Harbor Fest 2009

One of the major reasons I was happy about visiting Charleston was that my visit coincided with Harbor Fest which is a celebration of the tall ships. Something I have always wanted to see. Guess you could say they were on my "bucket list". It was so hot and sunny that day but worth it. I took so many pics. You could sail on the ships but most of the trips were sold out. You could also go aboard and tour the ships but the lines were so long I didn't try. I bought a great turquoise hat as a souvenier and because it was so hot I was shading my face. Plus it matched my purse and sunglasses.

The guys hanging in the mast sing and perform but I didn't see that.

I loved the yellow Romanian ship. It was one of the largest. There were ships from Uruguay, Russia, The Netherlands, Germany, France and Romania there. There was a Connecticut coast guard ship. I happened to catch an officer leaving the ship.

The pics speak for themselves.

More Charleston

The second day in Charleston was all about the homes and architecture. I walked along East Bay and East Battery taking pics of homes I loved. I wanted to see Rainbow Row and all the little details that say Charleston to me. I parked (illegally) right on the street in front of Rainbow Row. I couldn't have had a better spot. I say I parked illegally because I didn't think the street was for tourist parking. I think you had to have a resident permit to park there but I took the chance and knew I was only go to be there long enough to take pics. I also walked down to the waterfront. I was really drawn to the harbor.

The cobblestone streets really impressed me. Hard to walk on though. I got a quick impression of what it must have been like on those streets long ago.

The gentleman, Philip Simmons, whose famous ironwork on the gates around Charleston had recently died and his funeral was being held this day. His work is in the Smithsonian. I took special note of any iron gates I saw and thought about his work. I don't know if I actually saw any of his gates or not.

Charleston

I was so lucky and excited to visit Charleston at the end of June 2009. It was my first visit there but I have wanted to visit for quite some time. I loved Charleston Harbor and spent the first day touring the area. Rode the ferry to Fort Sumpter and visited the aircraft carrier Yorktown.