Ghost Tour (Savannah). Fort Sumter (Charleston). Folly Beach(Charleston).

I survived Wednesday's ghost tour in one piece! Of course, our tour guide put me in charge before locking us in the Sons Ship Chandlery. Of all the people! Lucy got a kick out of that. Thankfully, I didn't have to protect anyone. Considering I was hiding behind Lucy throughout the performance, putting me in charge was not the smartest decision. But, we came out alive!

After enjoying some candy from Savannah's Candy Kitchen, we headed to another hotel and hit the hay! 

On Thursday, we got off to another early start. My early morning hotel workouts are becoming harder and harder to wake up for...

We managed to get to Charleston for our noon boat tour of Fort Sumter. Fort Sumter has been one of my favorite historical sites so far. Located in the Charleston Harbor, Fort Sumter was where the first shots of the Civil War were fired on April 12, 1861 at 4:30a.m. The fort was named after South Carolina Revolutionary War patriot Thomas Sumter. 

Union Maj. Robert Anderson saw Fort Sumter as a stronghold of the Confederacy due to its economic stability. 

Since Fort Moultrie, where the Union army was camped, remained defenseless, Anderson moved to Fort Sumter. Confederate Brig. Gen. Beauregard gave Anderson an ultimatum to evacuate Fort Sumter but he refused. Ironically, Beauregard was a previous student of Anderson's at West Point. Although saddened by firing at a friend, Beauregard ordered the Confederacy to attack Fort Sumter. After 34 hours of gun fire, and miraculously no fatalities on either side, Anderson knew victory of Fort Sumter was a lost cause, so he surrendered and agreed to evacuate with his only request being to salute the 33-star American flag. When he saluted the flag, the gun fired prematurely, killing Union Private Hough, the first casualty of the Civil War. The Confederate Army had taken over and the Civil War had begun. 

                        Fort Sumter 

After returning from our boat tour, we ate the most delicious lunch at the Glass Onion. Thanks, Byron Capt, for the suggestion! 

My trout with succotash and potato salad: 

Lucy's fried quail, roasted corn on the cob and watermelon: 

Our blueberry/peach cobbler:

After lunch, we headed to Folly Beach. That meal didn't stop us from putting on our bathing suits (yikes!). 

We left Charleston around 7pm, drove through the rain, missed the North Carolina sign, drove back to get our picture in the midst of the storm and finally landed in Wilson, North Carolina. What a night! 

Off to the first English settlement in Jamestowne, Virginia! 

Cruisin' Cousins over and out.