The weather changed overnight and the morning began breezy and chilly. We did a few boat chores and some laundry before grabbing our jackets and heading to the historic district. Walking down Meeting Street, the grand steeple from neighboring St. Philip's Episcopal church first caught our eye through the grounds of the Circular Congregational Church. Circular Church was founded around 1681 and its burial grounds are the oldest in the city with monuments dating to 1695. The present circular sanctuary was designed by Robert Mills (also designed the Washington Monument in DC), completed in 1892, and is designated as a National Historic landmark. We strolled through the grounds and marveled at some of the stones. Many read like obituaries and are even more incredible when realizing every letter was hand-carved. A large oak with Spanish moss sprawled over the back corner of the property.
We continued walking down Meeting Street and came to a several ladies selling their sweetgrass baskets. Basket sewing is an art that has been handed down through generations. We spoke with Ruth Wright who told us even small baskets can take three days to complete. She was working on a new basket today, pulling dried sweetgrass from a large container at her side. These merchants were set up outside the historic post office and across the street from St. Michael's Episcopal Church. The post office dates to 1896 and both its exterior and interior are still very opulent. The marble floors and stairs, brass rails and columns, and rich mahogany woodwork speak to the importance of this building in its heyday. An active Federal Courthouse remains upstairs. Off to the side was a small postal museum. Carrier and window clerk displays featured stylish period uniforms (far from today's government-issued polyester).
After leaving the post office we popped into Washington Park. Yes, it had a proper statue of George. I was interested in all the gas lamps and flower boxes we passed along residential streets. I never would have thought I see snapdragons blooming in November. Retracing our steps from May, we took a quick stroll through The Market, but didn't buy anything this time either. Around the corner was the Old South Carriage depot. Our guide horse, Jim, awaited our arrival. We were a bit early and got to learn more about the horses. Jim is a 13-year old Percheron draft horse and a gentle veteran of the city tour route.
Inside we got to meet Brian. He is new to the program and still in training. Brian is an impressively large Belgian draft horse. Most of the company's horses are acquired from working Amish farms in Ohio. We loaded into the carbon fiber carriage with 14 other folks, received our route assignment from the lottery (No. 5 this time) and were on our way down Church Street and back toward St. Philip's. Our hour-long tour led us through 300 years of history. We saw Charleston Single Houses, bright flowers, wrought iron gates from the1800s, and even one colorful Victorian home.
We passed by a few very large single family homes including Villa de la Fontaine. Jim made the turn for the home stretch at the old Charleston jail, reported to be the most haunted spot in the city. Back at the depot, Jim was rewarded with a feed bucket. I found out these horses eat 40,000 calories a day. With the sky darkening the street lights came on. Many storefronts and buildings are decorated for Christmas. We stopped for an early dinner and got back to Crossroads as the final bit of color was fading beyond the bridge over the Ashley River.
An important part of our holiday tradition is watching A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving together. Earlier, I received pictures from my North Carolina family of them making toast and decorating the tablecloths for tomorrow's lunch where 37 will gather. We'll stay onboard tomorrow and wait to hear all about it. We won't have toast, but Snoopy will make popcorn (as per tradition). Happy Thanksgiving to you and thank you for following along.
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