Winter Escape! Day #11: Chicken Day!

Our day started out with a long, pleasant ride through the marsh country from Hilton Head Island north to Charleston, South Carolina. We wanted to see the Magnolia Plantation.  After parking and buying our tour tickets, on our way walking to this huge mansion, we were greeted by a score of different breeds of Chickens roaming free.  They were in no hurry to move off the paths and seemed impertinent that we would dare to enter their world!

A Guinea Hen, I'm told, Magnolia Plantation, 2/9/14.  The only place more breeds of chickens can be seen is a State Fair!

Peggy and I marveled at the spacious grounds. The gardens were beautiful, even in the winter.  Several flowering trees were blooming.  This plantation is famous world-wide for its extensive azalea gardens.  

After viewing the "Orientation" to the plantation movie, we walked up to the main house.  Our tour guide, Marie, proudly told us that the plantation was originally given to Mr. Drayton by the King of England in the 1600s.   The property has been owned by this one family for more than 300 years! During that time, three homes have been destroyed by war or fire.  The present beautiful home is the fourth built on the same site.  On the pinnacle of the tower is an iron 'Rooster' weathervane.

Magnolia Plantation, main house.

When the Europeans came to this land, they experimented with several different crops and found that rice was the crop they could grow best in the marshes.  Marie mentioned, "Within 20 years of the yellow rice crop being grown in the States, it became a staple food of Europe."  They grew wealthy and were philanthropists.  Peggy and I admired the solid construction of the home and the beautiful woodwork, furnishings, quilts, bird paintings, and dishes.  The arrangement of windows and doors was meant to capture breezes to make the very hot and humid summers bearable.  We were told about all the different family members who lived in the great house and how they built and improved the gardens.

These lushly moss-draped trees must be among the tallest and oldest in the state.

The white bridge spanning a lake is mirrored perfectly in the still water.

FYI:  There was a vividly bright green parrot, native to South Carolina, that was hunted to extinction to provide feathers for hats.

There are other tours at this large plantation: the gardens, wildlife, train, slave quarters, and swamp.  We plan to return soon!  Yet we wanted to see some of Charleston on this trip so onward we drove.  First stop: The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, perhaps our most beautiful and largest church seen this year.

St. John the Baptist Cathedral, Charleston, SC, a tall, red stone edifice.

Main Altar at St. John the Baptist Cathedral.

Interior of St. John the Baptist Cathedral.   All of the stained glass windows were spectacular, showing the life of Jesus.

St. John the Baptist, proclaiming, "Behold the Lamb of God!"

While we would have liked to spend hours in the church photographing the lovely, inspirational stained glass windows, Peggy and I yearned to see the city architecture, especially the pastel-colored homes.  We found a donkey-drawn Carriage Tour.  History repeated: after we bought tickets, we were directed by the driver, "Waiting area is to the the right of the Chicken."  Another strutting rooster.  There was a small sign on the steps, "Beware of Attack Chicken!"

We were not in any way disappointed by the tour of the Old City, seeing the houses, parks, dock area, ocean, stores, and government buildings and monuments.  Charleston has a colorful history of wars, industry, agriculture and unique intrigues.

One driver, one tour guide, two donkeys and a large carriage provide 11 passengers a most enjoyable ride through Charleston's Old City.

There is a definite New Orleans character in many of the Charleston homes.

Many of the homes' porches were built on the side, instead of in the front, for privacy.

These front stairways are seen frequently throughout the southern states.  Men ascended on the left, and women on the right.  This was done for modesty, so that the men wouldn't accidentally see a woman's Ankle!

Fort Sumter is visible as a gray rectangle on the water on the right.  It was an important military installation during the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.  During the Civil War, the Union Army shelled the city of Charleston (which had largely been evacuated) every 15 minutes for over 500 days!  But the cannon balls didn't explode because the fuses wouldn't travel that far (4 miles).

These are just a few of the dozens of photos we snapped today.  We LOVE South Carolina!  

We were treated to an especially beautiful sunset over the marshes on the way home south to Hilton Head Island.