In my mind I’m gone to Carolina
Can’t you see the sunshine?
Can’t you just feel the moonshine?
Ain’t it just like a friend of mine
To hit me from behind?
Yes, I’m gone to Carolina in my mind

– James Taylor

We started heading north along the coast to South Carolina. First stop Charleston for breakfast and a look-see. One of the largest slave trading cities in the U.S., Charleston has a rich history and handsome architecture but frankly, my dears, Andrew didn’t give a damn. The city is in no way designed to accommodate RVs and we struggled to get a coffee. We drove around, looked around, were a bit overwhelmed by even more wealth (especially the houses along the battery, none of which I managed to get a photo of), Reuben nearly got hit by a car, Andrew was suffering caffeine withdrawals, so we decided to keep moving.

As we crossed the bridge out of town Andrew spotted aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-10) at Patriot’s Point and our day took a turn for the better (all except Matilda, that is, who’s been coming down with a cold).

The Yorktown played a significant role in the Pacific offensive from 1943 to 1945. She carried a crew of over 3,500 personnel and 90 planes. She displaced 27,100 tons during World War II and after modifications in the 1950s, her displacement was increased to 41,000 tons. She was converted to an antisubmarine carrier and served in this capacity in the Vietnam War. In 1968 she recovered the Apollo 8 astronauts and was decommissioned two years later.

This thing was HUGE! As well as expected areas like crew’s mess and berthing, galley, scullery, deck, bridge, operations and control rooms;, it had a chapel, dental spaces, doctor’s surgery, infirmary, print shop, laundries, torpedo workshop, bomb assembly area, butcher shop, barber shop, bakery, “ready room”, even a jail (brig)! The museum included a destroyer, USS Laffey (DD-724), and a submarine, USS Clamagore (SS-343).

Next we went to Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island where everything was much more relaxed. Fort Moultrie sits on the north side of the entrance to Charleston Harbour and from there it was well situated to the harbour because shoals at the harbour entrance forced ships to enter from the south and sail toward the fort. Every ship that entered came within range of the fort’s guns but ships couldn’t fire on the fort until they turned into the harbour.

Fort Moultrie defended Charleston during the Revolutionary War in 1776. During the War of 1812, British warships blockaded Charleston but didn’t come in range of Fort Moultrie where they were ready, armed with 12-, 18- and 24-pounder smoothbore cannon on garrison carriages. It held back Union attacks during the Civil War in the 1860s. The big Rodmans were ready during the Spanish-American War in 1898 but the Spanish fleet never appeared off Charleston. Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 Fort Moultrie received new and improved gun batteries, new armaments and new observation posts. Fort Moultrie is now a National Park.

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