Travel & Vacation: Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum – U.S.S. Laffey & U.S.S. Clamagore
After exploring the U.S.S. Yorktown we toured the U.S.S. Laffey and U.S.S. Clamagore (the submarine). We packed a lot of learning, exploring, and fun into one day while we were at Charleston. Thankful for the opportunity to learn little pieces of our country’s history and share the experience with our kids. It was a muggy and rainy day, but we had a great time. Although it poured when we were going between the Laffey and the Clamagore we just splashed through the puddles laughing the whole way (luckily there was no lightening since we were in between large hunks of metal conductors).
The U.S.S. Laffey was used back in the 1940’s. One of it’s biggest battles was off the shores of Okinawa when over 20 Japanese bombers and kamikazes attacked it. They have an actual place you can go into and “experience” what it was like for the men on that day. It was a rainy day so we only had to wait a couple minutes to get into the Mount 53 experience, it was really neat activity to do if you are ever on the U.S.S. Laffey!
Walking through the U.S.S. Laffey!
Neat model of the U.S.S. Laffey. It was hard getting a good picture with the on and off rain storms that day!
Brina’s in charge!
Both girls in the captain’s chair!
Brina hanging out with her Dad!
U.S.S. Clamagore Submarine!
All of us were completely soaked by the time we reached the Clamagore, Karlie was the first one to arrive safely!
A little wet and slightly cool, but ready to explore the Clamagore Submarine!
It was a fun day in Charleston despite getting a little wet!
After dinner we were going to go to Books A Million, but it was closed already so the girls found another way to stay entertained. Brina having fun!
Karlie’s flying now! Look out!
Travel & Vacation: Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum – U.S.S. Yorktown
Our family on the flight deck of the U.S.S. Yorktown!
Whenever we have an opportunity to go to Charleston we try to pick at least one historical adventure to go on as a family. One of our recent trips to Charleston we decided to spend a good chunk of the day at Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum touring the U.S.S. Yorktown. When we got the tickets the day before they said to plan on being there at least 2 to 3 hours, we spent over 6 hours going through the U.S.S. Yorktown, U.S.S Laffey, and the U.S.S. Clamagore. The kids had a blast and it was a wonderful learning activity for all of us. Makes us appreciate the men and women who serve our country even more.
Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum – U.S.S. Yorktown
Of course, they had to check out the cannon!
Ready to explore Patriots Point in Charleston
The day started off overcast and bright, but thankfully we were still able to do everything and were back inside the ship when it was pouring.
Brina in the cockpit!
Karlie ready to fly the plane!
Soaking it all in….
Big guns!
Anything relating to space captivates Karlie’s attention!
We all did the blast off to the Moon Simulation together, so much fun!
Learning more about D-Day
Pilots are ready for their orders and paying attention…..ha!
Karlie looking through the wing of the airplane!
Learning how to work the different pieces.
Karlie walking with Jake and asking him a bundle of questions about the various planes on the flight deck.
That blade is huge Brina!
Brina found a spot under the wing with a good breeze on the warm muggy day!
Checking out another plane!
Brina all smiles!
I think I recognize those two on the other side of the port hole!
Yes, they are sitting in the captains chair!
Look at that Handsome Man on the other side of the port hole!
Karlie giving out orders to the pilots. She looks like a tough commander!
Brina ringing the bell!
The Medal of Honor Museum was amazing! They had a cool interactive display as you walked in that lit up with a variety of shots from the wars (pictured above).
What the Army, Navy, and Air Force Medals of Honor look like. A Medal of Honor is given by the President, in the name of Congress, to a member of the military who distinguishes themselves by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of losing their own life. They go beyond the call of duty. The act must be one of bravery or self-sacrifice. The youngest person to ever receive a Medal of Honor was William Johnston, age 12. In 1862 during the Peninsula Campaign many men were taking off their equipment so they had less to carry and could retreat faster. William (also known as “Willie”) was the only drummer boy to bring his drum off the battlefield.
U.S.S. Yorktown
Travel & Vacation: Carriage Tour in Charleston, SC
Our family had the opportunity to go on a Carriage Tour through Charleston one of the weeks we were traveling in that area for work. The tour was packed full of amazing history of Charleston and all of us enjoyed it (including the girls).
Carriage horse in Charleston
Brina having fun saying “Hi” to all the horses in the carriage barn
Karlie relaxing while waiting for our turn to ride the carriage!
Going on a carriage tour of Charleston. The girls LOVED riding in the front and watching the horse as well as soaking in all the history of Charleston. Jake and I went on one of these rides before the girls were born. It was a lot of fun and we learned more pieces of Charleston’s history!
Beautiful iron work outside the front doors of one of the local churches. The history of the many buildings along the ride was really neat.
The architecture of the churchs and homes was pretty amazing. I didn’t want to take a bunch of pictures into peoples personal homes so I snapped more of the churches during the tour.
See the oval sign under the light, it is a “fire insurance” sign. After the great fires in Charleston if your house had one of these signs that specific fire company would come put out your fire. Also, many of the Charleston homes have a “privacy” door on their porches as seen in the picture above to allow the families to cool down in privacy on their porches during the warmer months. It wouldn’t be decent seeing a lady in her “under garments” as she cooled off on the porch therefore privacy doors became a popular addition to the homes.
Beautiful houses in Charleston. This house used to by at the waters edge and is now several blocks from the shore! Charleston used to have “HAVE” and “HAVE NOT” sections of town, this house was in the “have” section.
On the left side of the picture you can see a brown brick building through the trees. After the really devastating fires in Charleston many of the wealthy families built their kitchens and servants quarters in a separate building outside of the home to help prevent fires from engulfing the entire home which also allowed a little extra time for the fire company to arrive and put out the fire.
Charleston’s old jail house. Our guide had a lot of “interesting” stories about the old jail house. Supposedly it is “haunted” and you can take tours during the day or a ghost tour at night through the old jail.
Many of the houses in Charleston are visibly leaning due to age and the variety of natural things including settling that have occurred over time. Also, you’ll notice that a lot of the houses are narrow as you see in this picture. Not much of a front or side yards with a street on three sides but the house has some history!
It was beautiful and peaceful touring Charleston on a carriage. If only I could remember ALL the cool pieces of history our guide shared with us that day!
Daughters of Confederacy building in downtown Charleston. This building is near the market area.
Brina and Karlie saying goodbye, petting, and thanking the horse for the history tour of Charleston. They really have a soft spot for animals and loved the long ride through Charleston just as much as we did.
Jake and I were able to “surprise” the girls with this carriage tour. I was able to get tickets at a discounted rate through Groupon, but the company we received the coupons for refused to accept the reservations because they were too “busy” that day. Thankfully we were able to get another carriage company to basically accept their competitors coupon otherwise we would have had two very disappointed girls (and Momma). Even though it was a busy time, we had to switch carriage companies, and it was warm we had a BLAST touring the city and learning all the history.
If you ever go to Charleston this is a wonderful activity to do with your family, just make sure to budget or plan ahead for the tour because without a coupon it could be a little pricey especially for a large family or group. Even though the carriage rides are open pretty much year round if you are going in the summer and it gets above 94 degrees (or somewhere near that temperature) the carriage companies have to pull the horses off the street because it is too hot for them. It was a great experience for all of us!
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
