Fort Sumter

Some of our favorite new friends in our new town are Shayna and Jase. (If we had our own show, Bill and Travis (Shayna's husband) would be the special guests...they make appearances for the "Adult Outings Without Crackers and Sippy Cups and Oh My God We Can Actually Carry on a Conversation Without Having to Run Off and Intercept Our Tiny Creatures on the Path of Danger or Destruction" episodes, but otherwise our weekday adventures are the four of us.)

After logging hours at Brittlebank and Mary Utsey (city parks), James Island County Park, and Charlestowne Landing (a state park), we decided that we were ready for the big leagues: A National Park. And it just so happens that we have a National Park right here in Charleston Harbor: Fort Sumter, the recipient of the opening shots of the Civil War. Time to get our history on!

When I called to make our reservations, I informed the woman I was speaking with that there would be two adults and two children in our party. "How old are the children?," she asked. "A year and a half," I told her. "Oh. Are you sure you want to take them to Fort Sumter? There aren't really any amenities there, you know? And did you know that it's only accessible by boat?" Oh yes, I know. And I'm sure.

"Also, the restrooms and any running water are currently unavailable." Ok, well, I didn't know that, but whatever.

So on the last Tuesday in April, we set out on our adventure. First, the 30-minute ferry ride (the below photos might lead you to believe that Owen and Jase spent the boat ride either seated or standing calmly in their seats. I assure you, that was not the case):Approaching the fort!:
Owen inside the fort:
Reading some very informative background information:Up on top of the fort looking back down at our boat (lots of stair climbing was required to arrive at such a height; Owen and Jase made sure to climb each stair about 12 times for good measure):
There were hugs (affection is a natural response to being at a location of great historic significance - below you are seeing one of Owen's typical pre- or post-hug rituals, which is touching his nose and then touching the other person's nose):
And there were broken rules:
In all of the excitement, I missed the above (very prominently placed) sign, and Owen had to be retrieved from atop the mounds by a friendly Park Ranger. (I wonder if the Ranger thought that I should have been less focused on photographing my son's phyical removal from an off-limits area and more focused on keeping him out of the off-limits area to begin with. Mmmm...Nah.)
Owen and Jase spent the ferry ride home talking about North and South, the various sources of tension leading up to the war, and how interesting it is that Major Robert Anderson (commander of Union forces at Fort Sumter) was one of General P.G.T. Beauregard's (commander of the provisional Confederate forces in Charleston) instructors at West Point before - almost 25 years later - surrendering to him at Fort Sumter.

And, it turns out that we didn't need amenities or restrooms or running water after all. Friends + adventure + hugs + mild rule breaking = good fun.