Pineapples, Feather Beds & Quilts

Charleston Town Houses

Heywood Washington House

We stayed another day in Charleston to explore some of the grand homes open for inspection.  We started with the Edmondston-Alston House (1825) that looks out over Charleston Harbour and Fort Sumter.  General Beauregard used this house to view the bombardment of Fort Sumter and later General Lee took refuge in the house while the Great Fire (1861) ravaged the city.  We were able to tour 2 of the three levels and admire many family heirlooms typical of the period.  One piece that took our fancy was a joggling chair.  This piece sat proudly out on the piazza and when sat on, bounced up and down, replicating riding a cantering horse.  A modern day exercise bike as it were! 

Further down Church Street, we called in to see Heywood-Washington House (1772), built by rice planter, Daniel Heywood as a townhouse for his son.  At one time, George Washington stayed in the house, perhaps even in that same 4 poster feather bed.  There are few family owned pieces exhibited in the house, however there is a wonderful collection of locally built furniture that dates from that period.  We were fortunate enough to see original William Hogarth prints, “Marriage a la Mode” (1743) and many family portraits (oils).  The gardens were beautifully maintained in a traditional style by a local volunteer gardening group.

External Kitchen at Heywood Washington House

Carolina lays claim to its own style of house, called a “single”.  It’s a narrow house, one room wide facing the street, 3 storeys high and up to 3 rooms deep.  On one long side, generally a south or west façade, a verandah of either one or two levels, locally called a piazza, were added.  The family entrance, into a central hallway, was located in the middle of the piazza side.  A side walled garden and path lead to the main entrance and further down to the kitchen and stables.  A high wall between houses ensured privacy, especially on hot summer days when the drawing room doors were wide open.  Traditionally, the underside of the piazzas were painted light blue - some say to ward off jinns or at least mosquitoes. 

Laundry

Sometimes a family might add a special entrance (at street level and facing the street) for business visitors. The ground floor contained a front parlour for those business visitors and a back dining room, with an adjacent warming room or butler’s pantry.  Rooms upstairs on the second level were used for entertaining guests. These are the drawing rooms (for drawing friends together).  Here visitors could escape the dust and noise from the street outside and doors to the piazza could be thrown open to catch cooling sea breezes.  Bedrooms were on the third floor.  The only slave to sleep inside was the children’s nanny.

"Welcome Pineapples" at the Front Door

The kitchen was a separate building, by law 18 feet from the house; a fire regulation.  It too had up to three levels; kitchen and laundry on the ground floor and bedrooms for family slaves above.  Beyond this was the “necessary”, a wonderful name for a toilet.  Also in the yard was a carriage house and stables.  Many homes also had a cow and chickens.  All this on city blocks not much different in size to ours today!

We discovered the meaning of Charleston’s pineapples.  A traditional symbol of hospitality and welcome (ask any patchwork lady about pineapple designs) many pineapples appear as decorations on homes around town.  We were told that in days gone by, sea captains would put a pineapple out on their gates when they were ready to receive guests.  Once the pineapple had gone, visiting-time was over.  Likewise, those grand sweeping staircases typical of this area symbolise welcoming arms.

House viewings are conducted by tour guides.  You are generally not allowed to wander freely or take photographs.  Our guides were mostly ladies (volunteers) with wonderful Southern drawls - so appropriate to each setting – who answered my many questions most obligingly!  Having said that, we were often complimented on our accent; “Ah just lurve yaw ackscent!” 

Low Country Hospitality

Low Country Boil and Hushpuppies

Schooner on the Ashley

Charleston is certainly worth seeing.  It was founded in 1670 and soon became a wealthy colony of rice, tobacco and indigo plantations.  Wealthy plantocracy meant not only stunning plantation houses but equally stunning town houses.  The old district has a wealth of striking and well cared for houses.  Gardens are maintained to show standard and even public buildings seem to reflect that gracious, southern charm.  Streets were lined with live oaks dripping with Spanish moss or beautiful pink crepe myrtles.  We were entranced.

Cannon at Fort Sumter

South Carolina had been the first state to declare independence from the Union.  Soon after, in 1861, the first shots of the Civil War were fired just off the city’s harbour.  We had sailed near the little island where Fort Sumter stands proudly on our way in and were keen to see it and learn a little more about American history and the war.  Our experience so far had been that a great deal of effort goes into not only preserving and caring for the past but also educating America’s citizens about their cultural heritage. 

Our guidebook suggested many options, so after an extensive bike ride through some lovely streets, we chose to board a horse and carriage for a more leisurely twilight tour.  We filled our heads with places to see and things to do.  But first, a drink at an old English Pub, then a seafood dinner!  Dinner was not to be recommended but we wandered about Waterfront Park and Old City Market, found a coffee pot (yahoo!!!) and caught a glimpse of sweet grass basket sellers and their wares.  This style of basket weaving is traditional to the African-American Gullah peoples. 

Singin' the Blues on Catfish Row

Nearby we chanced upon Catfish Row, a small side street that is said to have inspired that classic Gershwin musical, “Porgy & Bess”.  A little further on in Chalmers Street is the Old Slave Market area, which at the time was credited as one of the busiest.  

We found out that a “raw bar” serves raw oysters, cold shrimp and sushi (American style – almost cooked) aside from a cold beer or two.  We gave grits a miss and wondered about hushpuppies (corn breads deep fried) served with honey butter.  Fried green tomatoes really do exist as a popular starter or appetiser.  A menu listed entrée is to us a main course. And worst of all, coffee aint coffee...  Are you keeping up with me? 

A Not So Civil War

Jacksonville to Charleston: 13-14 Aug 09

Delightful Company

In order to save a time and many a grounding in Georgia ICW shallows, the Motleys opted to do a little sea time.  Out of the St Johns River, WJ3 clicked her heels and frolicked along the way with lots of friendly dolphins.  In this area, the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf Stream is incredibly shallow.  At 12 miles out, we floated along in 35 to 45 feet of water.  If WJ3 sank (heaven forbid!) then her mast would be at least another 20 feet above sea level…

Our evening at sea brought with it an assemblage of thunderstorms, which seemed to stretch along the coast as far as the eye could see.  Smugly, we assumed we’d outrun them, until we turned seaward and watched as storms began to brew out over those Atlantic shallows.  Our night sail gradually began to turn into a sailor’s game of dodging lightning, rain and thunderous billowing clouds.  The Cap’n tried to ward off evil spirits with jump-lead cables that streamed off the shrouds and into the water (an old sailor’s remedy).  Luckily we managed to steer our way around most of it but did not escape a cold front moving in with accompanying wild winds.  Not the best experience at sea, even thought we were well reefed. As an aside...we did put out a fishing rod/lure whilst out in the briney.  You guessed - another barracuda!  The Cap'n was beginning to feel sorry for the trail of dead un's we'd left behind.  GS was less forgiving.

Storm off St Augusta

As WJ3 lacked autopilot and a GPS linked to our computerised chart programs, the Cap’n had to take two hourly readings with his hand-held GPS.  We fell into this routine fairly easily, although didn’t usually manage to get more than an hour of sleep after all necessary chores, including meals were completed.  The Cap’n achieved some straight lines between waypoints as we romped northward but GS ensured his skills were tested, especially when he slept.  “Oh look, dolphins!  Aren’t they so cute?  Ooops, heading east again!  Look how close that big ship is!  Ooops, turned a 360 again!  Won’t I be in trouble!  Ha! Ha!  That was fun, let’s try another 360...  Oh, look a turtle! Oops, straying west again!”  And so on it went! 

Luckily we managed to continue north and make it firstly into Charleston Harbour, South Carolina and then, back into the ditch (as the ICW is fondly known to locals).  We anchored opposite City Marina in Ashley River and wondered at the amount of local boat traffic that passed us by at speed (and so bounced us about in their wakes!).  The worst wakes we’ve christened “coffee-pot breakers” in honour of our St Martin plunger, broken in St Augustine, and still not been able to replace.  We had high shopping hopes for Charleston!

From: Jacksonville, FL  Lat/Long: 30 19N  81 39W  Date/Time: 13/8/09: 0900

To: Charleston, SC  Lat/Long: 32 47N  79 57W Date/Time: 14/8/09: 1600
Time Taken: 160nm (19hrs)  Distance (this year): 2226nm (427hrs)
Distance Total (since 2008): 3075nm  (605hrs)   Fastest Speed: 5.5kts**
Weather: S-SW  10-15kts;  Seas 3-5ft;  showers & possible afternoon thunderstorms.  Who were they kidding??
(** Motoring and sailing; bumpy ride up the coast dodging storm banks)