Gone skiing

So while Peter was checking in and parking the car, I was at the desk making plans.  We had a great gal names Elizabeth and we had our two days planned in no time.   At her suggestion we walked to Market Square Inn and their lovely roof garden.   The weather is still a bit chilly but the bar is filled with very smart heaters.. Of course walking the streets are simply enchanting.   This whole part of the city is a protected site.  And yes, around 50000 people actually live in the historic district. The roof bar was on the river across from the most beautiful Custom House.

We went to High Cotton to listen to some jazz and to sit at the bar and have some supper.

Today we spent the morning on a two hour walking tour with a very good guide.  Everything here is preserved so houses are here representing the years since inception in late 1600s.

In behind the iron gates are most beautiful gardens.   The old estates that had carriage houses, outside kitchens and slave quarters are now broken up and these dwellings are have been converted into houses. And now the historic district housing is very expensive.  Our guide took us by his own family home, now sold.. He now lives in the district of Mount Pleasant.  I really enjoyed the tour..   We passed the grave yard where two signers of the Declaration of Indepence are buried.. Four of the signees were from South Carolina.  The city and its militia played a big part in both the War of Independence and the Civil War.  

We walked street after street  of the most beautiful houses .. hard to take it all in.

We had a taxi waiting for us to take us, first to Ted's Butcher Block for lunch.. great pulled pork sandwiches and the to the boat terminal for a tour by boat of the Charleston harbour.  It may be tourism that bring so many people here.. but it is the port that drives the economy.  It is a huge container port, very protected.  We had noticed when coming into the city yesterday trains pulling containers with soft sides.  They were marked car movers.... It turns out BMW has a big factory nearby and cars and parts come back and forth from Europe through here.  The weather has finally warmed up.. the afternoon was simply beautiful out on the water.    It would appear things are doing quite well in this part of South Carolina.