South Carolina: Edmonston Alston House Charleston

Twenty-One East Battery is a very historic site. One of the earliest forts in Charleston, Fort Mechanic once stood here. The mansion was constructed in 1825 for Scottish merchant Charles Edmondston. It is designed in the Federal style. He was able to enjoy it for less than 10 years before reverses on fortune forced him to sell it. 

The second owner was Charles Alston, the son of one of the wealthiest planters in South Carolina. He updated the house by adding the porches; the parapet, with his coat of arms along the roof; and the cast-iron balcony that graces the front of the house. Federal goes Greek Revival.

You purchase your ticket inside and then are moved out on to the porch to wait for your tour guide. While you are there, you will be irresistibly drawn to the jogging board. I have been trying to figure out where I could put one at my house. They are a ball. You sit on this longboard and bounce. It was the only exercise most Southern ladies ever got.

Carol was our guide. We begin our tour in the front parlor, where we got to look at some paintings of the house before the Alston’s altered it. Ninety percent of the contents of the house are from the Alston period, including the library. In the hall, we saw some excellent examples of pendant and ball molding, and in this case, in the form of acorns. One interesting fact we learned was that the Charlestonians have been compared to the Chinese. Both love rice and honor their ancestors.

This house has seen some very important visitors. General P.T. Beauregard watched the attack on Fort Sumpter from the piazza on April 12, 1861, and Robert E. Lee sought refuge here when a fire made his hotel unsafe in December 1861. There is an original copy of the Ordinance of Succession in the house, as well as Race Week memorabilia in the dining room. Every year in February, Charlestonians have race week. 

The tour takes about a half-hour. You are not allowed to linger, because there will be another tour coming right behind you.

Photos courtesy of Charleston CVB

South Carolina: A visit to Magnolia Plantation Charleston

Magnolia Plantation is one of the most historic sites in the area around Charleston. The same family, the Draytons, has owned it since 1679. The original owners were Thomas Drayton and his wife Ann who came from Barbados to grow rice in the fertile land along the Ashley River. A visit to historic Magnolia Plantation in Charleston, SC is recommended when visiting the area.

During the Revolutionary War, the land was occupied by both the British and the American soldiers. The Draytons were staunch supporters of the American Revolution and were active in both the army and in the government of the new nation.

The plantation house on this property has a history of destruction. The original was lost to a devastating fire in 1812 and the second was lost to General Sherman in 1865. The Rev. John Drayton, who was the owner of the property at that time, decided to move a hunting lodge that he owned near Summerville on a barge down the Ashley River to create the base for the house that you see today on the site. It was quite an accomplishment in that day and age. 

Today this is an outstanding destination. Beyond the house, there are over 500 acres of amazing gardens. The gardens have been a pet project of the family for over 100 years. The parking lot is away from the house. You will pass by the slave cabins on your way. You can watch an orientation film before you decide what you want to spend your time visiting.

The house can be visited on a guided tour. You will hear about the history of the family, the plantation and about the objects that have survived and also have been collected. It is an interesting tour and the guides are knowledgeable. It lasts about a half hour depending on whether there are questions asked. The gift shop is also in the house so you may want to save this for last.

The Gardens are a good place to start touring. They can take as long as your interest last. They are so spectacular that people have been visiting them here since they opened in the 1870s. Everyone has their favorite. It might be the Formal English Garden, the Biblical Garden or the Tropical Garden.

The Black Swamp is an amazing adventure for the whole family. You will be able to see a wide variety of bird species, as well as the walk among the gum trees on boardwalks and bridges. The ticket for the Audubon Garden is separate from the rest of the plantation and may be purchased separately.

When you think you are too tired to go on and do anything else, take the boat tour or the nature train. You can sit back, relax, enjoy and learn a lot more about the eco-system.

A visit to historic Magnolia Plantation in Charleston, SC  is a visit back to a time when life moved a little slower. It is also a very good look at what life was like both for the planter class and the people that made that way of life possible, the slaves. It can be very eye-opening.

If you get hungry during your visit, the Peacock Cafe serves breakfast, lunch, and snacks.

The Manchester View Manchester VT

We decided to visit Manchester Vermont for Black Friday. Finding three rooms for a reasonable price proved to be problematic. I used Booking.com and chose The Manchester View. I knew we would be comfortable there since my friend Joe always stays here when he visits Manchester.

We were given three rooms side by side 116,117 and 118. They each have a queen bed wing back chair desk and chair and armoire. The room was comfortable and clean. A Keurig was located on the desk and a small fridge in the bathroom. My daughter found that off-putting but I was delighted that they managed to squeeze it in.

The tv had limited channels. About 25 but enough for what we needed. The bed is comfortable and the bamboo pillows were not what I prefer but I am a pillow snob so that is understandable. Rooms have individual heat control. 

A continental breakfast is included from 8 to 9:30. It was excellent, offering oatmeal, yogurt, muffins, bagels, fresh fruit, cereal, juice coffee, tea and hot chocolate. The woman who serves the toasted bagels is delightful and got our morning off to a great start both days. 

We had the basic rooms but Manchester View does offer much larger rooms with fireplaces. 

Parking is right in front of the rooms which made it easy to get our stuff in. The room had a large slider onto a back deck which would be lovely in the warmer weather. 

I was very pleased with our stay at The Manchester View and I would stay here again without hesitation. An outdoor pool is located in the center area which I am sure is fun in the summer. The name is very appropriate since the views from just about everywhere on the grounds are stunning. 

South Carolina: Charleston Museum

As you enter the Charleston Museum, you are introduced to an example of the natural history portion of their collection in the form of a large whale skeleton, which hangs from the ceiling.

This is just the beginning of your adventure. Take time to examine the funeral carriage and then visit the special exhibit.  As you move along, you will receive an education in the art of ironwork in Charleston, as well as historic preservation.

Whatever you are expecting from the Charleston Museum, the scope and variety of their collection will astonish you. It is a combination of natural history, decorative arts, and history museums. Billed as America’s first museum, it was founded by the Charleston Library Foundation in 1773. 

A fire destroyed the initial collection in 1778. Originally, items were collected from around the world, but today are collected only from Charleston. Certainly, the museum has enough to keep the whole family entertained for many hours.

I began my tour by going through the silver collection. They have an amazing, deep collection, including George Washington’s christening cup.

I am a lover of snuffboxes, and they have a fine collection. If tea is your interest, there are cases filled with all the accouterments of a good English tea. Another interesting display introduces those delightfully Victorian utensils: the melon fork, mustard spoon, marrow scoop toddy ladle, asparagus server, and the like.

Bountiful Coast is an exhibit on the forest and the animals that thrive there. It includes a formal Low Country table setting, a colonial kitchen, and a very interesting display of what a typical meal would have consisted of for the different classes of Southern Society, especially the privileged.

One room holds the original Charleston Museum exhibits from 1790. It is intriguing to see what our ancestors would have thought worthy of a museum. Some of it seems quite simple in this day and age, but much of it is extraordinary enough to have stood the test of time. A two-headed brown water snake grabbed my attention.

As you continue through the museum, you will come upon the item preferred by most children - the Charleston Polar Bear. He was taken from a frozen section of the Arctic Ocean in 1961 and is a beauty.

The history section at the Charleston Museum has an outstanding costume collection. There are all the usual items, covering about 150 years: Civil War uniforms, skirts, dresses, and the like. I walked through in reverse order, so I was on a trip back in time. I think it might be wiser to do it chronologically. Watch Charleston evolve through the Revolutionary War, the rise of the rice culture, the Civil War, and beyond.