Chuck's Big Adventure I Charleston
[Music] welcome to beautiful Charleston South Carolina I'm Chuck Lofton and on this trip we've seen everything from culture and fun to history and arguably some of the greatest food in the world we really tried to capture the heart and soul of this place so sit back and enjoy as we have yet another Chuck's big adventure trip this time to Charleston South Carolina [Music] amid the sights of historic Charleston one sound is impossible not to hear come on baby come on tourists have seen this city in this way for Generations let's do it Griffin my name is Scott I'll be a guide today in this lovely beautiful historic City rainbow Row the most photographed part of Charleston guests on the 16 seat carriages are immersed in this city Story the good we had the second most preserved City District in the world outside of Rome and the bad two Wars five great fires earthquake of 1886 quite resilient these hosts italianate architectural design are all Palmetto trained guide experts Charles coatsworth Pinkney John rutage in this graveyard they are both signers of the Constitution they really know Charleston so the city ordinance has it that no building in the historic district can be taller than the tallest Church [Music] steeple St buddy come on Old South carriage tour uses 30 Belgian and persan horses the horses are evaluated after every tour and on their off hours rest on a farm at nearby John's Island little boy yes you'll hear this sound in Downtown Charleston defensive fortifications during the Civil Wars and it's the sound of yet another Charleston story being told gas lanterns in the city very important yes indeed it's history it's the culture of southern [Music] hospitality it's just a wonderful place in historic Charleston up ahead of us St Phillips soaring Church spires first Scots Presbyterian Church make it easy to see French hieno Church why this is called the Holy City St Michael's Church property now it's easy to hear why [Music] too if you know where to listen welcome welcome welcome to the Halls Chop House gospel BR this of going it [Applause] sh long after the church pews have emptied songs of the low country feed the soul it sh sh Lynette white makes sure of that Lynette I can't imagine doing a Chuck's big adventure in Charleston and not talking to you so thanks for spending time with me not a problem to you what is low music okay low country music to me is what we [Applause] do the old spiritual songs the old gospel songs and the hymns swing sweet chot the songs that we do were created in the plantation Fields sweet love the culture is important because if you don't know where you come from how you know where you're [Music] going Lynette's Plantation singers began 27 years ago with just three people now there are 20 singers Victory is M Victory is it's a diverse group with a shared ambition to celebrate and preserve this music the music of the Low Country [Applause] victory yeah I loved it because not only was your music good but those folks had Joy mhm that's it what it represents for us is Peace Love love joy and happiness well you're spreading it Lynette thank you so much hey I do what thus say the Lord you can't go wrong there right not [Applause] [Music] [Applause] a for 24 years millions of guests have flocked to the South Carolina Aquarium [Music] this place reveals the beauty of the Atlantic the aquarium is also a place of hope staff and volunteers operate a turtle triage here I have never been to a triage for Turtles and wow what a miraculous place this is yes thank you so much it's really exciting to be able to show our guests how we interact with take these sick animals in triage them to get them healthy and ultimately back out into the wild they're going to get ex-rays blood work we're even really fortunate to have a CT scan machine here these are like hospital beds so each tank after we release a turtle we disinfect the tank get it ready just like you would a hospital bed for the next patient there's a NeverEnding supply of potential patients but by helping these Turtles to heal the entire environment of this coastline is affected and changed for the better you know I think when people think of sea life it's sea life my life but the two really do combine don't they absolutely and that's one of the things we try to teach people is that you know everything is connected and how even if you live in the middle of the state you know that your actions can have a positive or negative impact on the oceans and and how the health of the oceans can have a positive or negative impact on us so you know there's lots of ways that we can appreciate it and take care of it no matter where you [Music] live man this is this is special you know this is a special place and it's beautiful and it's something that very few people really get to see I mean to be out here where we are not many people at all get to take this journey [Music] these Mars lands all around us produce flavor you got to get a lot of oysters that's It's All About Numbers Trey McMillan was a nationally famous Pro fisherman but a few years ago he gave it all up to focus on oyster farming and he hasn't looked back so Trey what are we doing here right now so we're going to pull all these bags out of the cages we're basically going to work our way back down these this line here his Low Country Oyster Company harvests millions of oysters for use mainly in restaurants across the country we have a half dozen or dozen on the half shell on a plate of ice The Good the good low country flavor you can't beat it the team carefully processes each Harvest making sure only the best make it from Farm to Table and for that add these beautiful oysters we met up with coolinary at instructor and Chef Kevin Mitchell these are really delicate so once again they won't they won't take too long to cook some celery here Chef Kevin prepares students to be part of Charleston's Legacy of Fine Food knowing how to prepare oysters is a must yeah that's it's good yes that oyster flavor is really really kicked up but I will spr just a little bit of salt this is our oyster soup stew whichever you want to call it what a wonderful Farm to Table experience Chef Kevin thank you thank you it's a South Carolina delicacy homegrown and [Music] harvested in this beautifully remote corner of the Low Country and how many acres 350,000 you're a on- man band almost it times out here yeah yeah it's you're not going to call somebody to come bring you Uber lunch or anything I can tell you [Music] that Magnolia uh began at Gardens in the 1840s Reverend Drayton wanted to bring his wife Paradise here on Earth and at the end of the the Civil War the Reverend Dron was land rich and cash poor and in order to bring some money back to the family he decided to open the property to the public the plantation also doesn't shy away from its history with [Music] slavery four restored cabins that were once home to enslaved people serve as a focal point for conversation about a dark time in American history and at the end of the Civil War Reverend Drayton offered the insa the ability to stay in the cabins they were living in originally they would go from duplexes to a single family home and they could work in the faucet mines across the street and also helped t to the gardens here and 21 took him up on that offer so let's fast forward to 2024 and you've got people even this early in the winter uh coming out to see the gardens what is it that draws people here we have something in bloom 342 days out of the year for our guests to see we also have a very rich history not only with the From Slavery to Freedom tour but our Magnolia house tour history that's uh in the grounds itself the family tomb the magnolia trees the live oak trees and then we have our Wildlife here at Magnolia not only our migratory Birds but our alligators our Turtles anything you want to see here at Magnolia we have something for [Music] everybody in Charleston Harbor a 30-minute fairy ride takes visitors to a small island fort with a big place in history I've always felt that the story of the United States cannot be told in full without hearing about Fort Suter yes sir you are correct uh this is one of the defining moments in American history where the American Civil War begins April 12th 1861 the first shots are fired after a 34-hour bombardment from all sides Sumpter Falls and America's bloodiest war begins if you take all the American soldiers who died of all causes in the American Revolution the War of 1812 the Mexican war fighting with the Native Americans the Spanish American War World War I World War II in Korea and add them all up there's still more American soldiers who died in the Civil War than all those Wars had it together former historian Rick Hatcher has spent his life life walking people through the fort's storied past the walls would have had essentially three tiers of cannons we only have remains of some of the first tiers uh there were living space inside for 650 officers and Men we don't have any of that here today but the reminders of the battles fought here are all around there are projectiles in the wall that came from cannons up to 5 miles away there are fingerprints in the bricks the bricks are all made on local plantations by enslaved people and those fingerprints are a tool for us to remember uh a whole group of people that often we don't have anything left over from them no family heirlooms no written documents in 1865 a liberated Fort suer was the sight of a flag raising ceremony to celebrate the Union victory today Park Rangers with the help of visitors make sure the flag still flies High over this uniquely American place the Civil War begins here the end of the Civil War results in the beginnings of freedom for over 4 million people the history of this place continues to impact us today Charleston is a City full of culture and history but a truly experience Charleston as a whole you got to experience at the salt Mar Estuary you got to come out on a boat and Jackie not only is Chuck's big adventure going to Charleston but because of you we're going back to prehistoric times right yes yeah Coastal Expeditions takes visitors out to crab Bank a small island made of dredge spoils from the bottom of Charleston Harbor they take all of that sediment and they dump it in a big pile somewhere so what they're doing is they're digging up all those old Earth layers reaching down to like 30 million years old and then they're dumping it in a big pile and as the waves hit the shore stuff comes out of that pile not just sediment but also [Music] fossils I think it's a Megalodon tooth but we'll chuck with the person to be able to hold something that is 10 million years old in your hands that's a magical moment treasure for all fossil leers it's what you want to find it gives us a Glimpse back in time a little bit yeah and you get to go home with treasure that's right and you never thought of so you're not only on a tour you're on a treasure hunt in a very real way abely any anytime you're out with me we're going to be looking for Treasure people on our tour have found everything from shark and whales teeth to masted on Bones the thing I was most excited about turned out to be a black rock Jackie a great time thank you so much so nice to meet you [Laughter] [Music] guys it's impossible to visit Charleston and not be surrounded by the West African gulla culture and this here is known as bull rush but it does help having someone show you where to look this here is so needed for our industry of sweet grass basket making if we don't have this raw material Chuck we can't make the works when West African and slave people were brought to South Carolina the tradition of basket making came with them Cory Alon is a fifth generation basket maker and our guide to the low country's gulla Heritage so we're here in a slave quarter and one of the things that Boon Hall has done is allow basket makers to still run their businesses here in the in the uh in the plantation Miss Deli is the Artisan here today and which she has is a large variety of different designs that we're keeping alive traditionally and also some patterns that we be call more contemporary sweet grass baskets were just the beginning of our day with Corey so we have homemade biscuits here we have some salted shrimp he also took us to breakfast we have baked macaroni we have crab rice and lunch pork shoulder pork ribs and dinner um so today we're going to go through the whole thing and you know I'm I'm going make sure we taste everything these foods are Staples of the gulla [Music] Community The dark past of places like Chalmer street is also part of Cory's tour the old slave Mart Museum uh is one of the structures that is still here with the word slave and with the title at one time Charmers was known to have over 40 auction houses at one time running in sequence of selling enslaved Africans so this street has history that we can never eras from it the pain and the beauty the history and the Artistry let's dig in man let's get some of this all right a day with Cory is a day you'll never forget and a culture you can't help but Embrace you're coming to the city because of the Heritage the cultures that's kept alive you're not coming for a t-shirt or a [Music] keychain there is nothing to cool the soul on a hot day in South Carolina like sweet tea I think it's very appropriate that you have this Tea Garden in the South where tea is so much a part of the culture it sure is it sure is it's everywhere you can't go to any restaurant and not get tea at the Charleston Tea Garden it's a SP flash of History a squeeze of character and a lot of flavor the trolley tour gives guests a glimpse of how the tea goes from feeli to Glass and how little things can make a big difference so I'm going to smell it right here smell it and there's not much of a smell not much but what how do I transform that so all you do is take your hot breath and blow on it and then inhale and you it's completely different very full and Rich and great exactly and the key note there is your tea doesn't like moisture so if you're storing it in your house you want to keep it sealed Mike I look at this beautiful field and it's healthy it's robust but you use no pesticides right no sir not at all and that's because the tea leaves contain caffeine and that's a natural defense mechanism for these plants that we happen to enjoy uh even the local deer population won't eat our tea plants I'm ask you three big questions okay sweet or unsweet I am a sweet person sweet or unsweet uh sweet tea because it is the table wine of the South and my mom always said I could always be a little bit sweeter green or black green tea for me personally green tea but I love black tea as well what about milk in your hot tea I don't like milk in my tea ah no milk I'm a purist [Music] first stop one of the South's Great Men stores M Dumas and Sons here I am I'm coming into your store you don't know me Clark from Adam but you're ready to start on me so where do you start in getting me to look good to me we all love sport [Music] kids you guys can't deny it I mean you feel better than a sport kit that's typically where I start okay hey Clark I picked it do I look Charleston enough I think you fit the bill yeah all right I love [Music] it time for my next accessory and for that a stop at Southern Roots a unique shop that lets you create a one-of-a-kind hat Laura not only are you a a hat expert but this is really to you in art form isn't it exactly yes we here at Southern Roots really approach the Hat making process as more of an artist indry some of the pieces that we picked out what I like to traditionally do is start to layer those pieces onto the hat and then now the last thing is again the burning of initials numbers anything that you know resonates with you so what would you like to burn in your hat today CBA Chu's big adventure and I'll never forget love it being here with your store in Charleston I love it [Music] well Jeff to dress like a southern gentleman I couldn't leave South Carolina without visiting you because you guys at brackish are the quintessential uh Southern gentleman look I would think oh I'd like to think so as well but I will tell you what your suit's looking great and I'm glad you all came in and we'll get you set set up really [Music] well what should I be looking for when I when I make the purchase you really want it to be personal to you what really speaks to you what feathers speak to you what colors speak to you um you know we have very personal packaging we hand brand every box ourselves it's very important that every customer feels some type of personal pool that's beautiful towards our product yeah I kind of like this one this is called The Wallace the southern gentleman look isn't for everyone but on a warm day in South Carolina [Music] I'm feeling just fine well I hope you've enjoyed these stories as much as we've enjoyed telling them from the low country of South Carolina hope to see you next time for more stories on Chuck's Big Adventure [Music]
2024-09-30 20:25
