The Traveling Twosome: The Traveling 3some - Day 20 - From Charlotte, North Carolina to Savannah, Georgia

October 26

Drove 334 miles today- 38.7mpg

Woke up to a brisk 37 degrees with clear skies. Pam's new breakfast drink on this trip is Red Bull - sugar free- and it's doing the trick to boost her awake in the morning. We understand that it's been rainy and windy at home and we lost one of our front trees. Thank goodness for great neighbors that are keeping an eye out for us. That said, after a free, tongue-tingling buffet breakfast we headed further south to the jewel of South Carolina, Charleston. During the entire Civil War, the city was blockaded by Union warships to great effect.

Travel & Leisure Magazine takes a survey every year of their readers and Charleston won the best city in the world, balancing sophisticated tastes with small-town charm.

Here's your daily history lesson - remember that test when we get home?

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist was built in 1854, seats 1200 people, and cost $103,000. In 1861, a fire broke out in a nearby factory which destroyed the cathedral and most of the town. After years of fundraising, this Gothic cathedral was built in 1890. The plans called for a spire, but due to lack of funds, it was not installed until 103 years later. The church was refurbished in 1995 and looks beautiful.

The slight distortion in these photos is due to the Apple phone's "panoramic" feature which allows much wider scope of scene in the photo.

After the frankly spartan interior of the Washington Cathedral, it was refreshing to see this gem filled with traditional images in stained glass, statues of saints and all of the typical religious iconography.

This the Mother Church of the Catholic Diocese of Charleston.

In 1995, this 31-rank French Romantic pipe organ - Bedient Opus22 - was purchased and installed.

In 1991, this Bishop's chair was purchased to sit at the side of the altar.

These "pan" shots are great stuff, if a bit disorienting.

"Liberty Square" on the Charleston waterfront, gateway to the actual Fort Sumter a half hour ferry trip away.

Yesterday it was Appomattox, wherein at a tiny courthouse in the boonies the Civil War effectively ended. Years earlier, on April 12, 1861, South Carolina forces fired on the Union garrison stationed at Fort Sumter - Union cannons roared back and the rest is bloody history. We've now come full circle.

Why no restrooms? Thank Hurricane Matthew. Fortunately the ferry had its own potties.

Pam ordering our tickets while we were still on the road was fortuitous. When we got there no more tickets were available for our last ferry of the day.

Cricket is sleeping to the lull of the waves.

Phooey on the selfie stick - just stretch that arm out and shoot.

The fort was only an indistinguishable speck from the visitor center. We're pretty close now

The ferry that's there skedaddles and we slip into the berth. The fort seems very low, not like one would picture in the mind's eye.

Innumerable tons of granite boulders were shipped from New England and dumped in the shallow water to make a solid base upon which the fort could be built. It was constructed to defend against America's enemies, not against ourselves.