Our target departure time is 2:00 this afternoon. That left just enough time to squeeze in a carriage ride through Charleston. We booked the 9:40 tour and took the marina's courtesy van to the stable/garage. There are five companies operating carriage tours, and we chose this particular one because their horses and carriages looked the best cared for. As we arrived, the seemingly dimensional painting on the exterior wall welcomed us. We watched as an entire team of groomers worked on the team from top to bottom, mane to hoof. Frank was our escort this morning. He is a six-year-old Belgian draft horse, that comes in at an massive 20 hands. The horses used by this company are all former Amish plow horses and have no problem pulling a wagon loaded with 17 people through the streets. Each tour begins with a stop at the Tourism Office's check-in gate where the carriage is randomly assigned one of four possible routes. There is no way to choose which must-see spots you'll visit on the hour-long tour. Although we didn't visit the iconic Rainbow Row, we did get a nice overview of the city's architectural history and a good look at many beautiful houses.
Details atop gateposts or alongside doorways were pointed out. We saw quite a few Charleston Single Houses. I had never heard of these before, but was quickly impressed by their clever design. Frank brought us back on time and pulled right up to his bucket of water. We walked through the Slave Market (no slaves were ever sold here, they did come to the market to purchase food) which is now an overgrown flea market, full of leased-out small vendor tables. We grabbed some lunch and finished our stay in Charleston with a walk to the Pineapple Fountain. The van picked us up a short walk from there and we were back at the marina by 1:00.
We will depart Charleston in a few minutes and head out on our overnight journey to Bald Head Island, NC via the Atlantic Ocean. We'll time our trip to both leave and arrive at slack tide. We'll have the afternoon to explore before storms roll through on Sunday.
Details atop gateposts or alongside doorways were pointed out. We saw quite a few Charleston Single Houses. I had never heard of these before, but was quickly impressed by their clever design. Frank brought us back on time and pulled right up to his bucket of water. We walked through the Slave Market (no slaves were ever sold here, they did come to the market to purchase food) which is now an overgrown flea market, full of leased-out small vendor tables. We grabbed some lunch and finished our stay in Charleston with a walk to the Pineapple Fountain. The van picked us up a short walk from there and we were back at the marina by 1:00.
We will depart Charleston in a few minutes and head out on our overnight journey to Bald Head Island, NC via the Atlantic Ocean. We'll time our trip to both leave and arrive at slack tide. We'll have the afternoon to explore before storms roll through on Sunday.
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