South Carolina Vacation Day 3: Plantation

Today we decided to visit Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, a plantation near Charleston . Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. Founded in 1676 by the Drayton family, Magnolia Plantation has survived the centuries and witnessed the history of our nation unfold before it from the American Revolution through the Civil War and beyond. It is the oldest public tourist site in the low country, and the oldest public gardens in America, opening its doors to visitors in 1870 to view the thousands of beautiful flowers and plants in its famous gardens.

It was a beautiful day and the plantation was supposed to have one of the best gardens in the United States. We were a little late for most of the flowers and a little early for the camellias that were planted in the woods. There were a few varieties blooming and they were pretty. We were told that the best time to view the woods was in February when all the camellias were in bloom. They have planted thousands of camellias of many different varieties throughout the woods and with the layout of the walks and other little gardens they would be gorgeous. As you walked through the woods, there were gardens of different flowers and herbs usually behind a manicured hedge or a growth of camellias. Throughout the woods, you would see many different statutes nestled in the gardens and camellias. The plantation grounds had many ponds and small lakes and there were wooden bridges over some of them. There were also gazebos and benches strategically located in the woods and gardens so if you wanted to rest or just sit and while away time you could. They were many secluded locations that would be great to sit in and read a book.

We toured the house, but, unfortunately, we could not take pictures in the house. The history of this property is very interesting and the history as well as a short video and pictures can be found at http://www.magnoliaplantation.com/

South Carolina Vacation: Sunset

Linda and I decided to go to the beach and watch the sunset. It had been such a good day that we thought a beautiful sunset would be a fitting ending to the day.

We arrived at the beach and it looked like others had the same idea. While taking pictures we noticed some dolphins swimming along the coast. Unfortunately, I was not able to get any good pictures of them. I have included one showing a fin.

We watched the sun set and I took over 70 pictures. I have included a few, but there are others that are just as pretty.

South Carolina Vacation: Day 2

Today turned out to be a great day. The drive to Charleston was uneventful. The traffic wasn't bad and it only took about 1 1/4 hours to get there.

We parked in the visitor's center parking lot and looked at a lot of the tours being offered. We decided to take our own walking tour; got a map of Charleston and got on our way.

We walked to Market Street--taking pictures along the way--to visit the old market. We have been here before, but it is always worth a visit.

After going through the market, we decided to go to lunch. We ended up eating at a place called Hyman's Seafood. Once again, we had a great seafood lunch. I had the Charleston style fish and chips and Linda had a Buffalo Shrimp Poboy. We also tried the local craft beer and it was great also.

We continued our tour of the city after lunch and took many more pictures of the area. The houses were very unbelievable and made the tour of the
city worthwhile.

South Carolina Vacation: Day 1

Getting to Edisto Island, South Carolina was an easy, although long (12 hours), trip. We had great weather most of the way. We did run into foggy conditions in the mountains, but it did not affect the driving. It did make for some beautiful views. The fall folage was very pretty and we saw many miles of the turning leaves.

We left Trotwood around 6:30 AM and arrived at Edisto Island around 6:15 PM. Edisto Island is very isolated with very few people except for the visitors to the resort. You drive down miles of two lane roads with Spanish moss hanging from the trees. In some areas there are trees on both sides of the roads with overhanging branches. It looks like a tunnel from a distance. We probably drove over 20 miles without meeting a car or having a car behind us.

We decided to go to Beaufort, South Carolina today. The pictures and descriptions on the internet made it sound interesting and it was. To get an idea of what we saw, go to
http://www.beaufort-sc.com/history/bfttown/tour/walktour.htm for a virtual walking tour. We stopped at the visitors center when we got into Beaufort. Once an arsenal, this building was constructed in 1798 of brick and tabby. We left the visitors center and drove to an area where the restaurants were supposed to be. We walked along the river which was a beautiful walk, but we did not find a restaurant that we wanted to eat in. An individual was delivering visitors guides to the local businesses and we asked him where was a good place to get a fish dinner. He suggested a restaurant called Steamers which was on an island about 2 miles from where we were.

We visited the restaurant and had a meal that was very delicious. The special of the day was grouper—fried or grilled--, dirty rice and corn on the cob. We chose the grilled grouper and washed it down a draft beer. The grouper was grilled to perfection and the dirty rice was the best we have ever had. Linda told the waitress that she could just give her a plate of dirty rice and she would be happy. The tartar sauce was very good. Linda asked if it was homemade or bought. The waitress said it was made by the restaurant, not bought. She also said that there was a lady that worked for the restaurant who made the dirty rice and everyone who ate the rice said it was “the best ever”. We would agree with that.






We left the restaurant and went to Harbor Island visit a light house which was well worth the visit. However, the beach was another matter. There were a lot of trees on the beaches which was probably the result of the hurricane earlier this year.