We were on the road at 5am for the eight hour drive to Charleston with just one 10 minute stop at Rodanthe Pier to enjoy the dawn on the Atlantic.
Many miles… nothing much to report except an interesting note that instead of raccoons and skunks, the road kill down south is possums and armadillos.
At 1:30pm we arrived just outside Charleston to tour the Boone Hall Plantation, dating to the late 1600s when English born Captain Patey arrived in North America and was granted the 735 acre lot by King Charles. His daughter married a Boone and Cpt. Patety gave the land to them as a wedding gift. Thus began the legacy of several generations of Boones and the wealthiest plantation in North America in its day (pecan orchards and brick production), built on the backs of the slaves brought directly from Africa. The site today is still privately owned and we were only allowed to tour the downstairs of the mansion, the gardens and the slave quarters. It is very beautiful and very interesting, especially the story of the slaves.
By late afternoon, we headed toward Charleston, found our hotel and took a quick dip in the pool to cool off. Then we caught the bus into town and found supper at the Charleston Crab House. Appetizers of fried green tomatoes and crab bisque then mains of shrimp ‘n grits and seafood trio (scallops, shrimp and grouper). Wonderful food … very filling.
We strolled a bit of the waterfront to settle supper before catching a cab back to the hotel for the night.
Here are the photo highlights of day 16 – Arriving Charleston
nellyglass studio 