Charleston, May 4-10 2008

We drove our Airstream Motorhome to Charleston on May 4, 2008 specifically to visit the USS Yorktown, one of the many carriers I served on. While in Charleston, we also visited Fort Sumter, where the Civil War started, and the Magnolia Plantation. We arrived home on Saturday, May 10 and on Sunday we were hit by a nasty storm the knocked down a tree and crushed our Mini. Well, the trip was good.

We stayed at the James Island County Park and Campground. This is a very nice campground with spacious, shady sites and full hookups. The weather was nice except for strong thunderstorms on the day we left. The cat and dog make themselves at home in the motorhome, the cat on the bed and the dog on the floor.

The day after our arrival we went to the USS Yorktown. It really felt good to be walking the deck of a carrier once again even if it is a museum ship. Kind of makes me feel old. Yes, I was in the Marine Air Wing and we flew A4's.

A few photos from inside the ship. Note the computer center (center) which was state of the art 40 years ago. In addition the ships store, brig, hangar deck, a ready room and the bridge are also shown. The escalator is to get the pilots from the hangar deck to the flight deck without getting worn out.

The next day we toured Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor where the first shots of the Civil War were fired.

The on to the Magnolia Plantation which was a rice plantation on the outskirts of Charleston. We weren't allowed to take photos inside the house but the grounds were very nice. The plantation is still owned by the original family although they no longer grow rice..

The interior photos are from a restored antebellum cabin on the grounds.

Also on the grounds is an Audubon wildlife preserve where we found a number of nesting Great Egrets with their young.

That's all for now join us on our next trip

Another trip by John and Pat Horm