Saturday, May 5th 2007 Mount Pleasant / Charleston, SC

What a full day this turned out to be! Rog and I set out this morning to visit Boone Hall Plantation in Mount Pleasant. It is one of America’s oldest working plantations and has been continuously growing crops for over 320 years. It was one of the first producers of pecans, and many of the original trees are still producing pecans on an every 2 year cycle. As you enter the grounds, there is a ¾ mile double row of live oak trees that was originally planted in 1793. This forms a moss – draped canopy that is breathtaking. First, we took the narrated cart tour around the grounds. It focused on the agriculture and ecology of the plantation. We enjoyed all of it, but the narrator could have left out the details of the 18 different species of snakes! One of the most fascinating parts of the plantation is nine original slave cabins on Slave Street. They are on the National Historic Register and housed the skilled slaves for Boone Hall. The tour of the plantation house itself is led by period -dressed guides and includes only the first floor…the second floor is the home of the present owners. My favorite part was the Gullah presentation. This was done by a single black man whose own heritage is Gullah, the culture adopted by the African slaves. Because the slaves who were brought to America came from so many different tribes, they had to develop a way to communicate. The Gullah language is based on English but doesn’t contain any th or t sounds. It is spoken very rapidly with unique cadence. The presenter explained the origin of rice planting in theCarolinas and the slaves’ role in that industry. He also included the audience in Gullah song and dance. One of the lasting Gullah crafts is the making of sweetgrass baskets. These are meticulously crafted and sold for very dear prices at roadside stands and in the downtown Charleston Marketplace where the female contingent enjoyed browsing and shopping. We returned to Bob and Mary’s for a quick lunch before the 4 of us headed into Charleston. The Old South Carriage Company (Thanks to Kim for referral) provided a wonderful horse drawn carriage tour of the city. Charleston is a lovely city on the water with many original and restored homes and churches. The architecture and gardens bring the genteel pre-Civil War years to mind. After the carriage ride, we went to the top of the Grill 225 for views of Charleston from on high. Dinner at Grill 225 Restaurant (Kudos to neighbor Winki for the recommendation) was an experience in elegant, fine dining for us casually – dressed Californians and their South Carolina friends.