Road Trip – Day 7 Sunday, April 3rd
We had stayed at Pawleys Island/Litchfield last night because the woman at the South Carolina Welcome Center told us that there were four major events happening in Charleston this weekend. There was an art show, a flower show, the Bridge Run race, and something else which I can’t remember. She said that most of the hotel rooms in town were filled so Sunday or Monday would be much better days to visit the popular city.
Pineapple Fountain in Charleston
We left Pawley’s Island and drove south on Route 17 under the brilliant warm sunshine. The leaves on the trees were beginning to turn green. The number of palm trees where growing as we traveled south. Azalea bushes were in full bloom in a variety of colors. Spring was definitely here.
Charleston Houses Along Meeting Street
There isn’t too much to see along this part of Route 17 because it passes through the dense forests of Francis Marion National Forest and the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge. We passed signs pointing to small towns and saw isolated shanties and tiny AME Zion churches along the road. There were also ramshackle wood stands on the side of the road into Charleston. These are where the African sweetgrass basket-makers sit in the summertime and weave their intricate baskets. They were empty now, waiting for warmer weather.
One Way to See Charleston
Route 17 goes across a high bridge from Mount Pleasant and runs straight through the back streets of Charleston before crossing another bridge over the Ashley River on the other side and continuing out of town. We followed Route 17 to West of Ashley to a lovely Hampton Inn about six miles out of town. We checked in early and returned back to Charleston to explore the historic city.
King Street in Charleston
The streets are narrow in Charleston and parking on the streets is limited to residents. First we drove down to the end of Meeting Street and around the end of the peninsula and past the Battery. We wanted to get our bearings before parking the car in a parking garage. Then we walked all over Charleston up and down the small back streets and along the main streets of Meeting, King, and Market.
One of the Back Streets
In one word, Charleston is lovely. It is a graceful city with a lot of gentile charm. The architecture is southern colonial and many of the houses were built in the 1700s and early 1800s. They are very well maintained and lovingly restored with beautiful plantings. Tall 3-story houses were built on narrow lots with long multi-level porches on the side. The porches had ceiling fans and wooden rocking chairs and looked very inviting.
Old Cemetery
Along Meeting Street, near a large church, a woman had set up a table filled with her hand-made sweetgrass baskets. She was working on the base of a new basket when I stopped to admire them. There were different sizes and shapes of baskets and she had signed all her work with marking pen.
The Sweetgrass Basket Maker
Patricia Smalls worked as she spoke to me, a bucket of fresh grasses stood beside her. I decided to buy one of the smaller baskets because I liked the curvature of the sides. There were three undulating curves which reminded me of the waves on the ocean.
Patricia Smalls Weaving a Basket
We continued to walk around and took lots of photos. After a while, we decided to take a break and have a light lunch on King Street. The weather was warm and sunny all day. A variety of spring flowers bloomed in lovely gardens. On the way back to the car we found Market Street and the row of covered markets.
Charleston Buggy
Historically this was where over a third of all the African slaves arrived into the colonies. Once the commercial center of Charleston, the market now houses a range of souvenir shops and tourist restaurants. There were also more local basket weavers selling their beautiful sweetgrass baskets.
Typical Charleston House
We were tired from walking around most of the day, so we returned to our hotel in West Ashley in the early evening. We rested for a while and later decided to go out to the local Chinese restaurant for dinner. We got a light take-out order of soup and dumplings and returned to the room. It was a good touristy day.
Azaleas In Bloom