Drayton Hall Plantation, Charleston, SC

Monday October 14, 2013

After spending a couple of hours around Charleston's historic downtown, we made our way to Bubba Gump Shrimp Company for a nice lunch.  Then, driving along the Ashley River about 12 miles, we arrived at Drayton Hall Plantation.

Drayton Hall is the oldest unrestored plantation house in America open to the public.  The plantation house is in a continual process of being preserved, but not restored. This means that the house is completely original. The wood carvings in the home's interior are original, the paint on the walls are original, and the decorative plaster ceilings are the original works from nearly 275 years ago.

At the age of only 23, John Drayton had already made a fortune and spared no expense building this home.  It was, indeed, a show piece of lavish living.  His 630 acre plantation grew rice, indigo, and cattle making him very wealthy.

Construction on the house started in 1738 and ended in 1742.  It has survived the revolutionary war, civil war, several major hurricanes, and an earth quake.  It was used briefly as a headquarters for the British during the revolutionary war.  During the civil war, General Sherman and his Union soldiers marched through the south burning plantations and anything else that could be used to support the Confederates. All of the plantations surrounding the Drayton home were burned.  Somehow, this house was spared, so it remains original.

There are many interesting features about this home.  But, the one I find most interesting is the outhouse or privy.  Call me nuts, but I think it was really cool. When your first name is John and you're wealthy, you wouldn't build just any old outhouse. This one had seven seats!  Two of the seven seats were for children and two had arm rests.  It makes me wonder if they were all in there at the same time, or maybe they had assigned seats!  Perhaps he was thinking those that go together stay together!  Plus, it was self flushing!  They dug an underground canal from the privy to the Ashley River. Because this section of the River is only 12 miles from Charleston Bay, it rises and falls with the tides.  At high tide the river washed away the sewage! Unfortunately, the privy was later converted into an office, so I could only see a drawing of the seven seater. Darn!  One of life's little disappointments!

The home has not been lived in since the civil war, and it was only recently opened to the public.  They are still learning more about the fantastic gardens that were once here, and they are searching for possible remains of the slave quarters.

This is a painting of what the house looked like in the 1740's.  Notice the two smaller buildings that flank the main house.  It is not known what they were used for, but one was destroyed in a hurricane and the other by an earth quake.  Only their foundations remain now.  It is interesting to see how they were connected to the main house.

This is how the front of the home looks today.

The reflection pond located in the front yard was made by hand.

This is a view of the back of the home as seen from the Ashley River. 

The Ashley River as seen from the Drayton's back yard. 

Here is a live oak tree in the front yard that is believed to be between 300-400 years old!  Behind it and to the left is the driveway leading to the front of the house.

Here is one of the main interior rooms.  The wood is all hand carved.  The interior was only painted twice in 275 years!  So, you are looking at the original paint, albeit somewhat faded! 

There are still some Drayton descendants living in this area, and they come to visit the home occasionally. But, the home is now owned by a National Historic Trust whose mission is to preserve the home as a historic site.

I hope you enjoyed our Drayton Home tour.  Next, we'll be taking a cruise around Charleston Harbor.  Stay tuned for that!

Oak Plantation Campground, Charleston, SC

Friday, October 11, 2013

We departed Huntington Beach State Park in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, and headed south on US 17.  It's only 88 miles to Oak Plantation Campground in Charleston, and this was an easy trip.  Well...that is until we got to Charleston and had to cross the 2 1/2 mile suspension bridge and Kitty's phobia about bridges kicked into high gear.  She and Kallie were in the car following me behind our fifth wheel.  I could tell she was nervous because she wasn't talking to me on the two way radio.  I guess her hands had such a tight grip on the steering wheel she couldn't pry them loose to operate the mic until we got off the bridge.  Then I heard her shaky voice on the radio say, "I don't like Charleston.  There's too many bridges here."  Of course, that was the only bridge we crossed, but I understood what she was saying.

Oak Plantation campground is on US 17 about eleven miles south of downtown Charleston.  It is a clean well kept campground with lots of amenities.  Kallie likes the fenced in dog run, and has made several new friends here already.

 Sunday

Kitty, Kallie and I drove into Charleston to see the harbor area.  It was a cloudy, windy day, and not a good day to take pictures.  But, here's a couple of shots.  Fort Sumter is off into the distance and doesn't show up in this picture.

 Kitty and Kallie about to hit the beach.

There's lots to see and do here and we are anxious to get started.  We just hope the weather man keeps the rain and wind away for the next few days. 

Brookgreen Gardens, Murrells Inlet, SC

Thursday, October 10, 2013

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, we are staying at Huntington Beach State Park in Murrells Inlet, SC.  We like this area very much.  The beaches are nice and it's not overrun with people like Myrtle Beach is most of the time.

Huntington Beach is named after Archer and Anna Huntington who came here in 1930 looking for a place to build a winter home to escape the cold winters in New York.  They ended up buying four abandoned rice plantations totaling about 9000 acres.  Anna was a world class sculptor, and used the garden area on the Brookgreen Plantation to display her works of art.  In addition, other famous American sculptors also displayed their works here.  There are nearly 2000 sculptures displayed in this beautiful setting.

This sculpture stands at the entrance to Brookgreen Gardens.  It was the creation of Anna Huntington.

There are very few buildings that remain from the old rice plantations.  Most of the rice plantations in this area died out at the end of the civil war.  One of the surviving buildings is the old kitchen from the original plantation.  It has been restored and moved to its current location.  We had lunch in the old kitchen.  We chose the veggie wrap and it was not very good.  In fact, it was a soggy mess and didn't have a great taste.  Perhaps it was left over from the civil war!

Below is the Offner Sculpture Center.  It was designed by Archer Huntington.  

April 28, 1791, President George Washington spent the night here at Brookgreen Plantation.  He was the guest of the plantation owner Dr. Henry Collins Flagg, a surgeon in the revolutionary war.  Slaves were used to clear the land and plant and harvest the rice.  The cheap labor made the plantation owners very wealthy.  But, when slavery was abolished during the civil war, these rice plantations could no longer compete and were closed down.

There are hundreds of humongous, old live oak trees on this land dating back to the original plantations, some 300 years ago.  Here are some pictures of a few of them.

Diana of the Chase

Dionysus

 Pegasus

 The Fountain of Muses

 Kitty and me standing in front of Don Quixote

This is the type of place you should plan to spend more than a day or two, if you want to try and see it all. We only spent about four hours here and barely scratched the surface.  But, we are moving to a camp ground in Charleston in the morning where we will spend the next six days enjoying the sights, and maybe a little history as well.  Gotta go and get packed.  See ya later!

Huntington Beach State Park, Murrells Inlet, SC

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

We hooked up the fifth wheel at Cabin Creek Campground in Jacksonville, North Carolina in the rain.  That was the first time we've had to do that and we hope the last time.  It rained on us for most of the 144 mile journey south on US 17 to Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.  But, we plowed through the rain and were thankful that it wasn't a torrential down pour.

It even rained on us when we arrived at Huntington Beach State Park on US 17 in Murrells Inlet, SC.  The rain wasn't a problem, but finding the entrance to the state park was a little more difficult.  The only sign we saw said wild life viewing area.  If they would have just mentioned something about the state park on the sign, we would have turned into the park instead of driving about four more miles looking for a spot to turn around.  There is one sign on the east side of the highway, but it is tucked back and you have to be looking in the right spot or you'll miss it while zooming south on the highway.

This is our site at Huntington Beach State Park.  Just behind us through the trees and over a sand dune is the Atlantic Ocean.

 After we got the fifth wheel set up, we headed to the beach.  You can see the rain clouds in the back ground.  It was cold and windy and only a fool would be on the beach in weather like this!

 There's a fool in this picture walking his dog!  Oh...that's me and Kallie.  It's her first trip to the beach.  We are on the beach section that allows pets.  As you can see, it's so windy that it is blowing both of my hairs!

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

The weather is much better today and it's stopped raining.  Here's some pictures of Murrells Inlet.  There's lots of restaurants, a marina, and tons of very nice beach homes .  This area has many salt flats with oysters and crabs a plenty.

This is Huntington Beach at high tide.

Huntington Beach was named after the Huntington's from New York.  They came in 1930 and loved it so much they purchased 9000 acres and built their winter home here.  The Great Depression was gripping the country then and property prices were very depressed.  Construction on the winter home started in 1931 and took about three years to complete using all local labor and materials.  The house was built with the Huntington's living quarters on one side and the servants on the other side.  In between is this court yard where this picture was taken.

This path goes about one mile from the Huntington's home to their garden area known today as Brookgreen Gardens.  Before the civil war, this area was full of rice plantations.  There's only remnants left now.  But Brookgreen is said to be a place well worth seeing.  So, that's where we are going in the morning. 

Jacksonville and Emerald Isle, NC

Sunday, October 6, 2013

We departed the lovely North Bend Park in Boydton, Virginia and headed south to Jacksonville, North Carolina.  The 188 mile trip was just the way we like it...uneventful.  That is, except for the occasional down pour of rain, and some of it was almost blinding.  But, like the US Mail, neither rain, nor sleet, nor hail can stop us.  Well, maybe the sleet and hail would stop us.  One out of three ain't too bad...is it?

It's going to be a short stay at Cabin Creek Campground in Jacksonville.  We are only spending two nights here, then we will leave for South Carolina on Tuesday morning.

Monday, October 7, 2013

We wanted to do something today that we could take Kallie along so she wouldn't be stuck in the RV most of the day.  So, Kitty, Kallie, and I got in the car and drove about 25 miles to Hammocks Beach State Park. The park is located just a stones throw from the Atlantic Ocean.  It has some interesting Kayaking trails to some nearby islands.  But, since the weather man wasn't cooperating today with an 80% chance of rain, we decided not to make Kallie paddle us all the way to the island!  

Kitty & Kallie enjoying the fresh ocean breeze.

Next we drove up the coast line to Emerald Isle Beach.  It's always a thrill for us to see the ocean.  We only stayed here a short while, but thoroughly enjoyed the surf and sand and fresh salt air.

We ran a few errands so we are ready depart Cabin Creek Campground in the morning.  Rain is forecast for here and in South Carolina.   It might slow us down so we'll just pretend we are a US Mail truck and plow right through!

Almost Booted Out of North Bend Park, Boydton, VA.

Saturday October 5, 2013

The crystal clear, sky blue water gently laps against the shore, there is a whisper of fluffy white clouds in the sky, the temperature is around 80 degrees, the birds chirp gleefully to each other, the faint whine of a motor boat can be heard in the distance, and it is another perfect day at North Bend Park on the John H. Kerr Reservoir in southern Virginia!  Today is our 12th and final day here and we have grown very fond of this park.  It has a real comfortable feeling, yet it is neat, well kept, and does not have one bad campsite in the whole park.

We became quite concerned about our stay here when we woke up last Tuesday morning and read that our Federal Government was partially shut down, and all Federal Parks were closing.  Since this park is operated by US Army Core of Engineers, our fear was it would be affected. We immediately asked one of the park rangers if North Bend was going to shut down along with the other Federal Parks that were already shutting down.  The ranger wasn't sure what was going to happen here, but, they would give us a 48 hour notice if the park had to close.  The rest of Tuesday went by without any notice of this park closing.  We breathed a sigh of relief, and hoped it would stay open at least until our departure Sunday morning.

Wednesday, we were eating lunch at our campsite while enjoying the view, when the ranger drove up to our site.  Dang! We knew exactly why he was here and what he was about to tell us.  The ranger came up to the camper and introduced himself.  "I am sorry to inform you that we are closing the park Friday, and you are hereby given 48 hours notice.  All campers must be out of the park by noon Friday, and the gates will be locked until further notice."  Our hearts sank into our sandals!

We thought this might happen, and it finally did. Now we need to make other plans and find another place to stay.  So, Thursday Kitty, Kallie and I got in the car to head a few miles south into North Carolina and look at some state run campgrounds on the same reservoir.

OOPS! The car wouldn't start!  The darn battery was dead. We jump started the car from our truck and immediately headed to South Hill to get a new battery.  Since we were only two years into the five year battery warranty, we were able to get the battery replaced for just a few bucks, and we were on our way, again, to the state park in North Carolina.

If we found a spot we liked, we were prepared to reserve it for two nights before heading farther south toward our winter spot in Florida.  We drove through the state park a couple of times and found one site that might work for us.  But, this place didn't compare at all to North Bend Park, and we decided not to make a reservation here and head back to North Bend Park to come up with plan "C".

 As it turns out, that was the right decision.  Upon our return to North Bend, we were informed the park would stay open one more week, then close for the season.  Wow!  We get to stay here a few more days! Jumping with joy, Kitty does a couple quick cartwheels while I jumped into the air clicking my heels and Kallie gives some high fives and a chest bump with the park ranger! I heard the ranger say he'd never seen anything like that in his whole life!  Right!  You believe that don't you? Ha!

So, tonight the sun is setting on our stay here and will head to Jacksonville, North Carolina in the morning. Speaking of the sun setting, here's a few shots we took this week of the sun setting at North Bend Park.

We'll see you again from North Carolina!

Historic Tavern in Boydton, VA.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

It's just a few miles west on SR 58 from North Bend Park to Boydton, VA.  We stopped in downtown Boydton so Kitty could check out a quilt shop.  While she was in the quilt shop, I walked over to get a closer look at the historic tavern.

Boydton is a very small town with a population of about of around 450 people.  It is the county seat for Mecklenburg county.  One of the main reasons such a small town was selected as the county seat was because it had a tavern.  You've got to admire folks that select a county seat because it has a tavern!

The town founder, Alexander Boyd Sr., migrated here from Scotland, and built the original building back in 1790.  Since then, it has evolved into a rambling frame structure. But, the tavern was a very popular gathering place.  During the civil war, Confederate troops used the tavern as a gathering place.  The tavern closed late in the 19th century, and it was converted into a boarding school, and later into apartments.

Inside, much of the structure has been restored.  On my tour, I was shown a couple of these areas inside that have been untouched for about 200 years. The original floor has no end-to-end joints.  So, if the room was 30 or 40 feet long, the floor boards were one continuous length.  A few pieces of furniture are believed to be original and there are paintings of various members of the Boyd family.  Alexander Boyd, Sr., was a prominent leader in this area until his untimely death while serving as county judge in the court house.

It is believed that the early structure also served as a court house until the county's formation in the 1830's. However, this is only speculation at this time.

Since 1988, the care and restoration of the structure has been under the guidance of Boyd Tavern Foundation. It is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places.