Charleston - Day 2

We get up reasonably early.  Michael's friend has already left for hunting.... I present my plan for the day: Drive to Mount Pleasant Pier - a new development under the Arthur Ravenel Junior Bridge, have coffee and breakfast there. Then visit the US Navy aircraft carrier, then the beach, the Boone Hall Plantation and head home towards Aiken....  Leisurely plan and not too much walking, but a bit of history!

Mount Pleasant is a large suburban town in Charleston County, South Carolina. Part of the Memorial Waterfront Park complex, the 1250-foot long Mount Pleasant Pier stretches out into Charleston Harbor under the foot of the Arthur Ravenel, Jr. Bridge. The pier’s foundation was created from pared-down pilings from the old Grace Memorial Bridge, and one end of the pier now features an 8,100-square-foot covered pavilion for hosting dances and other events. Visitors can enjoy beautiful views of the bridge and harbor from the pier’s bench swings and shade structures.

So off we go - Michael hadn't been to the Pier yet, as it is a new development... ha... good planning Sabine!!!  It is very nice there and great views...  We are both desperate for a good coffee and breaki.  We are in luck - there is a coffee shop and we get freshly brewed coffee!  Now we can start the day.

There are a lot of fishermen on the Pier - they all look professional with all their gear and equipment... Hisham would have been impressed - he loved fishing, but was far from being a professional - he was more of a 'lazy' fisherman...

As the Navy aircraft carrier is close by, we drive there to have a look.  As we are cheap skates and don't want to pay for parking - we are only having a look at the carrier from outside - so we cheat and park at the sports club across the street.... not just a pretty face!  We wonder around and have a look .... interesting.

At the foot of the Arthur Ravenel Bridge is Patriot's Point, a naval and maritime museum, home to the World War II aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, which is now a museum ship.

 We now have photos of this bridge from all sides and underneath....

That soldier again....

Before we go to the Plantation we take the route via the beach. Very beautiful...along Sullivan's Island and Isle of Palms.  You have the beach and the waterway, which runs parallel to the coast line - quite magnificant.

Sullivan's Island is a town in Charleston County, South Carolina, on a similarly named island at the entrance to Charleston Harbor. The island was known as O'Sullivan's Island because of Captain Florence O'Sullivan, who was stationed here as a lighthouse keeper in the late seventeenth century. O'Sullivan was Captain of one of the ships in the first fleet to establish English and Irish settlement at Charleston.

Isle of Palms is a city in Charleston County, South Carolina. The population on the island is 4,133. Isle of Palms is a barrier island on the South Carolina coast. The island's original inhabitants were the Seewee Native American tribe. Reportedly, they greeted the first English to arrive on the island by swimming out to their ships and escorting them back to the island.

In the late 19th century, local residents began using the island as a vacation spot. At that time it was only accessible by ferry.

I love these colourful houses so cute....and so beachie ...

 There are several houses like these - a bit like the 'Queenslander' homes in QLD.

Next stop: Boone Hall Plantation down the road.  Turns out to be a very very interesting place, very organized! I love it.  Lots of history...We end up spending the entire afternoon there about 4 hours - we have to plan all the tours we want to participate in, and just about manage in that time to see and do everything:  Plantation tour on a bus; Slave Street Cabins; Gullah Culture Theatre; Plantation House Tour.

The Boone Hall Plantation and Gardens is an antebellum plantation located in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The plantation includes a large Colonial Revival plantation house (1933–35) that replaces the lost original house on the site. Besides the house, sit nine of the original slave cabins which date back to 1790-1810, a smoke house dating back to 1750, the Cotton Gin house (1853). A number of slave cabins were occupied by sharecroppers well into the 20th century. There are several flower gardens, and the historic "Avenue of Oaks": a nearly one mile drive up to the house with live oaks on either side, originally planted in 1743. Boone Hall plantation sits on Wampacheeoone Creek in Christ Church Parish about 10 miles (16 km) from historic downtown Charleston.

The earliest known reference to the site is of 1681. It originated from a land grant given to Major John Boone. The land grant of 470 acres (1.9 km²) was given by Theophilus Patey as a wedding present to his daughter, Elizabeth and Boone. The original wooden house was constructed in 1790. The house that stands now was built by Thomas Stone, a Canadian who purchased the land in the early 20th century. He wanted a "grander style" home than what was there, so he built the Colonial Revival-style house that stands there today. However, the bricks in the house were taken from the Horlbeck brickyard.

Owners over the years are as follows: Theophilus Patey, Major John Boone (founder), Fenwick, Hickman, Thomas Vardell (1811), John and Henry Horlbeck (1817), Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Stone (1935), Georgian Prince Dimitri Djordjadze (1940), Dr. Henry Deas and his wife Adele Deas (1945), and Harris M. McRae and his wife, Nancy Thomas (1955). The McRaes opened the plantation to the public in 1957 and have made great efforts to preserve the original structures and gardens.

Boone Hall Plantation is one of America's oldest still working plantations...continually growing crops for over 320 years.  April to June, strawberries are the centerpiece at Boone Hall Farms. Spring planting annually includes tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, watermelons, and sweet corn. These crops are harvested throughout the summer months during the peak of the South Carolina growing season.

Plantation Coach Tour: You will load up on an open air coach in front of the Butterfly Pavilion for a 40 minute motorized tour around the plantation. This ride covers one end of the plantation to the other...both geographically and historically. You will see how Boone Hall is one of the still working plantations that grows crops right here on the plantation that include strawberries, tomatoes, corn, watermelon, squash, blueberries, blackberries, cucumbers, and more. As you ride, our guides will also share stories and information about the different aspects of Boone Hall's history.

One thing we found out (among others) from the guide, is that the plants hanging off all the trees everywhere are actually 'Spanish Moss'... (Tillandsia usneoides) a flowering plant that grows upon larger trees, commonly the Southern Live Oak  or Bald Cypress in the southeastern United States. It is an angiosperm in the family of the bromeliads that grows hanging from tree branches in full.

 

Iiieeehhh - Halloween - even here at the plantation.... I like it!!!!

Slave Street and History Walk: This begins at the tip of Slave Street located out in the front of the Plantation Home. It gives a historical look at the living quarters, historic relics, and lifestyle of the slaves that lived here at Boone Hall.

Not all slaves lived in such comfort.. these were the lucky ones!  Also, slaves were listed in inventories of owners - as if they were not even human.... very sad indeed! and they were often passed on along with other possessions - or loaned out to help out with work somewhere else...

"Exploring The Gullah Culture" Boone Hall Plantation is the only plantation in the S.C. Lowcountry to present a live presentation of this unique culture adapted by African slaves. These entertaining and educational performances take place in The Gullah Theater, which is located at the end of Slave Street.

This was a one-woman show -very impressive - she gave us a very good picture of how life was for the slaves on the plantation, what the 'Whites' learned from the slaves - ie how to grow rice, indigo etc... and how the slaves' language developed 'Gullah'.  Most of the slaves in South Carolina and Georgia came from the East Coast of Africa.... Very enlightening information!

House Tours: A 30 minute tour which begins on the front porch and continues through the main floor of the elegant Plantation Home that was built in 1936. This tour is given by a well informed guide in historical dress. This tour will introduce you to the history of Boone Hall Plantation and its evolution through several owners since 1681.

In the early days, the only way into Charleston was by boat - and took forever....

Someone is getting a heat stroke....or was it exhaustion???

And... who is the Real 'Southern Bell' here???!!!

We finish off with some yummie icecream and off we drive back to Aiken!  Michael takes me via Summerville where he used to live 6 years ago, a nice small town not too far where he used to work.

Summerville

And even in Summerville there is Halloween everywhere....

I just love these cotton fields... just fascinating...

GPS are not only great for finding your way home, but also for finding the nearest Chinese takeaway! We got lots of food - made it home, ate and crashed.....

What a wonderful and enriching long weekend! The weather was beautiful and warm - if a little chillie at night.  I loved every minute of it!!!  THANK YOU Michael!!!!

Love

S & D