The final day of the trip came very quickly. Two big items were on the plan for the day: visiting the U.S.S. Yorktown and Middleton Place Plantation. We took off again across the bridge. Once we reached Patriot's Point (where the Yorktown is) I was finally able to take a decent picture of the Ravenel Bridge. It's a very nice cable-stay. The piers were being build last time Amber and I were in Charleston...before we had any kids!
We had one of the best photos of ourselves (in our opinions) taken by a stranger in front of the carrier.
I was pretty excited to see the carrier. I had never been on one, and we had just finished watching "Victory at Sea," a documentary on the naval efforts of World War 2. This carrier had been at Okinawa and Iwo Jima, and was named after a carrier that had been lost at the Battle of Midway. It was hard to imagine being on that ship with planes, not trying to shoot or bomb, but slam right into you. I think I would've felt a lot of pressure as a gunner trying to ensure the safety of the crew and ship.
Here's Amber working hard at the helm!
I asked Amber to take my picture in front of one of the Corsairs on the ship. My grandfather served as the 'parts-guy' on the U.S.S. Boxer for Corsairs during the Korean War. (He also needed to correct me twice over Christmas for saying 'boat' instead of 'ship'!!) (Okay, he really got me this time...the picture's not of a Corsair, it's an AD-1!!! He saw the post and had to to correct me again! Apparently the Corsair is behind it.)
The flight deck served as a great place to take in a panorama of the city.
On the way back through the city we decided to stop by the Citadel. We had thought we were at the Citadel earlier in the trip based on the architecture of the building we were looking at...but it turned out to be a Hampton Inn! So, we swung by the real one this time. The facade architecture had the recognizable turrets, but a lot the open areas inside the buildings are based on Moorish architecture.
We grabbed lunch at Olive Garden (I know, not local, but still very good) and it was on to the plantation. This was the part I was looking forward to the least, but if we were going to Charleston, we had to go to at least one plantation home. It turned out, though, to be very enjoyable. Middleton Place is a beautiful location. The primary plantation home was lost due to Union troops burning it to the ground (did I mention that people from Charleston are a bit bitter about the war still?). But the grounds are fantastic. We took the house tour and learned about the Middleton family.
While walking around down by the ponds, I told Amber to watch for gators. She thought I was joking!....
Fortunately he wasn't anywhere near us. After hanging out in the gift shops for way too long, we started the journey home. We used the GPS to get the phone number for a pizza place, called ahead, and enjoyed pizza for the ride home.
Overall, it was a fantastic trip with lots of fun memories. I'm glad we were able to do it. Thanks again, Mom & Dad, for giving us the opportunity. It was great!!!!
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