Bridges wrote:
It would be a shame to visit MB and not drive 2 hours south to visit one of the most stunning cities in America. Charleston has enough to see you could easily spend a couple of weeks there and still only scratch the surface. I lived there for six years before moving to Pennsylvania thirty-something years ago. My family has returned yearly and two years ago we purchased a 2nd home on Mt. Pleasant across the Cooper River from downtown Charleston. We go down about three times a year now. Despite how much I've been there, there is a never-ending supply of things to see and do. From the boat ride out to Ft. Sumpter to the Ghost carriage rides, museums, and plantations, you will never get it all in without multiple visits. The food is as good as it gets anywhere with James Beard-honored restaurants. Great little out-of-the-way eateries like "Poe's" out on Sullivan's Island (a barrier island off the coast of Mt. Pleasant and about half an hour from downtown Charleston). They may serve you a hamburger as good as you will find anywhere. It is a small white house with seating inside, on the porch, or in the front yard. The theme of course is Poe with the raven on the sign. Take a walk on some of the cobblestone streets and stroll along the "Battery" This is a seawall that juts out in the Charleston harbor. A nice park runs down one length of the seawall and some of the most beautiful mansions from the Colonial Era are adjacent to the park. A park that lines the harbor along the Cooper River is a nice place to relax for a couple of hours. Enjoy the fountains (including the famous Pineapple Fountain), watch sailboats on the river, and have a swing in one of the swings that are under the covered portions of a dock that runs out into the river. The four-block-long market is also a great visit with many merchants selling locally made crafts including the Sweet Grass baskets that are hand-woven by ancestors of slaves. This is a craft handed down through the ages and is synonymous with the "Low Country". A real treat is to visit the Pharmacy in Old Village on Mt. Pleasant, sit on one of the round bar stools, and have a hand-dipped chocolate malt. If you think you might take this advice, PM me and I will give you a couple of suggestions you might like.
It would be a shame to visit MB and not drive 2 ho... (
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Agreed. Since March 1977, the Edgar Allan Poe/Sullivan's Island Library has been uniquely housed in renovated Battery Gadsden, a former Spanish-American War four-gun battery. I was fortunate enough to photograph parts of the Battery ruins in 1976, before it was renovated. Local legend has it that Poe used to sit at the Battery and write poetry by lantern light and smoke opium on occasion. This image was made on Ektachrome Infrared, a false color film that yielded bizarre results, depending on what sort of filter you used over the lens.
The entire SC Low Country is worth a visit. Charleston and Hilton Head Island are two of our favorite places. Charleston is full of photo opportunities.