these experts to have the knowledge and skills necessary for building the fields, planting the crops, flooding and draining the fields, tending to the crops, and finally harvesting and preparing the rice for sale. The slaves worked long days under the summer sun, trudging in swampy, snake and mosquito infested water. Rice remained a dominant commodity until the end of the Civil War, when production declined due to the loss of slave labor and working capital.
Next up was Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum. It houses the aircraft carrier, U.S.S. Yorktown “the Fighting Lady”, the U.S.S. Clamagore submarine, the destroyer USS Laffey, military aircraft and much more. The Yorktown was commissioned in 1943 and played a significant role in the Pacific during War World II. During the war, it carried 380 officers, 3,088 enlisted men, and an air group of 90 planes. The Yorktown also served in the Vietnam War and in 1968, it recovered the Apollo 8 astronauts, the first men to orbit the moon. It was decommissioned two years later and towed from New Jersey to Charleston and dedicated as a museum in 1975. Ryan loves military history and has toured the U.S.S. Midway in San Diego and the U.S.S. Missouri in Hawaii. Our neighbor Casey’s dad served on the Yorktown.
From Patriots Point, we got a clear view of the Arthur Ravenel, Jr. Bridge. The bridge connects Charleston and Mount Pleasant and is visible from almost anywhere in the area. We stayed in Mount Pleasant so we traveled on the bridge every day. The weekend following our stay, an annual 10K race on the bridge was being held.
From Patriots Point, we took a ferry to Fort Sumter. Originally constructed in 1829 as a coastal stronghold, Fort Sumter is most famous for being the site of the first shots of the Civil War. Thirty-four hours after the Confederate forces fired the opening shots, the Union surrendered the fort. The Confederate troops occupied it for nearly four years. After the Civil War, Fort Sumter was restored by the U.S. military and manned during the Spanish-American War, World War I and World War II. In 1948, the fort became a National Monument, under control of the National Park Service.
Due to some colder weather on our last day, we weren’t able to venture to any beaches like we would have liked and instead went back downtown to a few other well-known spots – the Calhoun House, the Old Slave Mart Museum and the Charleston City Market. The Calhoun House is Charleston’s largest private home and house museum (24,000 square feet). Its library was featured in the film, The Notebook. The Old Slave Mart was once part of a complex of buildings known as Ryan's Mart where slave auctions were held. The City Market is a historic market complex that was established in the 1790s. Hopefully Baby will one day enjoy history like his/her mom and dad!
Food.
We enjoyed the southern, low-country food and fresh, local seafood Charleston is known for. We dined on collard greens, grits, oysters, succotash, fried green tomatoes, crab cakes, catfish, scallops, shrimp, soft-shell crab, fried chicken, pecan pie, BBQ, coconut cake, pimento cheese, and jambalaya. It was all so delicious. There were so many restaurants to choose from, all with high ratings. We chose to dine at Magnolias, Queen 82, Hank’s Seafood and Poogan's Smokehouse. The wait staff was so friendly. Southern Hospitality is a real thing. Hopefully Baby will be open to eating all sorts of yummy, diverse food like us someday!
Charleston was a great place to visit. A lot of the locals spoke about the rise of tourism in the city. We can see why. If you’re looking for a southern getaway, we highly recommend you consider Charleston!
