North Carolina

North Carolina is beautiful!  I loved the mountain views!

It was entirely different than the other states we drove through.  So lush and green.

It was just plain pretty.  I can't imagine living in one of those homes tucked in the foliage.

 

USS Yorktown

The USS Yorktown was decommissioned years ago and is now a floating museum.  

We went for a tour and only got to see a portion of it.

Figuring we will probably never go back there, we needed a photo.

The view from the flat top.

There was a display about the Doolittle Raid.  This board told about each of the planes and what happened to them and those on board.

When I watch Pearl Harbor years ago, it was the first time I ever heard of the Doolittle Raid.

This is one of the planes on that raid.

This was the briefing room where the pilots would get their orders.

The newspaper headlines!

One of many cargo ships that we noticed going by as we were atop the Yorktown.

Another decommissioned vessel next to the Yorktown.  I think this one is a battleship.

On top of the flat top.

I stood on the very end of the ship and took this photo.  That's a long stinkin' way to the other end.

I was unaware of what was over the side of the ship.

Donna looking at the cable that puts the brakes on the incoming planes.

Pat holding that same cable.  There were three different places where they could be attached.

Larry and Donna were ready to go and so were we.

I don't think anyone aboard a aircraft carrier can take these instructions for granted.

What a amazing tour!

Exchange and Provost

There used to be a large rock where the slaves stood while they were being bid on.  It is no longer there.  

We visited the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon.  The main floor is where the exchange was.  Something along the lines of the stock exchange.  The upper floor was used for banquets and parties.  It is a wide open space.  

The basement is the dungeon where military prisoners were housed.  

The basement ceilings were curved or arched.  The architecture of how this was done is amazing!

Each brick had to be placed in the proper way in order to make the arches happen.

One of the rooms was bricked up and a stash of gun powder was behind it.  The enemies never found it.

I can only imagine the dankness and the smells that came from this place while it was inhabited.  There could have been hundreds of men imprisoned here.  

 

Charleston with the Odums

A trip to South Carolina to visit Larry and Donna Odum was our next stop on our vacation.  Beautiful weather and interesting sights.  They took us to Charleston and we saw some interesting and amazing things.  

Some of the homes we saw were incredible.  I cannot imagine living in such a lap of luxury plus having all those rooms to maintain.  I know they can afford domestic help so they don't actually clean it.

We drove down this cobblestone street and to say it was rough is an understatement.

We drove through the grounds of the Citidel.  The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, commonly known simply as The Citadel, is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1842, it is one of six senior military colleges in the United States.

There were plenty of people walking around dressed in their military uniforms.

It seemed to be quite a large, spread-out campus with the green space right in the middle.

These homes are part of Rainbow Row.

All in a row, painted different colors.

We went to the Slave Market.  It isn't where slaves were sold but rather a place where they could bring their wares to sell.  It really is a giant flea market.  We walked through three buildings and each one was just like the last one.  I finally turned us around so we could leave.

This is another one of the "homes" we saw.  It was for sale.  I can't recall the amount of millions the seller was asking.

Out on the horizon you can see Fort Sumter.  Two forts stand at the entrance of Charleston Harbor. Patriots inside a palmetto log fort, later named Fort Moultrie, defeated the Royal Navy in 1776. As Charleston blazed a path towards secession to preserve slavery, construction on a new fort, Fort Sumter, proceeded. The Confederacy fired on the US garrison of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861 opening the Civil War, which redefined American freedom.

Another one of those big mansions that someone calls home.

This type of big gun was used to fire on Fort Sumter.

The oddest thing pointed out to us is the open porches on the homes.  They are accessed through a side door which is usually locked.  What?  If someone wants to get in, the porch is open.  Weird.  

Savannah

In Savannah we took a bus tour around the historic town.  

Our tour guide/bus driver was very entertaining and we learned a lot of things about this place.

I guess they aren't things that I necessarily remember, but still it was fun.  Again, a place we've never been and will probably never go back to.

There is something crazy about the end of these downspouts. 

Before we left, we took a tour of a lighthouse.  Since Pat had a significant experience last time we toured lighthouses, he needed to find out about these people as well.  No luck, all their temple work has been accomplished.

There is a boat that sunk or ran aground or something a few years ago.  It is still being scuttled.

After climbing the 149 stairs to the top of the lighthouse, I was getting a bit winded.  I couldn't stand to wear that face mask any longer.  I do not know how those athletes wore masks while they played basketball this past winter.