Charleston, S.C. 1/26/2014

     Sunday morning we headed out of Apex, N.C. but not until we treated ourselves to breakfast at IHOP.  Debbie was able to work her magic with the RV's Garmin and located several nearby restaurants.  We traveled the backroads of N.C down into S.C .  The interstates have nothing to offer except tractor trailers and fast moving traffic.  We seem to like the easy pace of a county highway since we have no particular place to go and no particular time to get there.  Ben called this morning and he and Debbie had a nice visit as I took over the navigation and driving responsibilities.
    We arrived at the Hardeeville RV Park later in the afternoon after phoning ahead for a reservation.  There was a note on the door saying just go ahead and pick a spot, and leave your money in the envelope.  Most importantly, this was our first opportunity to clean out the anti freeze from the waterlines and get some water on board.  Like a bunch of rookies, we hooked up the water hose and turned the faucet on.  I just forgot that when you winterize the waterlines, you leave the faucets open.  Wasn't long before Debbie was hollaring for help inside Weezy as water was coming out of everything.  We got the shower and faucets turned off and thought we had everything under control, when suddenly water started running out from under the refrigerator!  At that moment I remembered the ice maker.  I had never used the ice maker and had completely forgotten about it.  I quickly found the shut off to the waterline feeding the ice maker, and found that a plastic valve had evidently frozen and cracked over the winter.  We cleaned up the mess, and will order a new valve in the next day or so.  Doesn't look like a hard replacement.  Next fall I just have to remember to make sure the anti-freeze makes it into the ice maker.
    Monday morning we headed over to Charleston for a tour of Ft. Sumter in Charleston harbor.  It was a picture perfect day.  High 60's with little wind on the waterfront.

   Debbie enjoyed the opportunity to get some of the cold out of her bones.  We missed the morning boat ride out to the Fort, so we toured the display and the waterfront, and then moved over to Patriot's Point where the USS Yorktown, CV 10, is anchored.  They have a tour available, but we didn't have time to take advantage of it.  I had spent a few days on the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal, CVA-59 during my youth, so we stayed focused on visiting Ft Sumter.

     We enjoyed a boat ride out to the fort, located approximately 4 miles out in the harbor.  We discovered that there are actually 4 forts located strategically around the harbor.  That was necessary due to the limited range of the cannons back during the Civil War era.  The range at that time was only 1-1.5 miles, and to adequately protect the harbor, it was necessary to build several forts.  The original cannon volleys fired at Ft Sumter which started the Civil War, actually came from one of the forts, and not from the city of Charlotte which many people assume.  Since the tour group was pretty small, the Ranger walked the group around the Fort and provided us with several unusual tidbits relating to the Fort.  

One of the most interesting facts he was able to point out to us was the Confederate Battle Flag which is proudly flown over the Fort.  

The Confederate Army changed from this one which kinda looks like a surrender flag, to the full size Stars and Bars, but neglected to have it officially sanctioned by any government agency.  I guess nothing is ever complete till the paperwork gets signed.  The Fort is an important part of history, and although it was "updated" during WW1 and WW2 and used as a coastal fortification against German U-boats, you should spend the time for a visit if you're in the area. 

There's a small museum inside which displays the Union Flag flown over the Fort during the 34 hours of bombardment.  Quite tattered and torn as you can see.  

There's a nasty ice/sleet/snow storm coming from the west tomorrow afternoon, so we'll be heading south into Florida to stay ahead of it.  We're looking forward to visiting our friends Mark and Cheryl in St Augustine, Fl on Tuesday.