Gym's Ramblings: Atlantic Odyssey 2025: Charleston

Getting a chance to visit Charleston S.C. again is always worthwhile. It was 2012 when our hero and his dear sidekick last visited this unique city. At that time, they drove into town in a rental car they had picked up in Miami. During that road trip they also spent a few nights in each of Savannah, Georgia, Hilton Head Island, Georgia and Wilmington, North Carolina. Of all these places are noteworthy but Charleston has the most to offer.

The MS Vista cruised past Fort Sumter at about noon on April 26, 2025. She was on her way to tie up at a dock on the Cooper River, not far from where the beautiful Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge crosses over it. The passage back to the mainland from Bermuda, had been under warm, sunny skies and on very calm seas. (Gym believes April is a very good time to ge out on the Atlantic Ocean). The ship would remain tied up in Charleston for 48 hours. The dynamic duo had two full days to spend time in and around this alluring 355 year-old city.

Almost immediately after docking, our adventurers were off on a tour of the Boone Hall Plantation. They drove out of the dockyards and up on to US-17, crossed the Cooper River and entered the suburban town of Mount Pleasant. They passed through the town and turned left off the highway onto Long Point Road. Minutes later the tour bus turned right onto Oak Avenue. They had arrived at a property that Clark Gable, Patrick Swayze and Ryan Gosling all had in common. The Boone Hall Plantation was the setting for the movie Gone With the Wind, the TV mini-series North and South and the movie The Notebook. It is also a wonderful open air museum, working farm and event centre. It was a must-see for Gym and his missus. The highlight was the tour of the mansion which was incredible but the eight slave cabins set back from Oak Avenue are also well worth a visit. There are other exhibits in outbuildings that are in close proximity to the mansion that include nice washroom facilities, a food and beverage establishment and places to sit in shade and wonder what it must have been like living in the Antebellum Period.

The next day, they took a shuttle about a mile past the dockyards and enjoyed a Gym-guided tour of Old Charleston. They started at the U.S. Customs House and then perused the covered stalls along Market Street. Gullah baskets were on display in several stalls and if one has room in his/her luggage they should acquire one or two. At the intersection of Market and Meeting Streets our travellers toured the Planters Inn one of the many excellent boutique hotels in town. It was here that Gym and his dear wife made their basecamp in 2012. They then meandered a little farther along Market Street before turning south to eventually enter the area known as South Broad. Many fine examples of well preserved antebellum homes are on display in this area. Passing a realty office at one point along the way, Mrs. G noticed the starting price for these properties was about $3 million. They would bisect South Broad all the way to White Point Garden on the waterfront. There the homes increased in size and those overlooking the park were the creme della creme. The Battery that pounded Fort Sumpter in 1861 to start the Civil War was under renovation but they strolled under the oak trees where dozens of pirates were hanged in 1718. These poor guys were buried in the marsh on the other side of the sea wall. Later, they grabbed an iced coffee and strolled past the extraordinary fountains in Waterfront Pier Park and then completed their loop on East Bay Street to the Market Street.

The fine weather continued to persist the whole time of their stay in South Carolina. Spring is the perfect time to visit. At just before noon on April 28th, the Vista turned around and slipped out past the Morris Island Lighthouse and into the Atlantic. Mrs. G kept a lookout for fat merchantmen from Deck 14 as Mr. Gym exercised the boarding party on the pool deck.

Fort Sumter

US 17 on the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge

Oak Avenue leading into Boone Hall Plantation

Boone Hall Mansion is something else, especially on
the inside

One of the eight slave cabins that lie behind the oaks
along Oak Avenue. Each cabin has a different exhibit
about Gullah culture and/or the institution of slavery.