This is a "Palmetto" tree. For those of us born and raised in Kansas...it is weird looking!
A trip across the Ravenel Bridge... ...took us over the bay.
The frugal Kansas hicks packed a sack lunch and ate it in the parking garage of the visitor's center!
It sure saves on the budget, since we'd rather invest in the local economy by seeing the sights. 
Once we finished lunch, we entered the visitor's center where we met our tour bus.
The guide shared many facts about the city as we drove through the VERY narrow streets.
The little girls were especially fascinated with the intricate architecture.
All of these eager young faces...just waiting to experience a tour through history... 
Taking photos, memorizing dates and facts...
...or take a nap on the air conditioned tour bus.
This is the grounds of the Citadel...the Navy academy from which Kevin Chaney graduated just a month prior to our visit.
I will never remember the names of these buildings, but I just thought they were fascinating. Charleston is known as the "Holy City" because of the history and variety of churches and religions, but also from an aerial view, there are a myriad of steeples.
We saw many mansions built or owned by such men as "Thomas Paine, Gen. Sherman, and Stonewall Jackson. Some of these structures housed men such as George Washington, and several signers of the Declaration of Independence.
If someone purchases one of these historic homes, they may only update the interiors. The exteriors must remain the same, even if it is renovated. The tour guide quipped that this was so they wouldn't have to change the pictures on the T-shirts in the gift shop! ;-)
The tour guide explained period architecture throughout the tour.
For the southern families that lived in these homes, the porch was one of the most important and occupied rooms in the house...due to the cool breezes that blew over them.
One interesting feature of many of the houses from this period is the "porch door"...which was a privacy door, because often times, ladies would remove much of their layered clothing and cool themselves on their porches...so if guests arrived, they would not be able to see the porch until the door was opened.
If you look closely, this area has large amounts of moss hanging down from the tree limbs. It was quite beautiful!
This is a replica of the H.L. Hunley Submarine of the Confederate States of America. Yes, that's right...the Civil War! She was a man-powered vessel, using "rowers", and was the first submarine to sink an enemy warship. However, something went wrong and they perished after that mission. She was recovered in 2000 and through DNA testing, its 8-man crew was buried with full military honors in a Charleston cemetery.
Next- the Sea Tour and Fort Sumpter!
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