Carolinas, Georgia & South Trips (Lonely Planet, 1st Edition) - Alex Leviton [77]
SLEEP
Campfire Lodgings
Quiet, scenic campground with yurts, 10 minutes from downtown. 828-658-8012; www.campfirelodgings.com; 116 Appalachian Village Rd, Asheville; campsite $30-35, yurts & cabins $95-125;
Crooked Oak Mountain Inn
A peaceful retreat 3 miles from downtown. 828-252-9219; www.crookedoakmountaininn.com; 217 Patton Mountain Rd, Asheville; r $140-205
USEFUL WEBSITES
www.exploreasheville.com
www.foodtopiansociety.com
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LINK YOUR TRIP www.lonelyplanet.com/trip-planner
TRIP
14 From Dirty Dancing to Dawson’s Creek
18 Mayberry & the Yapa Valley
19 Blue Ridge Parkway: High Country
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Return to beginning of chapter
TRIP 21
A Charleston Walk Back in Time
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WHY GO With one of the largest historical districts in the world outside of Rome, Charleston is a city rooted in a romantic but bloody past. Civil War historian, author and tour guide Jack Thomson walks us through military forts, antebellum homes and a “new” Civil War discovery.
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TIME
2 days
DISTANCE
BEST TIME TO GO
Mar - Jun, Oct & Nov
START
Charleston, SC
END
Charleston, SC
ALSO GOOD FOR
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Few cities evoke the same storied romanticism as Charleston. While the days of hoop skirt and parasol-clad genteel Charlestonians sipping lemonade on the piazza have gone the way of the cotton gin, the magnificent city remains an elegant destination where visitors witness more than three centuries of American history.
Pipe your way into Charleston’s military history on Friday afternoons at the Citadel. On most Friday afternoons during the school year, the famed military college of Charleston puts on a military dress parade, complete with a full display of its Regimental Pipe Band, open to the public. Afterwards, stop in the small museum to see 170 years of Citadel history.
Nearby is the popular Hominy Grill, which attracts mostly locals to its barn-inspired interior and relaxed back patio. Start with the popular okra and shrimp beignets with cilantro-lime salsa. Whatever main dish you get, be sure to order plenty of side “vegetables” which, in the South, means not only sweet yams and collard greens but macaroni and cheese or fried cheese grits.
Accommodations in Charleston are most definitely not cheap, so the Notso Hostel is both a rarity (a hostel! in the South!) and one of the few independent accommodations options charging less than $200 a room. Guests of all ages bunk in the back house dorm beds or the Civil War-era front house private rooms (all with shared bath), but it’s the front porch, free bicycles and shared continental breakfast that make this choice feel particularly homey.
Start your first morning with the Revolutionary War at Fort Moultrie, across Hwy 17 on the Ravenel Bridge. It’s named for Colonel William Moultrie who, on June 28, 1776, was the commander of this incomplete Palmetto log fort and whose flag became the South Carolina state flag. Four British frigates and a bomb ship pounded the fort for nine hours. The Patriot forces were victorious, leading to one of the first battles won by the rebels in the American Revolution. Today, the fort displays artifacts from America’s seacoast defense history from the Revolutionary War to WWII.
To get a feel for the town, take a late-morning ride with Palmetto Carriage Works. The family-run business offers tours on mule-drawn carriages out of a big red barn. The tour leaders are often young Charlestonian history majors, who bring the town to life while you and your carriage-mates (there’s room for about eight to 10) go clopping through town.
See where the Civil War started at the Fort Sumter National Monument. Stop in first at the Fort Sumter Visitor Education Center at the northern end of Concord St in Liberty Square, where you’ll get an overview of the fort’s history and see artifacts from its