FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX: Charleston

On a gloomy and wet morning, we departed Savannah and drove towards another southern gem, Charleston. Our first destination was Mount Pleasant which was just north of Charleston. There was an aircraft carrier awaiting us at Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum. As soon as he sighted the ship, Jonah could not be contained. His speech remained loud and excited for the next few hours. We had to drag him past every torpedo that he saw. The USS Yorktown was commissioned in 1943 and served until the 70s. She later helped helped salvaged Apollo 8 mission. We were able to walk in and around the ship with 6 self guided tours, including those of the flight deck, bridge, living quarters and more. I came out of it relieved that I was not a sailor whilst Jonah is now convinced that he was born to be one.

The closest we'll come to stretch limo this trip. Our very long 15 seater...

Next stop...

Still gloomy. Hey that bridge looks familiar!

This was enough to excite the child

So the photo is crooked...but it was so windy that we had to lean into the wind to remain balanced. It made taking photos difficult!

Up on the flight deck

Ready to fire those guns. Excuse the uncoordinated clothing!

The hornet, one of many planes on the ship

Sea King

I thought this was built for the tourist but I was wrong! Put it in 1953 for the pilots to lug their gear up from hangar deck to flight deck

Tour continues below the hangar

Patriotism and propaganda

Berthing areas

Each sailor gets one locker for ALL their personal belongings.

Galley

Dental services

Lara in the chair

Pharmacy

XRay room

Operating theatre. Malcolm as intrigued to see the gear that they used

Still posing...

Another room to drag Jonah out of

They don't cook in half measures. A recipe 10,000 choc chip cookies!

After a quick lunch on the ship itself, we were glad to see that the sun had made its way out from behind the clouds! We walked over to the next vessel, the Clamagore submarine. A very helpful volunteer had asked us earlier to think about 80 men in the submarine for 70 days as we walked through her. As soon as I descended, I felt for those 80 men immediately. This was not a place for any one with claustrophobic tendencies. Cramped was an understatement! Last but not least, we went on the USS Laffey, WWII destroyer who served both in the Atlantic as well as the Pacific wars. In 1945 in Okinawa, she was hit by 6 Kamikaze planes and 4 bombs but miraculously stayed afloat! Sadly, we had to move on.

The sun and blue skies!

Gorgeous harbour

Walking towards the submarine

Reading the information very seriously

Clamagore

Going down. Remember how skinny my child is!

Oma not too sure about doing this

A single corridor along the whole submarine

An officer's shower. Don't want to think about how much smaller the crew's shower is

Built for kids perhaps

The USS Laffey next to the USS Yorktown

Going into the cramped gun mount

After extensive research into the seemingly endless choices of plantations to visit, Malcolm had determined that Boone Hall would the one of best value for us to invest our time and money on. Alas we had to abandon this plan. No one felt like walking around in mud. We drove back to Charleston for another overnight stay. Our van literally only made it into the hotel carpark by centimeters. Having to manoeuver through 6 levels of low ceilings was not pleasant! We checked in, dumped our bags and crossed the road to the Visitor Centre. By luck, a trolley pulled up and we jumped on. It took us through downtown's shopping district of King Street and we were able to admire the architecture and gardens of the many historic homes and buildings.

Crossing again back into Charleston

I want one of those!

Its free. Let's get on!

We got off in the Charleston City Market area and wandered around. We had forgotten to book a horse and carriage ride! Unfortunately for us, they were all sold out for the day. We consoled ourselves with some purchases instead. Dinner was right next to a trolley stop for a quick getaway after the meal. We had a long drive the next day and an early start.