After we returned from Bonaire, we drove to York and had
Thanksgiving dinner at Linda and Rick’s house. The following day we started our
trip south. We stayed overnight at Randy and Marti’s before leaving MD. In SC,
we stopped at Andrew Jackson SP. He was the only American President to serve in
three wars (Revolutionary, War of 1812, and 1st Seminole War). Nearby we hiked
through the country’s largest old growth bottomland hardwood forest preserve at
Congaree NP.
 |
| Andrew Jackson |
We spent several days in the Charleston area. We took a boat
out to Ft Sumter and toured the fort with a Park Ranger. We visited Charles
Towne Landing which was the first permanent English settlement in Carolina. We
walked the grounds of Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, one of the oldest
plantations in the South. We toured Fort
Moultrie, named after its first commander, who had a fort built of palmetto
logs. When the British attacked on June 28, 1776, the palmetto logs absorbed
the cannon shot and the British lost the battle. This is why there is a palmetto
tree on the SC flag and why it is called the “Palmetto State”.
 |
| Magnolia Plantation and Gardens |
We camped at James Island County Park, near Charleston.
Every year in August, dozens of park volunteers start to assemble the Holiday
Festival of Lights with over 700 Christmas displays along a three mile loop.
Despite a power bill of $60,000/mo the display makes over a million dollar
profit for the county’s park system. I have never seen a light display that
even came close to this one. We visited it three times!
 |
| Sand Sculpture at James Island Co. Park |
 |
| Christmas at KOA |
We had to cut this trip short and head back to Maryland so I
could get my annual biopsy. Even though they found cancer in the prostate last
year, none was found this year. I’m not cancer free, but this was a good sign.
We attended Christmas parties at Piscataway and Carol & Cordale’s. It was
fun to catch up with old friends. We drove to the Philly area and spent some
time with Jenn. She gave us a tour of the farm where she works. We visited with
Floyd and Lauren. The next day we visited Independence Hall and saw the Liberty
Bell. The bell was about 80 years old, before it received the name “Liberty
Bell” by abolitionists and was adopted as a symbol of their cause. We spent the
rest of the day with Yanjin’s family in NJ. We headed south to have lunch with
Bob at the Dover AFB.
 |
| Liberty Bell |
 |
| Christmas Eve |
 |
| Chris, Jenn and Pop |
 |
| Ashley, Chris and Santa Snoopy |
We entertained my family on Christmas Eve at Pat’s father’s
house. We had Christmas breakfast and dinner at Linda and Rick’s house. We
ended the year with a family bowling party.
