Back in ‘96, I was a freshmen in college at the University of Pittsburgh in Johnsown, PA, studying for a history major. That didn’t work out so well, but I did get to go on a couple really great trips with the History Club while I was there. The first, in the autumn of ‘96, we traveled east to Gettysburg to tour the battlefield
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The Gettysburg National Tower. Built in ‘74, it had been opposed by pretty much everyone, and was destroyed with great fanfare in 2000. Photo: Justin Gibb
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Good God was I young back then (and thin!).... Photo: Justin Gibb
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The following semester, our trip became more ambitious. We decided to postpone the trip to coincide with Spring Break so that we could travel down the East Coast to Kennedy Space Center, stopping in Kitty Hawk, Charleston, and Saint Augustine along the way. I’ve already posted the KSC
A more motley crew you’ll never see... Photo: Justin Gibb
No Starvin’ Marvin, that’s my convenience store! Photo: Justin Gibb
Reproduction of the 1903 Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk. Photo: Justin Gibb
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Gators at an animal park in Charleston. Photo: Justin Gibb
This was the only part we got to see, though I can’t remember why. Photo: Justin Gibb
Kids, don’t try this at home! Photo: Justin Gibb
Outside a plantation home near Charleston Photo: Justin Gibb
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Dolphins in the river. Photo: Justin Gibb
Patriots Point off in the distance. The exhibit was closed, else there’d be a lot more pics of aircraft carriers. Photo: Justin Gibb
USS Yorktown and the rest of the ships. Photo: Justin Gibb
Fort Sumter as seen from the Charleston Battery. Photo: Justin Gibb
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The fort as we approached on a ferry. Photo: Justin Gibb
Kinda wished I hadn’t wasted all my shots on the ride in... Photo: Justin Gibb
Seriously, I got like, two pics inside the fort. Photo: Justin Gibb
Plaque commemorating the defender of the fort. Photo: Justin Gibb
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Gun casons inside the fort. Photo: Justin Gibb
Plaque on the gates of the Castillo de San Marcos Photo: Justin Gibb
The 300 year-old gates of Saint Augustine. Photo: Justin Gibb
The Castillo de San Marcos, oldest masonry fort in the continental US. Photo: Justin Gibb
A classic star fort, the Castillo is made from coquina, a sedimentary rock made of sea shells which would almost absorb cannonballs. Photo: Justin Gibb
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Torre de Matanzas (Matanzas Tower) just outside St. Augustine. The fort protected the Matanzas Inlet, which could be used to avoid the Castillo and invade the city. Photo: Justin Gibb