glennbo123
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 10, 2008
We do the Charleston
Our dreaded check-out day arrived on Saturday, June 28th. Our plan for the day was to drive to Charleston and do a little sight-seeing, and then continue on to Wilmington, NC for the night. We lived in Wilmington from 1996 to 1999 (Marlene was born there), and we wanted to drive through the area, go to Sunday services at our old church, and maybe catch up with a friend or two.
We were up at 6:30, finished packing and had some breakfast.
As we packed up, I realized that there were still a couple of things that I hadn’t properly documented yet. Like this faux-crate, which serves as a coffee table.
And the TV.
I couldn’t remember if I’d taken good pictures of the kitchen, and it’s always important to have those, so that you can look back and remember what you had to work with.
I stopped by the Front Desk to make sure that the room charges were all settled and somewhere in the midst of the conversation I mentioned that we were going to visit Charleston on our way north today, after checking out. The cast member graciously gave me a Charleston tour book. I don’t think we used it for any discounts, but it was a really nice gesture and something to remember if you’re planning any day trips to Charleston or Savannah or other nearby attractions -- you may be able to get some discount books or other planning information from the Front Desk.
After that, Judy and I took the bikes back to the Rec window and cast member Roby (who looks like he walked in straight out of “Dukes of Hazzard”) asked how we were. I said, “Terrible! We have to leave.” He said, “Well do ya still have money, ‘cause there’s always a campground!”
We made our last use of our refillable mugs with some coffee and tea for the road, I took one last picture of the pier, and we drove out at 9:20.
Somewhere between Hilton Head and Charleston we saw this redneck-system for raft transportation. The only thing that was missing was the guy’s arm out the window “holding” it (as if that was possible) onto the roof. Judy took a picture with her phone.
When we got to Charleston, we decided to start our sight-seeing in the Battery area the town. We were looking for parking, which was scarce, and heard a couple of cannon blasts. “What was that?!” Judy exclaimed. Neither of us had any idea. We finally found a spot to park and walked to a park near the water. A bunch of people were gathered, and a band was playing. Now that’s the kind of welcome I expect at every city! Nice job, Charleston!
Here’s a short Instagram clip.
We later learned that it was “Carolina Days” and the band was the Charleston Community Band. The cannon blasts that we’d heard were the start of the celebration.
They played a couple of Sousa marches, which were great. I wished that I could have grabbed a baritone and joined in.
This monument was in the park, nearby.
We walked over to get a view of the water. If I remember correctly, a wedding party was getting set to take some pictures there also, but I don’t take paparazzi-style photos of wedding parties, so this is as much as you get.
We liked this little whimsical statue in Battery Park. I did a google search afterward and found that it is called “Girl”. Can’t argue with that.
On our walk back to the car I took a few photos of some really beautiful houses that I’ll never be able to afford.
continued in next post
Link to next post
Our dreaded check-out day arrived on Saturday, June 28th. Our plan for the day was to drive to Charleston and do a little sight-seeing, and then continue on to Wilmington, NC for the night. We lived in Wilmington from 1996 to 1999 (Marlene was born there), and we wanted to drive through the area, go to Sunday services at our old church, and maybe catch up with a friend or two.
We were up at 6:30, finished packing and had some breakfast.
As we packed up, I realized that there were still a couple of things that I hadn’t properly documented yet. Like this faux-crate, which serves as a coffee table.
And the TV.
I couldn’t remember if I’d taken good pictures of the kitchen, and it’s always important to have those, so that you can look back and remember what you had to work with.
I stopped by the Front Desk to make sure that the room charges were all settled and somewhere in the midst of the conversation I mentioned that we were going to visit Charleston on our way north today, after checking out. The cast member graciously gave me a Charleston tour book. I don’t think we used it for any discounts, but it was a really nice gesture and something to remember if you’re planning any day trips to Charleston or Savannah or other nearby attractions -- you may be able to get some discount books or other planning information from the Front Desk.
After that, Judy and I took the bikes back to the Rec window and cast member Roby (who looks like he walked in straight out of “Dukes of Hazzard”) asked how we were. I said, “Terrible! We have to leave.” He said, “Well do ya still have money, ‘cause there’s always a campground!”
We made our last use of our refillable mugs with some coffee and tea for the road, I took one last picture of the pier, and we drove out at 9:20.
Somewhere between Hilton Head and Charleston we saw this redneck-system for raft transportation. The only thing that was missing was the guy’s arm out the window “holding” it (as if that was possible) onto the roof. Judy took a picture with her phone.
When we got to Charleston, we decided to start our sight-seeing in the Battery area the town. We were looking for parking, which was scarce, and heard a couple of cannon blasts. “What was that?!” Judy exclaimed. Neither of us had any idea. We finally found a spot to park and walked to a park near the water. A bunch of people were gathered, and a band was playing. Now that’s the kind of welcome I expect at every city! Nice job, Charleston!
Here’s a short Instagram clip.
We later learned that it was “Carolina Days” and the band was the Charleston Community Band. The cannon blasts that we’d heard were the start of the celebration.
They played a couple of Sousa marches, which were great. I wished that I could have grabbed a baritone and joined in.
This monument was in the park, nearby.
We walked over to get a view of the water. If I remember correctly, a wedding party was getting set to take some pictures there also, but I don’t take paparazzi-style photos of wedding parties, so this is as much as you get.
We liked this little whimsical statue in Battery Park. I did a google search afterward and found that it is called “Girl”. Can’t argue with that.
On our walk back to the car I took a few photos of some really beautiful houses that I’ll never be able to afford.
continued in next post
Link to next post
Last edited: