Sunday, August 25, 2024

Charleston, South Carolina

The last stop on the Princess Cruise East Coast trip was Charleston, South Carolina.  As our off-ship excursion, my husband and I decided to take a bus tour of the city, including a few stops at historical places. 

Charleston was founded in 1670 as Charles Town, honoring King Charles II, at Albemarle Point on the west bank of the Ashley River but relocated in 1680 to its present site.   Charleston adopted its present spelling with its incorporation as a city in 1783.


Charleston is now the most populous area in South Carolina in the US.  Its predominant antebellum architecture was charming to see as our tour bus drove around the city.


We drove around The Citadel's campus. 

The Citadel Military College of South Carolina is a public senior military college established in 1842.  It is the third oldest of the six senior military colleges in the United States. The Citadel was initially established as two schools to educate young men from around the state, while simultaneously protecting the South Carolina State Arsenals in both Columbia and Charleston





We could see some co-ed students participating in drills on the large central campus as the bus drove around the grounds.



Charleston is known as the “Holy City” for its skyline punctuated by steeples and is home to some of the most historically and culturally significant churches in North America. Our tour stopped at the Second Presbyterian Church of Charleston. It was built in 1809 by James and John Gordon, this edifice is known as the oldest edifice of the Presbyterian faith of Charleston. The church, built in the Jeffersonian style is the fourth oldest church structure in the city.



Please click on the photo to enlarge it to read the informational placard.

We also stopped to tour the Joseph Manigault House. 
 
The Joseph Manigault house was built in 1803 and was designed by Joseph Manigault's brother Gabriel, who also designed Charleston’s current City Hall. Joseph was a wealthy rice planter who inherited several rice plantations and over two hundred slaves from his grandfather, and married into a wealthy family. His wife's father, Arthur Middleton, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. The house was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1973 and is now a museum. It reflects the urban lifestyle of a wealthy, rice-planting family and the enslaved African Americans who lived there.


The Gate Temple entrance to the Joseph Manigault House Museum--enlarge the photo above to read the informational placard about it.




Please click on  the photo to enlarge it,



The Manigault house's focal point is a "flying" staircase in the hall. The numerous rooms have been restored to their original color schemes and adorned with an exceptional collection of American, English, and French period furnishings.




I enjoyed seeing some beautiful flowers, window flower boxes, and  moss hanging off the many live oak trees in the city,




Our tour bus passed a horse-drawn carriage tour--I made a note to do this tour if we ever return to Charleston in the future.





A carriage ride would be a pleasant way to slowly pass all the magnificent Charleston mansions!




Another thing I regretted not being able to do was pick up a handwoven basket or other braided sweetgrass handicraft that was for sale! For more than 300 years, the Gullah people in Charleston have been weaving baskets using locally harvested bulrush, a strong yet supple marshgrass that thrives in the sandy soil of the Lowcountry. Originally used as winnowing fans to separate the rice seed from its chaff, sweetgrass baskets are regarded among the nation’s most prized cultural souvenirs.



The day we visited Charleston was my birthday so we celebrated at one of the specialty restaurants on our cruise ship and I enjoyed a delicious lobster tail!



We enjoyed watching sailboats outside the windows of the restaurant as we dined.


That evening we enjoyed listening to a fun Elton John impersonator's concert in the ship's theater.

 It was the end of a beautiful day!


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Sunday, August 18, 2024

The American Revolution Museum in Yorktown, Virginia



A replica of a Continental Army encampment during the Revolutionary War

In my last blog post--click here to read--I showed the first part of an excursion my husband and I took while on an East Coast Princess Cruise, It's third stop was in Norfork, Virginia, where we first visited historic Jamestown--the first British settlement in America. The second part of the 7-hour excursion was a visit to The American Revolution Museum in Yorktown, Virginia. The siege of Yorktown, in 1781, was the last major land battle of the American Revolutionary War in North America and led to General Cornwallis's surrender and his army's capture. The Continental Army's victory at Yorktown prompted the British government to negotiate an end to the war.



The American Revolution Museum at Yorktown is a historic attraction that tells the history of America's founding in Colonial Williamsburg. Their website states: "...this interactive museum is the perfect place to start your adventure of the United States' Historic Triangle. You will learn about the twilight of the colonial period, to George Washington and the Revolutionary War, to the dawn of the writing of the Constitution. Visit art gallery exhibits, participate in live reenactments, view amazing exhibit displays featuring period artifacts, learn about General Washington."



We did meet George Washington! 
We were able to go inside his tent and saw how the General ate and slept on the battlefield.




A revolution-era Farm was on display with re-enactors demonstrating the life of a farm family during the 18th century.



I also admired all the flowers blooming on the property, especially the large magnolias in the trees




We saw a demonstration of how a cannon was fired back in the 18th century--it required three people to load and fire it!




There were informational placards all around the outside museum grounds.....
Click on each photo below to enlarge it for easier viewing.







After touring the outside exhibits we went inside the museum building.




The museum displayed an expansive American Revolution timeline, hundreds of period artifacts such as weapons, paintings, maps, and furniture, and had immersive films while learning about the history of North America.



We first watched a short film about the Siege of Yorktown displayed on a 180-degree surround screen.



Please click on the photos to enlarge it

We then strolled through the galleries to read as much as possible in the time we had left.


A copy of a statue of George Washington located in the Virginia State Capital, and information about the General who was to become America's first President. 




Please click on the photo to enlarge it. 


We thoroughly enjoyed visiting both historic Jamestown and Yorktown. If you are interested in learning more about the early formation of our country, these sites offer wonderful immersive experiences.

We had one more stop to shore to make while on our ten-day cruise--next stop is Charleston, South Carolina--on my next post!


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