Daisy made her debut at Rockett Interactive today. She's been a little shy, hanging out under my desk for most of the morning. Who is this beast under my desk?
Occassionally coming out to explore but not all that excited about it. You'd think she weighed like 10 lbs she's such a scared-y cat.
Of course, South Carolina is famous for it's enormous plantations but even after all our trips to the area, we'd never been to one. So this was my one request and, never one to disappoint, Neil planned for us to spend the better part of Sunday exploring The Middleton Plantation. The plantation was founded in the 1700's by Henry Middleton, the President of the First Continental Congress.
In addition to the most amazing collection of camelia bushes I've ever seen (which were in full bloom when we were there!), the plantation sits right on the banks of the Ashley River. The houses on the property (or what's left of them) aren't much to write home about because as you might have guessed, they too were burned and looted during the war by Union soldiers...whole lot burnin' going on in the South during these times...very sad. The gardens and the grounds though have been restored and they are quite spectacular.
A stroll around the reflective pond right at the entrance...
And then through the amazing camelia garden. This place is like one huge maze. You could literally walk around it for hours and there are all these litte nooks with pretty benches amongst the flowers.
Even the camelias are covered in spanish moss. This stuff fascinates me, I wish I could bring some home with me. But alas, like our friend the she-crab, I've never spotted it north of South Carolina.
Our walk down to the Middleton Oak, a 900 year old oak tree on the property. I have never seen a tree create such shade. You could put 150 people under it easily and keep them all out of the sun. With the River in the background, you can see why this is one of the most popular locations for weddings in the area.
After a long walk up some craggley paths we were at the Butterfly Pond. You can't really see one "wing" of the butterfly in this picture but it's basically 2 huge ponds that flank a long piece of land (the body). From the high vantage point of the house, it's quite a sight with the river in the background.
As our walk continued, we noticed someone else enjoying the sunshine as much as we were...
Who's that down by the water? Oh I don't know, just a SEVEN FOOT LONG ALLIGATOR!!!! As we continued to walk we also saw a really scary, big, black snake coiled up on the path. I was going to take a picture but I was busy walking 1/2 mile out of my way to avoid it.
Our time at Middleton ended with a walk through the Octagonal Garden...
..and some time on my favorite southern contraption...the joggling board!
Sitting under a palmetto on a joggeling board...so southern! Someone hand me a mint julep...
...We've had a few comments from the Northern contingent of our friends and family (which let's face it, is almost everyone), on what this she-crab stuff I'm obsessed with is. In a word, it's DELICIOUS. It's a cross between bisque (which I love) and chowder (which hello? of course I love), all made with yummy crab meat. Again, I don't know why I can't get it outside of South Carolina but it really upsets me.
The history of She-Crab
Southern Fare
We just got back from another glorious weekend in the Lowcountry. This was our 4th time visiting Charleston, each time to celebrate my birthday and we just never get tired of it. The gas lantern lined streets, the twisting live oaks dripping with Spanish moss, the architecture...and the food! Oh my god, the food. If we hadn't walked like 15 miles each day, we'd have to roll ourselves back to Raleigh!
Having spent a good bit of time in downtown Charleston during our last trips, we decided to venture outside town this time. On Saturday, our first full day, we headed about an hour south to Beaufort, hitting the Old Sheldon Church ruins on the way. With no address to enter into the gps, we had to rely on only our concierge's crazy directions that used peach cider stores and dirt roads as landmarks. But once we got there it did not disappoint. The church, or what is left of it, has been sitting in the woods for over 120 years. Once one of the most impressive churches in the colonies, it was burnt once by the British during the Revolutionary war and then rebuilt...only to be burned again by Sherman on his march thru the South. All that stands now are the large outer walls, main aisle and alter, all surrounded by towering live oak trees.
But even a cool old church can only keep Neil's attention for so long...*yawn*, time to get back on the road!
Our final destination for the day was Beaufort, the quintessential sleepy little southern town. Every street is lined with gorgeous antebellum homes with porches that seem to go on for miles, all perfectly framed by gas lanterns and 800 year old live oaks dripping in Spanish moss. Seriously, they are not messing around with the trees in this little town. Besides being the place where Forrest Gump was filmed, it was also a stronghold of the Confederacy during the Civil War and is loaded with history. We took at long walking tour with a guy named John Sharp...quite a quirky character. Once you get over his weird turquoise chandelier earring (totally serious), he's actually a great tour guide.
Very cool old church that was used as a horse stall by Union soldiers during the war!
...with a spooky old graveyard in the back.
After getting the general lay of the land here, we started moving through some of the most picturesque streets I've ever seen with beautiful old summer "cottages" built by wealthy plantation owners as a way of escaping the insane summer heart and coming to the coast. They are all built in typical lowcountry style with a southward orientation to maximize seabreezes. If you've ever been in the South in August and spent even 10 minutes without A/C you'll understand why you'd go to such lengths to build your house so it caught as much breeze as possible!
...and virtually all of them have insanely large live oaks in the front yard!
...and sometimes the tree gets so big it becomes what they refer to as an "angel oak" where the limbs literally rest on the ground and keep on growing.
Even the garages are adorable in this town!
What a nice door to come home to huh?
Many parts of Beaufort did not escape Sherman's march and there are little spooky relics of what was left behind once he came through...like these random stairs that used to lead to a house.
On our way out of town, we caught a nice picture of a bust of Robert Smalls, a Beaufort resident who was born a slave and escaped to the north at the start of the Civil War. Once the war was over he returned to Beaufort and bought the home he was formerly a servant in at auction with the money he'd saved while working up north. How awesome is that? He went on to become the first black congressman.
Back in Charleston on Sunday we continued our eating tour with a stop at our favorite breakfast place, the Hominy Grill.
...already a line out the door by 10 am!
Um, yes, could I wash down my sweet potato pecan pancakes with some she-crab gravy? Why can't I get she-crab anything over the South Carolina border? It really is a tragedy.
Ok that's it for today! Tomorrow's post will be all about our day trip to Middleton Plantation and me imagining myself strolling around with a parasol and a Charleston drawl....
-d
