Our day began with a drive across the bridge to Patriots' Point in Mount Pleasant to catch a boat to Fort Sumter. This is a picture of Fort Sumter as the boat pulled in. What you don't see are the dark storm clouds rolling in behind us... The tour schedule allows for about an hour at the fort. Fifteen minutes after we arrived the heavens opened and rain chased everyone into the small museum. It was unfortunate because there were several interesting exhibits scattered around the grounds that we missed.

These are the six flags that flew over Fort Sumter as it changed hands a few times before, during, and after the Civil War. Fort Sumter was held by the Confederacy until near the end of the Civil War making Charleston the only seaport for the Confederacy during the war.

Patriots' Point offers other naval history exhibits including an aircraft carrier, the USS Yorktown, but we headed back to Charleston after our return due to the weather.

We took the last carriage tour of the day from Palmetto carriage tours. It was still raining so we got a little damp but enjoyed the narration of Charleston's history. This Roman villa is thought to be the inspiration for the Tara plantation house in Gone With the Wind. After the tour we drove down to the Battery to stroll along the seawall and gawk at the fanciest homes in the city.