Tag: Charleston Harbor

  • Horta Waterfront

    Faial, The Azores (Açores), Portugal (March 2001) Wealthy transatlantic yachters adopted Horta as a convenient stopping point between Europe and North America in recent decades (map). Their graceful sailboats line the town’s marina. While there, their crews also leave colorful graffiti on the harbor barriers to commemorate their oceanic voyages. The mosaic of color on…

  • USS Yorktown (CV-10)

    Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum; Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina (September 2008) We wanted to make sure we visited the Essex-class aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV/CVS-10) while we stayed in Charleston. Our first glimpse came as we crossed the Arthur Ravenel Bridge over the Copper River, heading into Mount Pleasant. Even here, high upon the…

  • Sullivan’s Island Lighthouse

    Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina (September 2008) The lighthouse on Sullivan’s Island (map) is an oddity. It doesn’t look like any other lighthouse that I’ve ever seen before or since. Sure it’s a towering structure and it throws light far out to sea, but its appearance is downright strange. Most noticeably the tower takes a triangular…

  • Fort Sumter

    Charleston Harbor, South Carolina (September 2008) The Civil War started at Fort Sumter (map) and its hallowed grounds take on mythic proportions in our collective memory. Perhaps most striking to us, therefore, was its size. It’s tiny. And the island it sits atop is barely larger. I had envisioned something much bolder, something perhaps matching…