May 22 Charleston- Magnolia Plantation and Fort Sumter

Today started off with a trip to Magnolia Plantation.  Our visit was interesting and informative, but I wouldn't recommend this particular plantation.  Suffice it to say, its not worth what they charge.  It was, however, a nice combination of history as well as zoology, as the plantation, which sits on the Ashley River, is surrounded by active swamp land.  We saw lots of gators, egrets, herons, & anhingas (a bird that resembles a cormorant).  In fact, we saw a really amazing rookery for all these birds, with lots of nestlings.  

They also had a petting zoo that included quite a few peacocks (heeellllp!!), goats, rabbits, chickens, as well as tame and very small white tail deer, which you could have eat out of your hand, but I admit terrified me for some ridiculous reason...

The house itself was not quite what I was expecting.  The house, like so many other plantations, had been torched by Union soldiers during the war, and the family chose to rebuild it in a more current style to the time (turned out looking somewhat Victorian).  I guess I'd been expecting something more imposing and Greek Revival-ish (think Tara or Twelve Oaks from "Gone With the Wind").  See Mom, I did pay attention to your architecture stuff all those years ago....  Add to this the fact that we clearly were seeing the gardens after the height of their splendor, and it all added up to a case of I felt like I'd overpaid.

In the afternoon, we headed to downtown Charleston to catch the boat to Fort Sumter.  Charleston Harbor was really incredible--what a great place if you're into sailing and water sports!  Fort Sumter, when you get up to it, is really not a very imposing place.  But it was still pretty amazing to stand in the place where the Civil War started, 150 years ago.  Ranger Nate (who was clearly not from anywhere remotely south of the Mason-Dixon line, but by my guess, the upper Midwest) gave us a brief lecture on the bombardment which started the war.  It really gave me pause to listen to him describe the events leading up to the bombardment.  Americans were so divided over their views of key issues, that they saw no other option than to go to war with one another.  Our issues today seem to pale in comparison.  It was incredible how quiet folks were walking around the fortification, reading historical markers and taking photos.

After we got back to town, we ate dinner at a great place called the Coast, and then grabbed some GELATO.  Yay!!  I got some called bacio, which was, as Morgan described it, like frozen Nutella.  Ohmnomnomnom!!!  We enjoyed our gelato while indulging in some people watching in a downtown park, the name of which escapes me. 

Tomorrow, some more time in Charleston, and then off to Savannah!