Hello from South Carolina!
Last week I spent a few days at Hunting Island State Park
which lies north of Hilton Head Island. My campsite was only a hundred feet or
so from the beach and provided some beautiful sunrises over the Atlantic. How
nice it was to watch the show each morning from my dinette window as I sipped
my morning coffee and take daily walks on the beach to view the sunsets over
the park.
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| Camp |
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| Sunrise |
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| Sunrise |
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| Walk on the beach |
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| This one had me stumped... |
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| Groin |
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| Brown pelican |
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| Sunrise view from my dinette in the camper |
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| Sunset |
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| Sunset |
On Thursday I took a drive into Charleston to visit Patriots
Point and Fort Sumter. I have to apologize for some of the photography below as
the quarters on the ships are quite tight, lighting isn’t the best and some of
the rooms don’t allow walk-in access, just viewing through a Plexiglas panel.
At Fort Sumter the sun was bright with harsh shadows. Now that I have my
excuses out of the way we can continue.
Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum is located in
Charleston Harbor and I drove across the half billion dollar, 8 lane, Arthur
Ravenel Jr. Bridge to get there. This cable - stayed bridge spans over 13000
feet over the Cooper River and is the third largest such bridge in the Western
Hemisphere.
Home of 3 retired Navy vessels, the aircraft carrier USS
Yorktown (CV-10), the destroyer USS Laffey (DD-724) and the submarine USS
Clamagore (SS-343), Patriots Point also
boasts a recreated Vietnam Navel Support Base as well as dozens of historic aircraft.
Fort Sumter is on an island further out in the harbor and accessible only by
ferry tour boats.
I arrived at 9 AM when the ships opened and purchase a
ticket for the 1:30 PM tour boat to Fort Sumter. Lucky I arrived early as it
took almost 4 hours to tour the 3 ships and support base, grab a quick bite to
eat and board the tour boat.
The crowd was light on this sunny but cool winter day and I
had the USS Laffey all to myself for a while. This Alan M. Sumner class
destroyer is 376 feet long, commissioned on February 8th, 1944 and
had a 336 man crew. Named after Seaman Bartlett Laffey, a Civil War Medal of
Honor recipient, she saw extensive action in the Atlantic, at the D-Day
Invasion, and the Pacific theater. Nicknamed “The ship that wouldn’t die” she
survived five kamikaze and 3 bomb hits while operating off Okinawa on April 16th,
1945. It was kind of spooky to sit in the aft gun turret and watch a movie
about that day, realizing that 6 sailors lost their lives there (in the
original turret) when it was struck by one of the kamikaze. She was
decommissioned in 1975 and arrived at Patriots Point in 1981. The tour of the
ship is self-guided and most of the decks are open to the public.
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| Operating / examination room |
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| Galley |
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| Mess |
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| Chow line |
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| Captain's Bridge |
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| Helm |
You can read more here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Laffey_(DD-724)
Next was the USS Clamagore, a 322 foot diesel powered
submarine. She was commissioned in June of 1945, just a few weeks before the
end of the war and didn’t see any combat action. Her 30 year career was spent
operating out of Key West, Charleston and New London. Decommissioned at
Philadelphia in 1975, she was towed to Patriots Point in 1981. The self-guided
tour begins at the forward torpedo room, runs the full length of the ship, and
ends at the aft torpedo room.
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| Forward torpedo room |
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| Rudder and diving plane wheels. Ladder to conning tower (left) |
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| Galley |
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| Mess |
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| Wash station |
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| Aft engine room |
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| Electrical control panel |
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| Head |
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| Aft torpedo room |
You can read more here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Clamagore_(SS-343)
The USS Yorktown, “The Fighting Lady”, was named for the
Yorktown (CV-5) which was sunk at the battle of Midway. This Essex class carrier
was commissioned on April 15, 1943 and saw extensive action in the Pacific
during WW II as well as during the Viet Nam War. Her last assignment was
recovering the Apollo 8 astronauts in 1965.
She stared in 2 motion pictures, a 1944 Academy Award winning
documentary “The Fighting Lady” and in the 1970 movie “Tora! Tora! Tora!” She carried a crew of 380 officers, 3,088
enlisted men and 90 planes. There are 6 self-guided tours that cover most of
the ship and you can eat a hot lunch in the CPO Galley, served in the style
that the men experienced when she was operational (I missed that, darn it!).
Decommissioned in 1970, the Yorktown was towed from New Jersey to Charleston
and opened as a museum in 1975.
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| Walkway to ships |
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| Wash station |
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| Machine shop |
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| Crew berths |
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| Head |
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| Pharmacy |
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| Operating room |
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| Sick bay |
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| Engine room |
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| Galley |
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| Bakery. There are 16 pizza style ovens in here. |
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| Pilot's ready room |
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| Flight deck |
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| Admiral's quarters |
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| Helm |
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| Captain's bridge |
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| Officer's mess |
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| Brig |
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| Barber shop |
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| Ship's store |
You can read more here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Yorktown_(CV-10)
Along the waterfront there is full scale exhibit of an ATSB
(Advanced Tactical Support Base) like the ones operated by the Navy during the
Viet Nam War. The primary mission of the “Brown Water Navy” was the support of
ground troops and counterinsurgency operations. Unfortunately the angle of the
sun prevented me from photographing the interior of the building as the
doorways are covered in Plexiglas and I was left standing out in bright
sunshine. Vintage tapes of AFVN radio (Armed Forces Vietnam Network) plays on
loudspeakers as you tour the grounds.
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| Entry gate |
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| Mess hall in foreground |
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| Bell UH-1 "Huey" with mini-gun |
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| Cobra gunship |
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| "Huey" medevac |
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| Watch tower |
You can read more about the “Brown Water Navy” here:
It was about a 40 minute boat ride each way through Charleston
Harbor to Fort Sumter with an informative narrative about the harbor playing on
the loudspeakers. The Fort is named after Thomas Sumter, South Carolinas Revolutionary
War patriot. On April 12, 1861 the opening shots of the American Civil War were
fired here. You are allowed 1 hour at this National Monument before the ship
departs for the return trip. The hour is just about enough to tour the remnants
of the fort which was once 3 stories tall. Only about 80% of only the first
level remains due to the fact that it was bombarded numerous times during the
course of the war. Most bombardments were done by the North as the fort was in
Confederate hands from 1863 until 1865 when it was abandon due to General
Sherman’s army advancing on Savannah.
During the Spanish American War, Battery Huger (named after
another South Carolina Revolutionary War hero) was constructed inside the fort
and dominates the entire central section. Battery Huger was reactivated during
WW I and then again in WW II when anti-aircraft guns were installed. In 1948 it
was transferred from the War Department to the National Park Service. Battery
Huger now serves as a museum and gift shop.
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| Arriving at Fort Sumter |
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| Esplanade |
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| View from top of Battery Huger. Tour boat in background. |
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| Powder magazine, whats left of it |
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| Cannon port looking out over harbor |
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| Battery Huger |
You can read more here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Sumter
It was a long day, almost a 2 hour drive each way and after
leaving camp at 7 AM I didn’t get back until a bit after 6 PM. But well worth
the trip, I can heartily recommend these historic attractions.
I left Hunting Island yesterday and now camped at Little Pee
Dee State Park in northeast South Carolina, near the North Carolina border.
Named for the Little Pee Dee River that flows through here, this seems to be a
newer state park, judging by the condition of things. It’s somewhat out of the
way and there are only 3 campers other than myself here at the moment, a nice
place if you’re looking for a quiet, remote spot. They are still cleaning up
from an ice storm that passed through last week. I’m told the power was out for
4 days and, while the roads and campsites have been cleared, there are still
many down trees and branches. There is a small lake visible from my dinette
window and I’m enjoying the tranquility of the woods after the past 2 days of
driving and sightseeing.
On Tuesday I will resume my northward migration into North
Carolina. Hope you are all happy and healthy!
Dave
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