43. South Carolina

 The drive to Charleston was only a couple of hours north of Savannah. Here is another southern city that is full of charm and history. Fort Sumter, sight of the beginning of the Civil War, is located in Charleston Harbor. Our restaurant for the evening was located in an old house downtown. Little did we know that it is a haunted house. Poogan's Porch, named after the neighborhood dog, Poogan, who used to greet guests, is one of the stops on the local ghost walking tour. Legend has it that a former resident still walks the halls and kitchen making her presence known.  We began our dinner with the pimento cheese fritters served with green tomato jam. Oh my – fried mozzarella or any type of cheese is not even in the same category as this delectable dish. Pimento cheese fried to a golden brown so that the cheese just oozes out. We split the combination seafood platter which was more than enough food for the two of us. The picture is of my half and I couldn’t even begin to eat it all. The combination was served with catfish, shrimp, oysters and scallops. The peanut encrusted catfish was the best

catfish I had ever had. Our waitress said it was farm catfish and that’s why it is so tasty. If that’s the reason, then I need to find a catfish farm around Arlington and fast. I think that might have a little to do with it but being lightly fried in peanut oil didn’t hurt. I couldn’t leave without trying their bread pudding. While exiting the house a ghost walking tour was making their stop and reciting their spiel so of course we just had to linger on the porch so we could listen. I do believe next time we will have to stay at The Mills House which is across the street. Maybe we’ll see a ghost or two.

    The next morning we drove across the harbor to Sullivan’s Island where we toured Ft. Moultrie, went to the beach and saw a wonderful old lighthouse. We had an excellent view of Ft. Sumter and while walking on the nearly deserted beach we spotted a few dolphins. What a fabulous end to our visit in a charming southern city.

http://www.poogansporch.com/

http://www.nps.gov/fosu/historyculture/fort_moultrie.htm