Archive for the ‘South Carolina’ Category

Charleston

Sunday, April 22nd, 2012

I love this town!  The history and architecture are unbelievable.  South Carolina was the first state to succeed from the union and the first shots of the civil war were fired here.  This is not your usual southern town, they are quite proud of their past while embracing the 21st century.  Our lunch was at a cute little cafe where you could get the tradition fare like green beans, tomato pie, collard greens along with vegetables that were not dripping in oil nor were they fried!  Fresh produce and bring your own bag to the farmers market.

Now back to the traditional.  I wanted to see a plantation with the beautiful home, fabulous gardens, etc.  Well in South Carolina the plantation homes are much more like farm houses because the lady of the house wasn’t living out in the swamp!  The beautiful homes are in town along the battery.  We visited Boone Hall Plantation where we learned about plantation living and the lives of the slaves.

Driveway lined with giant oaks

The grand estate

Boone Hall Plantation is a working plantation today.  The home was built in the 1930’s to replicate some of the grandeur of the civil war times.

Slave cabins

Theses cabins were along the entrance drive to the plantation home.  At Boone Hall Plantation the cabins of the slaves that had a trade, bricklayer, craftsmen etc. were housed out front so that their skills could be advertised to the community.  Tours are not usually my thing but I am becoming a convert.  I’m aware of slavery and the effect it had on the people but when you take these tours it makes it so much more powerful.  There was a wonderful lady that presented Gullah history.  That was powerful!  I had never even heard of Gullah or Geechee (their language).  Did you know the song “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” was the slaves way of telling each other that someone was going to escape through the underground railroad soon!  Yep, they had their own language so they could communicate and the owners would not understand.

Tours about old furniture and history just does not interest a 4 year old!

After learning about plantation life we headed downtown where the homes are grand and no signs of slavery here although the slaves ran these homes also.

The veranda’s and patios are huge.  Most have outdoor fans.  There are blocks of these homes, all near the river.  Very few are open for tours because they are just homes today, residents live here in this historic district, have jobs, children and fancy cars!

City Hall!

And of course they have the churches that line the skyline with their steeples

And a park dedicated to George Washington, in Washington Park

Towards the end of our day of touring I got a surprise call from our old neighbor, Barb  who was in Charleston visiting her sister!  Wow, we were planning to leave that evening so we loaded the rig up, figured out where there would be a large parking lot and had her and her sister over for tea!!!

 

We are in the South!

Friday, April 20th, 2012

Arrived at Oak Plantation Campground today in Charleston South Carolina where we dropped the RV and Duke and hurried into town to catch the last tour boat to Fort Sumter.  Yep,  Paul gets to see more Civil War sites!

Charleston Bay

The ride out to the Fort takes about 30 minutes and the afternoon was perfect.  It is so cool to be able to stand outside on the boat and not freeze!  There were hundreds of sailboats in the bay.  This group of about 60 boats seemed to be in some sort of race or event.  We were very close and could see the sailors riding on the edge of the boats propelling the boats in the direction of the buoys.  In the background is the The Cooper River Bridge which opened in 2005 and is the longest North American cable stay bridge.  The Cooper River is named after Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury and chief Lord Proprietor of the Carolina Colony who arrived here from England in the1600’s! I’m thinking he is my ancestor!!

Fort Sumter

A Canon

Many flags flown here

Fort Sumter was where the civil war began however the fort was built for the war or because of the war of 1812.  It was also rebuilt for coastal protection during WWI and WWII.  The only battle it saw was the civil war.  It is now a National Monument in a beautiful setting.

Tomorrow we see downtown Charleston and some Plantations!!!