A Day of Caching In and Around Charleston 1/15/2008

We left the RV about 8:45 and headed for Charleston and a day of great caches. We started out at the farthest point in downtown Charleston and worked our way back to the campgrounds. We found 15 caches in all and they included 1 at a boat landing, where the linemen were sleeping in their trucks, 1 at a baseball field, 2 in shopping centers, 1 way out on a boardwalk, in the middle of Charleston on the Ashley River, which you practically had to stand on your head to get it as it was under the boardwalk on a rafter about 8' off the water, 1 in a small park on an electric box,1 in a small pull off on the Ashley River, 1 hidden by Colonial Lake right in Charleston and the last one we did was a multi cache puzzle in Summerville in Azalea Park which we mentioned yesterday and had pictures of. You know what was great about that cache was we took Muffy and Raggs and part of the cache was a statue of a dog named Toby and you should have seen them when they saw it. They were sniffing it and kind of afraid of it and didn't know what to make of it and we have included pictures. Ok now on the the great caches in Charleston. The first one we did was a virtual cache at White Point Gardens or Oyster Point in the Battery at the southernmost point of the Charleston peninsula. It was named in 1670 by the colonists and was used in the Civil War to protect the people against the Union Army. It has live oaks with Spanish moss and several statutes and disabled cannons. We were then made our way down the cobblestone streets to Adger's Wharf which dates back to the 17th century and is a reminder of a time when wharves covered large portions of the lower peninsula's waterfront and it began its history as a "low water lot" which is land being exposed at low tide. It was then on to Washington Park for another virtual cache and down another cobblestone street, boy are those tough on the tires and feet, and the park is named for the Washington Light Infantry, a prewar militia unit which supplied 3 full companies to the Confederate Army. A 40' stone obelisk stands at the center of the park in memory to their dead, whose names are listed on the shaft. Also in the park is a monument to General Beauregard and a bust of Henry Timrod a poet of the Confederate Cause whose verses were popular during the war. There are some other monuments located throughout the park along with many live oaks and benches to sit on. Next we went to a traditional cache located in the "Gateway Walk" which starts at St. Johns Lutheran Church on Archdale St. and goes right down through the center of the city for 4 blocks. It was established in 1930 and goes past many half hidden gardens behind decorative wrought iron gates and starts in the graveyard of St Phillips Episcopal and continues into the graveyard of the Circular Congregational Church. It continues to the Gibbes Museum and sculptured courtyards and past the Charleston Library Society into the churchyard of the Unitarian Church and through the cemetery of St. John's Lutheran Church. A very very lovely walk and the graveyards were extremely unusual as they were so close together, anywhere from a few inches to a foot and many old gavesites. Then on to another virtual cache at the location of what used to be the Charleston Museum which is the oldest museum in the United States built in 1773. All that remains, in what is now known as Cannon Park, are 4 standing columns and 2 destroyed columns of what used to be the facade of the old museum which burned on October 17, 1982. Then it was on to our last virtual cache of the day at Magnolia Cemetery to find the grave site of the members of the H. L. Hunley which was the first submarine to sink an enemy ship on Feb. 17, 1864. Approximately 4 miles off the coast of Sullivan's Island, SC the Hunley sunk the Warship U.S.S. Housatonic. As planned, the Hunley was to return, however the submarine with a crew of 8 was never seen again as they figured that the blast that sank the Housatonic also sank the Hunley. 131 years later on May 4, 1995 Clive Cussler discovered the Hunley and the remains of the crew were recovered and interred in April 2004 after a funeral that attracted thousands. It was considered the last Confederate funeral. In 2000 the submarine was raised and is now being studied at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center. All in all a very interesting and great day of caching in and around Charleston. Make sure you check all the pictures. Here is a listing of the pictures as there are so many. Top Left-Gateway Walk, Top Rt & one below it Muffy, Raggs & Toby, which is a statue in Azalea Park, 2nd & 3rd on left Circular Congregational Church & Graveyard, 3rd down on rt and 4th down on left Washington Park, 4th & 5th on rt & 5th on left Oyster Point in Battery Park, 6th on rt Adgers Wharf, 6th on left-Charleston Museum Ruins, 7th & 8th on left H. L. Hunley Gravesite. We love all you guys and hope everybody is well.