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USA: South Carolina

Charleston is a fine place to visit

I was really surprised that this wonderful tourist oriented city hasn't been mentioned before. We flew our RV-6A there last month (April, 2007). Good restaurants, beauty and history are everywhere. Fort Sumter in the entrance to the harbor I where the first shot was fired to begin the United States Civil War and it is managed by the National Park Service. Several fine homes that have been restored for touring are hundreds of years old and each has a story to tell about some family and their successes and failures. The Aircraft Carrier Yorktown is availble for touring at patriot's point with many aircraft on board and movies about the carrier are shown in several locations. One special restaurant is Hyman's Seafood. They do not accept reservations but you go to the restaurant put you name on the list and stand outside on the sidewalk until called - it is worth the wait. On the tables they have brass plates containing the names of famous people that dined at the specific tables. Jody Foster and Linsey Wagnor (sorry if the names are spelled wrong) had used our little two place table in the past. In the surrounding area there are plantations like "Magnolia" that can be toured. There is also a bridge going from the downtown area to patriot's point that is a masterpiece - it was opened in 2005. We landed at the Executive airport south of town and they have Enterprize Rental cars with a rep in the FBO.

Bob Axsom
 
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The Hunley!

Also in Charleston,
Near the ocean, the Hunley is on display......the first submarine to sink a ship! Made from a locomotive boiler, stretched a foot by slicing it in half lengthwise and re-welding....too cool.

Pierre
 
Charleston also has an outstanding minor league ballpark right on the Ashley River. You can't beat a great sunset over the water with a cold beer in hand watching the baseball game and beautiful carolina girls parading by...we are so blessed down here in the Holy City!
 
39 Rue De Jean bouillabaisse

One other restaurant in Charleston I should mention. We stopped in for lunch about a half block from the visitor center at a restaurant called 39 Rue De Jean. I like bouillabaisse so when I saw it on the menu that's what I ordered. It was so good I couldn't talk. I took the bread and went after every last wet spot in the bowl before I gave up and set back and sighed - man that was good!

Bob Axsom
 
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Bob Axsom said:
Fort Sumter in the entrance to the harbor I where the first shot was fired to begin the United States Civil War and it is managed by the National Park Service. Bob Axsom

not to nitpick - - well, maybe. it is actually the war between the states. or war of northern agression as we say down here. not technically a civil war. but charleston should be a required stop for any rv's in the southeast. it is a wonderful city.
 
...And to further not nit-pick, Ft. Sumter was where the second shots of the War Between the States were fired. The first shots were directed at the Union steamer "Star of the West" which was en route to Ft. Sumter to relieve the troops stationed at the fort. Cadets from The Citadel (The Military College of SC) fired their cannons (Named after their girlfriends Lizzy and Betsy) at the steamer and scored a couple of hits. The steamer was turned away by the accurate fire. The cadets in command of the artillery were Cadets Haynesworth and Pickens. I had to memorize useless trivia such as this in order to successfully navigate my Knob year at The Citadel. Nuggets of trivia such as this would allow a Knob to score a couple of bites during a very stressful meal as upper-classmen quizzed the poor creatures...
Such fond memories...
Don
 
Charleston is absolutely a required stop if passing through South Carolina. The food and scenery are worth stopping.
 
Why Ft. Sumter even exists at all!

As a South Carolina native, I have a deep appreciation of Charleston and the state in general. It took being a mature adult to really appreciate it though.

My parents were both in the Army there at Ft. Moultrie on Sullivans' Island during WW2,and my older brother spent his first year of life sleeping in a drawer in the bedroom of my parents' yellow painted apartment building on what is now known as "Rainbow Row" circa 1946. I was born in Columbia, but that's another story. Our parents used to tell us stories of riding out hurricanes there just off the Battery in that yellow painted apartment building.

Ft. Moultrie on the north side of Charleston Harbor, Ft. Sumter in the middle of the Harbor ( which incidently was only 90% finished in late 1860 and unmanned), Castle Pickney (near Charleston) and Ft. Johnson on the south side of the Harbor, were all there primarily for one reason. To protect Charleston from hostile invasion from the sea presumably by the British or others.

A little known fact that I didn't know until I had ridden on one of those horse drawn carriage tours through downtown Charleston on those cobblestone streets.....that the Ashley River and the Cooper River (pronounced "Kuppa' Riva') came together to form the Atlantic Ocean! How 'bout that??
 
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is a bunch of snob's and sob's..:D:confused:

you have to go there i guess. its what they tell you on the tour anyway..people that live South Of the Broad river are the sob's and the people that live Slightly North Of Broad river are the snob's. this was quite funny to me.our tour guide was a snob.;) the carrige ride meant nothing when i was 20 but was a real treat when i was 38...my book worm kid enjoyed it as well. he was the only one on the cart that could answer the questions about the king and the flags of england. even though some wanted to debate the answers..watch those 5th graders they are pretty sharp..
SNOB's and SOB's. That's good. I've not heard that one. I will pass it along in the future.
 
Murrell's Inlet

Jenny wants to go to Murrell's Inlet, South Carolina next week for an overnighter. Which restaurants and motels would you guys recommend? Any charter fishing available? tourist sites?

Thanks,
 
Flo's Place or Seafarer

Hey Pierre,

Great meeting you here at CUB last weekend! There are several nice restaurants in Murrels Inlet. A few of my favorites are Flo's Place (cajun seafood), Seafarer (best/huge, huge buffet). Both are great food. They can be Googled for location on 17 Bus in Murrells Inlet. I've stayed at Days Inn Surfside on the beach. It's convenient. Not sure if the Kingfisher in Garden City is all condo or perhaps still rents overnight, but the it is next to the Garden City pier.

Regards,

Mike
PS I'd be glad to email the picture I took of you and Charles and his 9A if you want it.
 
Mt. Pleasant, near Charleston

My wife and I flew into Mt. Pleasant this morning just to look around and plan for future trips. They've moved into their brand new facililties and they look great. However, the restrooms are not operational yet, so they have temporary facilities set up out back. I was told by the friendly staff that they do not have ramp fees, and parking fees are waived with fuel purchase. They do not have a courtesy car at this time, but you can request an Enterprise car through the FBO. The Enterprise office is closed from Saturday noon through Sunday, but the FBO can arrange for you to drop the keys off there. Mt. Pleasant seems to be a good alternative to the busier Charleston International, and its very easy to get to.
 
Georgetown, between Myrtle Beach and Charleston

As a continuation of my previous post, we left Mt. Pleasant and flew up the coast to Georgetown. This FBO also has brand new facilities that they just moved into yesterday. We borrowed the courtesy car and drove 5 miles to the historic downtown area. There are several nice looking places to eat, but I had read about the River Room and their decent lunch prices. We enjoyed some very good fried shrimp and fried oysters right on the docks. No ramp fees and waived parking fees with fuel purchase make this trip a definite must-do.
 
Pierre:

The Grand Strand from North Myrtle Beach all the way to Murrels Inlet is packed with great restaurants. Here is a link that may help find some good ones... http://www.myrtlebeachrestaurantnews.com/

Just up the road in Surside Beach is one of the River City Cafes. Right on the beach with great and inexpensive burgers. very casual (t-shirts and shorts are standard). I've eaten at Bovine's in Murrels Inlet and it is good. Capt. Daves' Dockside seems to get good reviews, although I've not been there myself.

Lots of good choices! Have fun!
 
Beaufort, SC

The South Carolina coast seems to have an endless number of interesting places to eat and visit. Today, my wife and I landed at Beaufort Co. airport (KARW) and were welcomed by very friendly staff at the FBO. We took the like-new crew car to a close-by restaurant, Barbara Jean's, for an early morning weekend breakfast. I enjoyed one of their house specialties, BB&E (BBQ Brisket and Eggs), while my wife had the more traditional egg breakfast (The menu is available on their website). A quick trip into town convinced us that we need to come back and explore when we have more time. A rental car desk is conveniently located in the FBO and the rates are reasonable. Self-serve and full-serve fuel were also reasonably priced. This stop is definitely going to be a frequent favorite.
 
Charleston

We recently purchased a condo in the Charleston area as a second residence. We love the area for all the reasons stated in this thread. I served on active duty at the airbase from 1971-75. Two of our children were born there.

Over the years, my wife always commented that she would move back there in a heartbeat. Based on our present age, I decided that we have used up most of our allotted heartbeats, therefore, we better take action. So, while on vacation out there last summer, I called her bluff and purchased a condo.

We are heading back out to Charleston in mid-May and are planning to stay out there until July 2010. Our original plan was to spend Jan-Jun of each year in Charleston. However, our son is heading to the ?desert? in July, so we offered our home in San Diego to my daughter-in-law and grandkids during his tour of duty.

For those of you passing through Charleston, you are welcome to stay with us and/or we would be happy to be your transportation service as required. We live near Mt. Pleasant (East Cooper Airport), however, all of the local airports are convenient to our location. So, if we can be of help, send us a PM.

I have been in search of hanger space in the Charleston area. So far, no luck. I am dreading the possibility of leaving the aircraft idle in San Diego. With our newly acquired dual residency lifestyle, I am giving consideration to putting the RV-8 up for sale.

Regards,
 
Any RV'ers in Georgetown?

Jenny and I will be in Georgetown overnight, tonight and I'm curious as to where to visit/eat/attractions, etc, while we're there. An old friend runs the FBO there and used to do a lot of banner tows with Super Cubs.

Thanks,
 
Charleston

On another historical note, the movie “The Patriot” accurately depicted the revolutionary war activities in the immediate Charleston area. Charleston is a very, very, special place. The following is quoted from the book “Charleston Houses & Gardens” published by the Preservation Society of Charleston:

“The city was founded in 1670. Despite devastating fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, bombardment by guns from land and sea, a limited march of “progress” that ripped down some landmarks, and two enemy occupations, a surprising number of early buildings survive:

Seventy-three are pre-Revolutionary.
One hundred and thirty-six are late eighteenth century and post –Revolutionary.
Six hundred and twenty-three others were built before 1840.
At least twenty-six of these are considered of national importance”

In Charleston you will be consumed by its natural beauty, elegance, and overwhelming history. If you want to log significant brownie points with your partner…this is the place to visit.

I am what you call a “Hemorrhoid Yankee”, once they come down, they never go back up! Charleston “rocks”!

Charleston is so full of history, we purchased a brass plaque that is hanging in our condo. The inscription states: “In 1867, Nothing Happened on this Spot in Charleston”.

Please come visit Charleston…give us a call.

Regards,

P.S. We did find a hangar in the Charleston area, Summerville Airport, DYB. I should have the RV-8 down there in April.
 
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scbc

great news! when you get the rv 'home', I expect to see you at breakfast club.

5 Apr KDYB Summerville
19 Apr SC55 Broxton Bridge
3 May S79 Green Sea
 
Charleston

Tom, you at River Landing by any chance? That's where my mom lives..

Jim (Grover),

Sign me up for breakfast!!!

Radomir,

I live directly across the field from River Landing. We are in the Pier View condos. PM me when you are headed our way. I am planning to fly the RV-8 out in April (don't have the date nailed down yet). Then return home to drive back out with the "BOSS" and our two dogs.

Looking forward to meeting you guys and Tinman!

Regards,
 
Tom,
We can't wait to get you moved into your hangar. Last weekend, we were all standing around trying to figure out how to make her fit...it was funny! Yours will be the 3rd -8 on the field. I hope to have my first engine start this weekend. My plane will be ready before I am ready to fly her...
 
Charleston International (CHS)

Anyone have experience flying into CHS? My daughter and I are flying the -9 to Charleston this afternoon and CHS looks like the most convenient place to land for access to the historical areas and rental cars.
 
chs has lots of military traffic. The time i went 1 controller was working 6 freq's so be patient.
 
No prob flying into CHS at all.. I've flown into all 3 airports there, and while my preference is LRO, I'd have no hesitation going into CHS as well. Last I went there I was #2 behind a C-17.. but they take care of that and give you plenty of spacing..

I don't care for JZI one bit.. they even charged me a parking fee for one hour (while I went to lunch with a friend).. they won't see me there again. I haven't been to CHS lately (it's been a few years) so I don't know what kind of fees they tack along.. But that's a factor :)

All 3 airports are convenient to downtown. Yes, CHS is probably 'best' bur LRO is not bad either..
 
DYB (Summerville) is not bad either. Fuel charges will be lower at DYB than LRO. It is a straight shot to Downtown Chas on I-26 from DYB. There are also nearby hotels in Summerville that will cost quite a bit less than LRO-hotels.
 
Thanks for the responses to my question about CHS.

We had a wonderful trip to Charleston and will certainly return. It was a short one - we left PXE at 5pm yesterday and returned around 3pm today.

The historic district was all I hoped it would be and more. Diana loved King Street - many fabulous stores in which to spend Daddy's money!
We loved the buildings and gardens as well as the variety of restaurants.

Next time, however, I think I will land somewhere else like Pleasant Hill. Charleston Int. is just too d**n busy. Not that I mind busy, but all the vectoring for traffic and the fact that I am the slowest and smallest thing coming in is a little unnerving. Half of CHS is an AF base with row upon row of C-17s. They are also coming and going along with the airlines. I just feel out of place in that situation.

Another thing I am going to do is limit my flying during the hazy, hot, and humid days of summer to more local flying. The conditions in the southeast can be brutal these days. On longer trips I would climb above the afternoon buildups to the cool, smooth air. On shorter trips it is just not worth it to climb so high. I do love the summer evenings, though.

Here is my APRS track and my beautiful teenage shopaholic.

chucktowntrack.jpg


img0152v.jpg
 
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CHS is really busy on the weekends with a lot of guard duty traffic. Pretty quiet during the week from my experience.
 
Bruce,
You picked a very hot weekend for your trip...not fit for man or beast! Thanks for visiting the best-mannered city in the USA. Come back in October and stay for a bit longer.
 
Barnwell, SC KBNL

I recently had to divert to KBNL (Barnwell, SC), due KRBW (Walterboro, SC) being hard IFR. My neighbor had favorably mentioned KBNL a couple of times in the past, so went there. Well, the fuel is some of the cheapest around, $3.59/gal that day, the terminal looks brand new, the ops are nice, and noted from the air that there are hotels on perimeter of airport. Additionally, there was an RV-6A on the ramp and an open hangar with another RV inside.

KBNL. My new primary fuel stop going to NC fm FL.
 
Barbra Jeans is excellent restaurant. FBO has nice crew car and two left turns bring you to the restaurant. Linda and I went down and back one afternoon for our anniversary in June 2009

Doyce Graham
 
Hi Link...

...The -6A was mine and a friend is building a -7A and the -8A is next to him.
He's there Mon, Wed and Fri. I'm 60 miles west and have been giving him transition training.

Regards,
 
Southern Delights

Being a ?hemorrhoid Yankee? in the South, the guys at the local aerodrome have been having a field day with me. I got introduced to ?boiled? peanuts and ?catfish? soup. The jury is out on the peanuts, however, the catfish soup wasn?t too bad!!!

Before you know it, they?ll have me bellying up to the ?chitlin? bar?maybe I should invest in a chitlin fast food restaurant?any investors out there???

You say you don?t know what ?chitlins? are?you don?t really want to know!

Definition: ?Hemorrhoid Yankee??.once they come down, they don?t go back up!

Merry Christmas Everyone!
Tom
 
I wanna be a hemorrhoid!

Hi guys and gals!
My wife and I just got back from another visit to the Holy City, WOW what a place! Ate at Blossoms and stayed at the Double tree visited Folly Beach and hit a concert at family circle arena on Daniel Island.
All kidding aside Charleston is my favorite place in the world to go, you honestly can spend a entire weekend just walking around the beautiful city and there is so many neat shops great resturants and the people are great. Although it was kinda funny that a large majority of the people we meet were Yankees how moved down and never left:D

Highly highly recommend it to any RVers!
 
Another great time!

WOW My wife and I are back from yet another trip to the Holy City and it was GREAT!
Stayed at the Harbour View Inn (a bit pricey but very worth it) and we ventured out and visited the Plantations along the Ashley River. My wife loved it and me being a history nut I really enjoyed them as well, Drayton Hall and Middleton place where really neat and Magnolia was beautiful.
If you have not visited the Holy City you are missing out big time!
Kirk
 
Stantons BBQ

A visit to the grass runway at Stantons BBQ was a fun adventure. They open at 11 am. The runway is 2000’ x 50’ or so, not on the sectional. Attached is a picture for reference.

Fly a 162 degree track from KRCZ to find the runway. Check it out on your favorite EFB in satellite view for runway orientation.
 

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Ocean Isle, NC

Right on the NC SC border. Another great place to visit for lunch. Land at 60J Odell Williamson Airport for a crew car and lunch visit. Lots to see and eat. Flew there with my wife to meet a couple of friends.
 

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Saw this post for Ocean Isle and thought it was perfect for lunch today. Sadly a presidential TFR is a tad to close for comfort. Maybe next week!
G
 
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