Charleston to Savannah
And you haven't hear Swing Low, Sweet Chariot until you've heard it sung by a black woman in a echoing church in the heart of Charleston.
Then it's downstairs for breakfast in the courtyard. How pretty is this!
I had grits for breakfast. They are weird and tasteless and with a strange consistency. Thankfully I also had eggs florentine, so poached eggs, finally.
I noticed a quartet of ladies taking photos of each other and offered to take one of them all together. They were very grateful. One said she liked my top. I said it was from an Australian shop, which disappointed her. We started chatting. They're on a girls' vacation, had been in Savannah so they gave me some tips - don't do the river cruise (hadn't planned to), do the carriage ride (had planned to) - and were now in Charleston for a couple of days. They were very interested in my travels - both where I'd been and where I was going. Yet another nice encounter - most of which are because I'm by myself, I reckon.
Checked out of my saviour hotel, drove out of Charleston, along the waterfront, which was very pretty. Lots of yachts. I had always planned a visit to a plantation (besides the one I didn't stay at) and had two main choices - Boone Hall or Magnolia Gardens. The first had the appeal of being where North and South, the miniseries, was filmed. But that was a long time ago - I don't think Patrick Swayze had danced with Baby yet when he filmed this - so that wasn't a huge drawcard.
I went with Magnolia Gardens for three reasons - the ladies in the gift shop yesterday, when I asked them which one, both said emphatically and instantly "Magnolia". Second, it's on the way - no backtracking involved. Third reason is this...
..a petting zoo.
This is another place you could spend all day. There's a little tram ride around the grounds, a boat ride through the swamp, house tour, garden tour, slavery to freedom tour, trails and a maze. I chose the basic entrance and the house tour.
Spent a bit of time in the zoo, then off to the gardens - what the plantation was famous for. I'm not usually one for gardens but these were amazing!! They are extensive, you walk a little way and come across the most amazing things.
There was one path that had sprinklers crossing onto the path - if you walked through them, you could cool down a bit. I was going to head to the house for the tour but went down one more path and came to this...
Love this of the dragonfly... And the moss info...
The river used to be the highway to town so their method of transportation was generally by boat. The Drayton family lived here. He married a girl from Philadelphia, who took a bit of time getting used to living so remotely. That's one of the reasons he put on the gardens. She also didn't like that the slave market was in the town.
They lost two homes to fire and one was destroyed in the Civil War. He lost all his money investing in the Confederates. As he had no sons, the property was left to his oldest daughter, who was married to a rich man and added to the house substantially in the 1800s. The home inside is beautiful with fabulous furniture - especially the old bureaus with secret compartments.
Again, no photos allowed. And again, I sound like a history teacher! It's mainly so I remember when I read this in years to come but I'm sure it's highly interesting too!!
Had another quick visit to the petting zoo before driving out past the swamp...
And we're off to Savannah - just over two hours away. The roads are a bit less well cared for than New England, the trees are greener and different. Saw three people pulled over by police. The last guy was in handcuffs - wonder how fast he was going...
Into Georgia, where the sign says, "Welcome. We're glad you've got Georgia on your mind." So then of course that song played in my head for the next couple of miles. I'm sure that's the plan behind the sign.
On the radio, another broadcaster ripping into Obama and the shutdown. Yesterday I heard a guy lambasting Obama with so much vitriol it was amazing. Then I heard it was Rush Limbaugh and it made more sense.
Stopped for a burger at Wendy's. You order and pay, then they call your number when your order is ready. The girl didn't wait for people to respond before hollering out the number over again. She'd screech out, "number 203!" And as number 203 started walking towards her with their ticket raised, she's screeching it out again. And if the person is not in front of her by then, she'd screech it again. I think they could hear her back in Charleston.
Made it to the Savannah airport to drop off the car. I love this car. It figures that the best car I have is for the shortest time. It's a Chevrolet Spark and it's great. To fill it up to return it cost $20 - for three-quarters of a tank.
I also love that a photo that I actually stand and take is more off centre than others - most of which I take without breaking stride.
Drop off the keys to the guy there then head inside to find the shuttle bus into town. Book the bus, it's not for half an hour, so there's plenty of time to get a much-needed coffee. I go upstairs and there is the nicest airport I've ever seen.
They have rocking chairs set up with TVs...
So very nice. After coffee, back down to wait for the shuttle. Sit down on the row of seats and, in keeping with this amazing airport, it is so comfortable!
Onto the shuttle and into town, there are four others on the bus - a couple and two separate ladies - one of whom is sitting across from me, chewing gum like there's no tomorrow and making me want to rip it out of her mouth and use it to glue her jaw shut. We drop them off one by one, then it's just me. We sit outside the Hilton (very glad I'm not staying here - very standard and brick-like) and I finally ask if there's something wrong. She hasn't been to my place before and doesn't know where it is. This is a bit scary - why hasn't she been there? Is it somewhere no one stays at? Is it horrible?
Finally come to it and it's fabulous! It was confusing because she didn't realise it was listed as a restaurant/inn, not a B&B. Inside and meet Patrick who shows me to my 'suite'. It's the 17hundred Inn, so named because that's when it was built. It's the first or second oldest inn in town. If you google it, it's another that comes up with 'haunted'. I am in one of the guest houses - a building that is not haunted, and I'm happy with that. They actually charge more for the haunted room.
Love the address...
And here's my suite, with thanks to Uncle Bruce, who helped me pick this when he was painting my house.
I'm the whole top floor.
Front door...
To the right is the sitting room...
Down the hall...
First door is the bathroom.
With open fireplace. And a jacuzzi (opposite the fireplace). At the end of the hall is the bedroom.
Pretty nice!
Sat and enjoyed for a bit, the. Went for a stroll down to the river - great feel to the place, relaxed, holiday feel about it.
Will explore more thoroughly tomorrow.
Back to the Inn for what is now the best meal of the trip! Ryan was my waiter and he was hilarious. Instead of a bread roll, it was a hot biscuit to start - basically a scone. Then peppers stuffed with a curried mushroom, walnut risotto thing that was delicious. And the sides were zucchini and squash - equally delicious. I ended up having some pecan pie, just to see if it was as good - and it was! Then back to my suite.
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