If you haven't seen the Battery, you have not seen Charleston. Beginning at one end of the Battery by the Coast Guard Station (which one can enter with a military ID), one drives, walks, bikes, jogs, or carriage rides along Charleston harbor. The Battery is a place to see lots of tourists, but the traffic is very manageable. It is a place where one can go to breathe in the fresh air, enjoy the beautiful flowers such as oleander and wisteria that line the way, delight in the variety of vessels (sailing ships, yachts, tour boats, tugs, barges) that are using the harbor for work or for pleasure, and view or tour some of the most impressive mansions found in the United States. The parks that are in the area allow one to sit on a bench beneath beautiful live oaks or to sit right beside the water's edge and view the Cooper River Bridge or the aircraft carrier Yorktown in the distance.

The homes cannot be described but for their beauty and the history they have seen through the years (i.e. the firing on Fort Sumter at the beginning of the War between the States). They must be experienced in person. Some of them can be toured, and some are bed and breakfast establishments today. It is one mile from the Coast Guard Station to the end of Murray Blvd., where one sees the monument to the Confederate soldiers. Turning left there, one is on East Battery and will pass Rainbow Row, which is almost to Broad Street.

If one turns onto South Battery, one will see beautiful homes and go around the park which has a 'bandstand' in the center where, on the day I was there this summer, two weddings were being held in these picturesque surroundings. There are statues and a marble slab marking the spot where pirates were hanged once upon a time. In fact, this whole area has an aura of once upon a time, and is a must when visiting Charleston.