My Howntown, Charleston, SC- the first place to see!

 I am blessed to have lived most of my life in Charleston, SC. It is one of the most beautiful cities and has a lot to offer different people. First off, it is known for its history, for it's historic landmarks, and quaint old houses, cobblestone streets, and lots of churches.. Sometimes, people call it, "The Holy City" because of so many churches.The churches do provide history themselves. Two churches are "rivals" as to who is the oldest- St.Michael's with the oldest building or St. Phillip's with the longest running congregation.. St. Phillip's was the oldest until it burned down, but the congregation was still faithful while it was being rebuilt.   Charleston even has horse and buggy rides with tourist guides to take one around the history of this quaint city.   

 
         There is the battery which is the sea wall around old homes to protect them from sea water, where "the Ashley and Cooper Rivers come together to form the Atlantic Ocean" lol- an old saying around Charleston. It is a beautiful place to walk, to see the ocean and the beautiful old homes. (photo from "The Post and Courier") 
        
        Downtown there are also a number of parks around the area, one at the battery, White Points Garden, with a replicas of the canons used to fire on  Ft. Sumter in the start of the Civil War, as well as seating places to gaze out on the water from a tree covered park. This is a beautiful city also having quaint stores, restaurants, and houses. It also has many night attractions, which cannot be named here there are so many, but one to mention is enjoying a play in the oldest still running theater, the Dock Street Theater. The restaurants in downtown Charleston are quite varied, from different cultures- French, Italian," true Southern", and even Thai...  

           There are several festivals that happen in Charleston. The biggest one, to attract most visitors, is the Piccolo Spoleto festival, which is usually mid-May to mid-June (17 days). It features artists in music, dance, art from around the world in plays, concerts, displays, etc. It is connected with the festival with the same name in Italy. The main events of Spoleto usually are very classical and higher priced but the ones for the Piccolo part are usually of lesser price and free sometimes. The concerts and other activities are held in different parts of the city.

      But Charleston also has attractions out from the city. One can go to the various gardens a few miles from downtown, Middleton Gardens, Magnolia Plantation,Charleston Landing. There one can see in Magnolia and Middleton the beautiful gardens and plantation house, as well as some animals. At Charleston Landing the emphasis is on recreating the area where the first settlers landed, including an animal "forest" with the animals that were here when they arrived. There is  also a replica of the boat they arrived in and the first vegetables and crops they planted as well the first tools they used. All the gardens have walking or hiking paths. 
      
      Then, there are the beaches out from Charleston. The closest is Folly Beach with pier and walking area with shops and a few restaurants. Folly has a good night life with events on the pier. Sullivan's Island is another beach which is mainly a residential area, where you can also rent houses for different times such as a week or two. It also has one of the first old forts, Ft. Moultrie, dating back to Revolutionary times. Then, there is the Isle of Palms which is just beyond Sullivan's. It has good day and night time events with a pier but also dancing at the beach along with beautiful restaurants.  
     
       To sum up, Charleston has a lot to offer any visitor from places to get more cultural influences, to places with a good amount of night life, to places to just "get away from it all".
Do come on down, you hear!