With all the worry of what has been happening in Florida recently my trip report seemes very trivial but in response to requests I continue:-
Day 9-10 - South Carolina/Georgia
Before leaving Lumberton we drove to take some photographs of some beautiful houses with landscaped gardens which we had noticed the night before. We must have looked highly suspicious as we suddenly noticed a police car slowly patrolling behind us – time to move on!
After 14 miles we were passing into South Carolina and stopped at the tourist information centre on the border. Having searched on the Internet for places to visit we were surprised at just how much more there was to see in South Carolina. In order not to give ourselves too tight a schedule we had not made any bookings for the remainder of our journey. Seeing the long queue for reservation in the tourist office we found a guide on Charleston with hotel accommodation and decided to book it later completely forgetting it was Spring Break and Good Friday.
We also discovered that a ‘small’ detour would take us past Magnolia plantation house not far from Charleston. Having spent time searching for it we realized that there was actually a new road which was not shown on the map given to us by the tourist office.
When we finally found it the house (where ten generations of the Drayton family have lived here continuously since the 1670s) and gardens were beautiful.
Magnolia Plantation House
Unfortunately tours of the inside of the house were already booked but we spent several hours wandering round the grounds. We had chosen the best time to see the azaleas, wild jasmine, wisteria, daffodils and iris. There is also a restored antebellum (slave) cabin and a 60-acre cypress swamp.
Before leaving we decided to try and book a room for the night in Charleston. Many of the hotels were either fully booked or only had rooms for $200 plus so the only room we could find was at a Days Inn. To call it basic was an understatement but, by the time we got there it was 6.30 pm. Telling ourselves it would do for one night we set off to find nearby Sham Creek which the local guide book told us had several fish restaurants by the water’s edge where the trawlers brought in their catch.
Our choice of the Trawler Inn proved to be an excellent choice. We chose a table outside by the water’s edge where we could watch the fishermen cleaning their catch with the remains eagerly caught by the pelicans.
My starter was ‘Onion Flower’, a whole onion cut in petals to the base and cooked in a spicy batter. Cliff was not quite so sure about his raw tuna with the hottest wasabi sauce he had ever tasted! To follow I had a mixed seafood grill which included Main lobster stuffed with crab and Cliff had a Steam pot containing every kind of shell fish imaginable.
Saturday 10th April
We set off to explore Charleston which must be one of the most beautiful towns in America but, with the temperatures nearing 30°C we quickly decided to do it the lazy way and take one of the many horse and carriage rides round the town. Our guide, Mathew, was extremely knowledgeable and very entertaining. The older house and hotels on the seafront were beautiful. Next time we go back we will book in advance and spend longer there.
Typical Charleston houses
We had planned to stop at Suvannah but, having seen Charleston, we decided we would probably want to spend longer there as well so we decided to postpone that for another trip (sorry Lorraine). We left Charleston late afternoon and drove straight through Georgia until we reached St. Mary’s on the border of Georgia and Florida.
We discovered a Country Inn and decided to treat ourselves to a suite. Large enough to accommodate a family with sitting room, dining area, kitchenette and separate bedroom (
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