Ah Charleston, you beautiful, classic city. From the clear white beaches of the Isle of Palms to the towering, moss-laden oaks of Boone Hall - Charleston, South Carolina and the surrounding area is full of beauty - both natural and human made. Dining, shopping, beaches, history…. its easy to see why it is the top destination wedding location in the US. My mom and I spent a far-too-short weekend exploring the area this past February.

We stayed in a vacation rental home on the Isle of Palms. Although the house was rather large, it was dwarfed by many of the vacation houses in both size and grandeur. Nonetheless, it was a beach front property with ample space for the needs of our group and restful ocean views. Since it was February, it was a little chilly but still so much warmer and gloriously sunny for us midwesterners. While flowers were blooming in South Carolina, our home in St. Louis had several inches of snow. So we were thrilled with a little beach time, even if we weren’t exactly sunbathing.

When we first landed in S. C. we were most interested in getting lunch (I mean, first things first…right?). We found ACME Low Pantry Kitchen in a darling part of town. My crab cake sandwich and the home fries really hit the spot. Later, we ate dinner at the Obstinate Daughter, a trendy restaurant on the Isle of Palms.This was my favorite restaurant that we tried. Since I was pregnant at the time, I ordered a non-alcoholic “mocktail”. The bartender mixed up a creative lemon-lavender tonic. I also enjoyed the Miss Carolina pizza, while my mom ordered the cavatelli pasta. Both meals were large enough to save a portion to take home. We finished our meal with the flourless chocolate cake…. no box needed for that! So good.

Even though I went to collage in Alabama, then lived in Tennessee for three years, I don’t recall ever touring an actual plantation. But I do love historical home tours and have toured a few antebellum homes. My mom and I made the drive to Mt. Pleasant for a visit at Boone Hall Plantation. Although the admission was expensive ($50 +) I learned so much that I would recommend it as a place to visit. There are several tours to choose from, all of which are included in the price of the ticket. We only had time to tour the main house, the gardens and the slave cabins. We also attended the presentation on the Gullah culture.

As I mentioned, it was February. But to my delight, the historical garden in front of Boone Hall was in bloom! The garden itself is arranged in a series of interwoven brick pathways on either side of the main pea gravel drive. The right and left sides are mirror images of each other in a butterfly shape. Since the bricks were made on the plantation and laid many decades ago, the paths were a little difficult for my mom to walk on. But the Camellia and antique “Noisette” rose bushes blooming made the effort worth while. They also had striking black and white anemones blooming, and indigo plants, which we learned had been an early staple cash crop for the region.

We made it up to the house just in time for the guided tour to start. The current house is actually the 3rd to be built on the site and it is still a residence for the current owners, so we only tour the main level.

Outside, we listened to another knowledgeable tour guid talk about the history of slavery on the plantation. Apart from the grand oak trees, Boone Hall is probably most well known for its unusual brick slave dwellings situated on the side of the driveway. These were made from bricks formed and fired in the brickyard on the plantation grounds. Each cabin has been made into a micro-museum giving an overview of what life would have been like for the slaves, then chronicling the fight for freedom from the civil war era through the civil rights movement. Although there was not enough space for a lot of detailed information, I thought that this format was well done and very moving. Lastly, we attended the live presentation on the “Gullah” culture. This tour guide was excellent - the most entertaining of the ones we’d listened to and very creative in how she taught the audience about the development of Gullah culture.

I noticed these imperfections in the hearth bricks of one of the slave cabins: a dog footprint, a small heel print, and small finger marks. Seeing the smallness of the finger marks and foot print was a gutting reminder that children were enslaved doing hard labor on plantations across the south.

I found myself on the docks of Boone Hall right at sunset and snapped these photos with my iPhone!

Since I had just gone to Fort Meyers Beach last fall and returned with many sea treasures, I had promised my husband that I wouldn’t bring any sea shells back from the Isle of Palms beach….. unless I found something really special (because you never know!) I did spend a little time soaking in the salty air, despite the wintery chill. The beach was mostly empty except for a few people walking their energetic dogs. Maybe we’ll be able to return one day during the heat of summer for a more stereotypical SC beach experience. But this trip I simply took the opportunity to still myself on the sand in solace.

The worst thing about weekend trips is that there is never enough time to do everything. I often find when time is short, it is best to slow down… to only try to do one or two things, and to immerse in those things fully. So we didn’t get to do much shopping or exploring in the historic part of Charleston as we would have liked. But we left joyful of the time well spent in history and nature.