Historic, trendy Charleston

Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, longest cable-stayed bridge in the Western Hemisphere. Photo ©bbatsell

Where is the ocean, I kept asking while looking over the vast expanse of Charleston harbor. I am used to the Mississippi River and being able to see its west bank most of the time. The issue is that the harbor is actually an estuary off the Atlantic Ocean that is formed by three rivers, the Ashley, the Cooper and the Wando. (I know, they sound like characters from Jane Austen novels.) The first English settlement of Charles Towne was established in 1670 at Albemarle Point along the Ashley River. I can def see why that spot was chosen, as it is a lovely!

Strategically, moving over to the peninsula, a decade later, made a lot of sense and the town more easily fortified. Named for Charles II, the colony soon became a major slave trading port. In fact, 50 percent of all slaves imported from Africa in the 18th century arrived through Charleston. Rice and cotton were cultivated on large plantations and exported for great profit, which helped build the beautiful city you see today.

Me sitting astride The Battery.

You can take a 30-minute ride on the Spirit of the Lowcountry ferry where rangers explain the histories of three forts: Castle Pinckney - named for a signer of the U.S. Constitution - on Shute's Folly Island; Fort Johnson, built in 1708 and named for the first governor; and Fort Sumter.

The Battery was frequently attacked by both French and Spanish warships, so cannons were lined up to protect the harbor from foreign invaders .

At 4:30 a.m., April 12, 1861, the first shots of the Civil War were fired by order of P.G.T Beauregard from Fort Johnson onto Fort Sumter, now a National Park, where the Union Army's garrison was stationed.

The harbor boat tour combined gossip and lore.

(Learning this bit of history cleared up my confusion since, while aboard the cocktail cruise, I could not imagine how heavy cannon balls could sail all the way from the mainland to hit that tiny island.) The bombardment lasted 34 hours! From our sunset cruise, Fort Sumter appeared quite insignificant, although the battle set in motion the deadliest war in U.S. history.

There is little evidence of that conflict on downtown streets, lined with graceful trees and handsome historic homes in styles that include 18th-century Georgian, Single and Double Houses, Federal, Victorian, Italianate and Greek Revival architecture.

The Rainbow Row includes 13 historic houses restored in the 1930s and '40s painted a spectrum of pastels. Where we were staying, near King Street, upscale shops and restaurants, most of the homes are Victorian architecture.

Walking in the sand on Sullivan's Island and

Copyright Richard Hendrick

through Charleston City Market where

handicrafts, home goods, artwork, soaps, candles and candies abound, we admired the Pineapple Fountain, symbolic of both colonialism and Southern hospitality. Then hunted down gelato at Freddo before strolling through the charming College of Charleston campus founded in 1770.