Charleston, SC - Tourists, History, Thunderstorms, and BBQ

So we rolled on through the Carolinas and I, who always have a song stuck in my head, kept humming to myself the James Taylor song "In My Mind I've gone to Carolina" except that I was there physically too now.  We came to the land of Palmetto trees and were once again greeted first with delicious food after hugs all around and re-introductions and rememberings of faces and names.  I had rice native to SC and a huge thunderstorm blew up during dinner, dropped about half the Atlantic on their house and then rolled by as if nothing happened.  The thunder made it sound like God was not too happy with things here on earth.  I can't imagine how much he can be happy about here in America.  We talked about Obama at dinner and a few other depressing things.  But, on the whole, we tried to stay positive.  The church that night at which we sang was extremely hospitable and generous.  We stayed long afterwards talking to the members of the church about everything from religion to politics to Hillsdale and beyond.

The next day, when exploring the city, we went to Fort Moultrie (a little less prestigious than Fort Sumter, but just as important to history).  Because it is a lesser known fort, we got in for the family price of 5 dollars.  SCORE!  We got to climb on cannons and explore earthenworks and such, while learning about the importance of Charleston harbor from the Revolutionary War through to World War II.  We then swam around for a couple hours in the warmth of the Atlantic Ocean, far warmer than I was used to for the Pacific (even in the summer time).  After several hours of bobbing in the waves and swimming around, we returned to our towels collecting shells along the way and admiring the beauty of the beach.  One of the most comfortable feelings in a humid climate is being completely soaking wet, that way the breeze always cools you when it blows.  We found a friendly yellow crab on my towel when we returned to our stuff, and after whisking him away, continued on our merry way to dinner that night.  Alex's little sister made delicious homemade vanilla ice cream that topped off the hot day and warm night perfectly.  The Cothran family had a great sense of humor and we really enjoyed just sitting around the table talking, laughing, and telling stories about the craziest things.  But eventually, all good things come to an end, and we had to get some sleep for the next day's drive.  The South was proving to be much more than I expected, even in terms of hospitality.  :)