Yes, today was one of those days. A day in which we set out and discovered new things. I love this kind of day.
This is where our day began. Touted by Saveur, Food & Wine, and Oprah among others, these delicious balls of YUM are made-by-hand using no machinery whatsoever and with only the finest ingredients. The small team of bakers are keeping the tradition of Southern biscuit making alive at Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit shop. Oh my, these buns could be trouble!
Our destination for today was Sullivan's Island for history and sunshine. As everyone knows, I love libraries and the one on Sullivan's Island, has to be one of the most unique. For forty years, the Edgar Allan Poe Public Library has been housed in renovated Battery Gadsden, a former Spanish-American War four-gun battery. The walls of the battery are two feet thick, a solid protection for the 15,000 books in the 2,000 sq. ft. library. Interestingly, the library is named for author Edgar Allan Poe, who was stationed on Sullivan's Island as a private in the United States Army in 1827 and 1828, and who used the island setting as the background for his famous story, The Gold Bug, a story about a mystical beetle that led to buried treasure.
Fort Moultrie's Visitor Center was a must visit. What surprised me was the exhibit on slavery. The forced exodus of West Africans to the New World often ended here, the entry point for nearly half of the captive Africans shipped to North America. Beyond military defense, the island had quarantine stations to protect the colony from deadly diseases. Between 1707 and 1799, when arriving ships carried infectious diseases, their free or enslaved passengers were quarantined either aboard ship or in island “pest houses.” This painful history makes Sullivan’s Island a gateway through which many African Americans can trace their entry into America. Such sad history.
The actual fort was interesting to explore and was an important part of life here. It has been restored to portray the major periods of its history. As visitors to the fort, we steadily moved backwards in time from the World War II Harbor Entrance Control Post to the site of the Palmetto-log fort of 1776.
While its past has ugliness, Sullivan's Island now has some gorgeous things to see.
And the views from our beach chairs were pretty picturesque.
As we drove to leave the island, we spotted this dome home nestled among the other seaside houses. This area has been devastated by hurricanes, numerous times in the past. When Hugo took out the house that was here before, its owner built this- The Eye of the Storm. This unique home can withstand 500 mph winds, weighs about 450 tons and has automated shutters that can be powered by a generator. Yes, there is always something to discover. Way fun day!
posted under |
2 comments:
Stunning blue flower. What is it? Love the dome house and I'm impressed (but not surprised) that you dug up the history of the house. Cool stuff...
Oh I love SI so much and there is so much to see there! The beach is very peaceful too. Funny I have traveled the bridge many times in 9 years and have never seen the dome house! No surprise you would find it.
Post a Comment