With one more day in Charleston we chose to do something we had planned before but had never done. This was to walk across the 2.7 mile Ravenel Bridge. Before doing so we also wanted to check out the Charles Pinckney National Historic Site. Charles Pinckney was one of the principal authors and signers of our Constitution. This historic site is the remains of his preserved coastal plantation. I find it interesting how many of our founding fathers were slave owners and wonder what they would think now about slavery…
The plantation is found in what is typical of South Carolina low country plantations with its stately large Live Oak trees draped in Spanish Moss. This 28 acre farm is a remnant of Pinckney's original 18th-century 715 acre plantation known as Snee Farm that he inherited in 1782. There are trails throughout the 28 acres and we enjoyed visiting this free historical site.
Next up for us was the hike across the Ravenel Bridge. We always wanted to do this hike but weather conditions kept us from doing so. Even today the weather was a bit dicey but we figured we might only see sprinkles of rain so we pushed on.
Known by locals as the “Double Diamonds” the Arthur J. Ravenel Bridge is an engineered artisitc masterpiece. It is a 8 lanes wide cable stayed bridge which opened in 2005. It towers above any of the ocean freightliners that choose to pass below it.
It really was a pleasant hike across the bridge rewarding us with 360 degree panoramas of the Charleston SC skyline and bay around us. We could see an aircraft carrier docked across from the city and a cruise ship we later found out one of our friends from North Carolina was boarding(small world). There were turn outs where we could pause to watch many sailboats and touring craft sail underneath the bridge. We are certainly glad we made time to hike across the bridge during this visit to Charleston SC.
NOTE: We are now in Brunswick GA for a three nights before moving on to Flagler Beach State Park in Florida…
Looks like another fun pace to visit, you will be on the coast and we will be in Unadilla Georgia tomorrow Enjoy your time there .
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