What's it Like to Visit A Southern Plantation?

   I probably owe my love for traveling to my father.  It all started when I was 12 and we did a cross-country road trip from Southern California to Pennsylvania.  He was and still is a die hard traveler because his idea of a road trip is spending most of the time on the road--we'd drive at least 10 hours a day.   I married a man who would rather fly to get somewhere.  Anyway this month my husband needed to travel to South Carolina twice for business, and he asked me if I could go with him the second time. The farthest I’ve gone is to Florida which to me is more like going to California than going to the South.

    Our destination was Charleston--rich in history and built along a bay.  On our first day we decided to visit the Magnolia Plantation, the brochure says it is nearly 500 acres and was the Drayton family home since 1676.   I was thinking of plantation life in Uncle Tom’s Cabin as I walked along the path to the large home with huge columns and a massive wrap around porch.  My grandmother’s wrap around porch and columns would be dwarfed next to it!  Here is a picture of it:

   A spunky tour guide took our group through the house, and we got to view the poster beds and a Victorian sleigh bed topped with beautiful handmade quilts, secretaries crafted in New England out of gleaming cherry wood, and the elegant dining room with hand painted china.  Around this home are over 30 acres of garden paths that are just incredible.  Many of the paths either take you over bridges or go alongside lakes.  Our tour guide told us that Reverend Drayton had about 1000 species of camellias planted in his garden.  Even though it was November, there were many bushes in bloom.   Here are some pictures along the garden paths:

   The tour guide told us that this plantation used to grow rice.  When we walked to the far side of the plantation we got to climb up on a lookout tower and see the old rice fields.  Here’s a picture of that.

  

This plantation also has a petting zoo.  It was one of the most enjoyable ones I’ve ever been in.  Most of the animals were just walking around and were very gentle.  The first thing I saw when I came into the gate was a fawn, and it let me put my arms around it.  It turned and tried to nip the cord that held my sunglasses.  

 This plantation also has an Audubon swamp tour. I have never seen a swamp before, and I really wanted to see some alligators, but my husband said they probably wouldn’t be out because it’s too cold for them, even though it was about 74 and warm for somebody from the Northwest! But I did get a few pictures of what a real swamp looks like, and here is one of them!

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