Looking for Uniqueness

July 4th (Wed.) ~ 6th (Fri.) 2012

Maybe it is because I prefer uniqueness and history, this trip to Charleston impressed me so much. Unlike any other major cities well-known by international tourists, Charleston in South Carolina is famous among Americans.

I arrived Charleston on July 4th.

From this trip I understood why only Americans come. The city is all about American history. Everything here has southern American style. There are not breath-taking monuments, but old houses inherited generation by generation. Their owners keep them with renovated appearances and hence their values. Most restaurant chains are hard to survive in the historic streets because tourists want to enjoy its signature food.

Have a lunch before I go to have a sightseeing.

A special pizza

Crab cakes

First spot is the city market.

The market is composed of several buildings. Some of them have air conditioners.

Dolls made of 100% Alpaca fur

Then visit Rainbow Street and E. Battery Street.

Find an uncurious cat.

Rainbow Street is famous for its vivid colors on houses' walls.

E. Battery along the Cooper River.

Houses in this street are luxurious.

I ate lots of shrimp for dinner.

At night, I went to watch fireworks.

Celebrating for the US National Day

Went to North Charleston to stay in this hotel.

A group of ducks always walk in the parking lot outside the hotel.

When you leave the historic city, some tourist spots await. They are more than the appearance style and flavor. I had to read stories behind them or I could not appreciate their values nowadays.

Boone Hall Planation

Boone's house

Slave Street

Listening stories about the dark chapter in the US history.

The is Charles Pinckney National Historic Site less than one mile away from the Boone Hall.

No much to see here. It only tell you it is historic, nothing else.

Or you can watch the TV program to learn one or two things about Pinckney, like the couple sitting in the front row.

Then I went to Patriots Point to see Yorktown.

Ravenel Bridge

Revisting E.Battery and the riverside.

Trying to find a restaurant in King Street

Roast chicken and fries

S. Adger's Wharf is dark at night.

People get together in bars to have fun.

East Bay at night

Lonely and beautiful. I'm retired now.

If in the future someone asks me for photos in the US, I definitely will show them those took in Charleston first. It is not a city most people would be aware of.

The last day in the city