Charleston II

This past weekend, we were back in Charleston for Colby & Jon's wedding (one of Johanna's college friends).  Brian and Katie were gracious hosts, and we were able to stay at Brian's place on Daniel Island.

When we arrived Friday evening, Katie and Brian took us on a stroll along some of the trails on Daniel Island, and we had covered a lot of ground until we began to be attacked by no-see-ums (small, pesky mosquitoes to you Northerners).  We had some delicious wood-fire grilled pizza at Vespa for dinner, and we capped off the night with the all-American movie, King of Kong.  This documentary shows the struggle between two Donkey Kong arcade competitors to be the best of the best.  I thought this was really going to be boring film, but it was actually quite comical.  We spent the rest of the weekend cracking one-liners from some of the ridiculous comments that these arcade junkies were saying.  The terms DDG and Kill Screen will be revealed if you watch this film.

Saturday morning, we got up and headed downtown to Tradd Street for an estate sale.  This was an excuse for all of us to check out a Charleston home, while perusing over some books, furniture, and miscellaneous home items.  We all left empty handed, but it was a beautiful home with detailed and intricate woodwork.  It's also for sale at $2.9 million if you're in the market.  The rest of the day was spent preparing for the wedding.  Before the wedding,  Ben was able to explore the Citadel grounds and take some photos.  Having never been there myself, it was great to see another piece of Charleston that I had never explored before.  We had a great time at the reception, and we enjoyed eating good food, dancing, and hanging out with some of my college friends.  It was great being with all of them again.

Sunday morning, Ben and I rode with Katie and Brian into downtown.  While they attended Catholic Mass at the Cathedral, we took to the streets to explore.  Sunday mornings are a great time to go through downtown Charleston, especially if you are a photographer.  With little car or pedestrian traffic, we were able to leisurely make our way through the streets and appreciate our surroundings.  We met up with Katie and Brian, checked out the Saltworks exhibit, and had some lunch.  After a failed attempt to go to the apartment complex pool, we played a quick game of Monopoly Deal (a faster, card-based version), and then it was time to head back home and retrieve Dakota from camp.

I always enjoy going down to Charleston, and now that we are working in Pawleys Island, I am hopeful that we can have more of these little get-aways.  I have been down to Charleston so many times, and yet, each time I am there, I see something new I never saw before.  The Holy City certainly has put a spell on me.

Daniel Island

Family Circle Cup

I-526 overpass

Tradd Street property ceiling medallion

Tradd Street property stair detail

The Citadel

Charleston Place motor court fountain

Does that count as being over the property line?

Saltworks exhibit

Charleston

The past few weeks had become a crazy period for both of our jobs and personal lives, so a spontaneous weekend sojourn was much needed. We were fortunate enough to be able to call some friends at the last moment, who graciously offered to host us for the weekend.  Friday night we attended a comedy skit as part of the Spoleto Festival.
Saturday we spent the day wandering the streets of Charleston, exploring its history filled streets. We went through the artist's tents set up in Marion Square and I'm sure we would have purchased serveral works of art if we were able.  Lunch was at a local's favorite, Five Loaves. The huge sandwiches were all local and/or organic ingredients. Definitely a place we will recommend to friends.  Saturday night we had dinner at the Queen Anne's Revenge.  Tucked away in the professional park of Daniel Island, this restaurant was started by a pirate enthusiast who fill the place with authentic pirate artifacts.  The food was delicious including my dish, which was based on a 1700s purloo recipe.  After dinner we meet up with my old Sharon Luggage buddy Cheri and her fiance Lawrence at the Shark Fin Bar at Vickery's.
Sunday we took a long stroll around the Battery and then took a driving tour of the large homes of Daniel Island.  We saw a really cool tree house built overlooking the marsh. This would have definitely been my favorite hang out as a kid.
This was a much needed retreat and gave us some time to enjoying a trip where we weren't book with tons of events to attend.

New housing, following historical models

Chase store front

Kids creating art

Frank Harmon addition to a church

Tree House on Daniel Island

Plantation Tour - Mansfield

Mansfield Plantation was once a rice plantation on the Pee Dee River, but it has been converted into a Bed & Breakfast.  There is a restored slave street as you enter the property.  The house's outbuildings serve as the current guest cottages, and the ceramic roof tiles were imported from Cuba.  The brick walkways also have some interesting designs, especially one of the large patios outside of a larger guest cottage.  The same family has owned the property since 1754.

Guest Cottage outbuilding

Main House

cherub

Pee Dee River

Beautiful Live Oaks

Brick Patio

Plantation Tour - Black River House

Many of you might recognize the next stop on our tour as the house in the movie The Notebook.  This means nothing to me, but Johanna was rather excited.  The house was built in 1919 and is thought to be a Sears Kit House.  Exhaustive research has neither proven nor dis-proven this theory.  The house has a very stately neoclassical facade and is a clear representation of early 20th century ideals of Classicism.  Unlike many of the older 19th century plantation homes we visited, Black River displays a higher degree of ornamentation.  Nonetheless the house is quite beautiful. While walking around the grounds, you can see in the photos the sky got rather dark and it began raining.  We left quickly to try an see a couple more spots before the rain washed out the rest of the day.  

               Old man sitting in a rocker with the American Flag, classic. 

 Front of the house

 Rear of the house was just as nice as the front.

Plantation Tour - Exchange

After Chicora Wood, we visited the Exchange Plantation, yet another property owned by the Allston family prior to the Civil War.  The front portion of the house is the oldest home along the Pee Dee River dating from around 1750-1770.  The two story rear addition was added by the current family in 1946.  The house had a charming rustic, yet refined, feel to it.  The formal front rooms were nicely decorated while the rear rooms were pine board paneling.  The two outbuildings adjacent the main house were quite nice and had their own unique character.

1946 Addition

Original House

Outbuilding

Plantation Tour - Chicora Wood

Another stop on the Home and Plantation Tour was the lovely property of Chicora Wood.  Chicora Wood is a very large estate backing up to the Pee Dee River, which was another rice-producing plantation.  The current owners have restored the entire estate, including the gardens, the main house, the original house (back wing), and numerous outbuildings.  The house is also notable for being the home of Mrs. John Julius Pringle (Elizabeth), who is the author of A Woman Rice Planter, and she lived, planted rice, and wrote at the home until her death in 1921.  The grounds were stunning, and it was evident that the owners have spent a lot of time and effort to restore this property to its current state.

Georgetown Plantation Tour - Arundel

The second two plantation sites we visited were Springfield and Arundel.  The Springfield Plantation no longer had an historic house on the property and the tour was merely a drive through of the grounds.  The Arundel Plantation was named for Arundel Castle in England.  As with many of the plantations in the area, Arundel was owned at various times by the Allston family.  The plantation now remains in the Qattlebaum family from Florence.  The house was quite beautiful, though we noticed it was in need of major restoration work. 

Entry Alley of Oaks and Azaleas 

View of the marsh 

Main house

Georgetown Plantation Tour - Arcadia

Ben decided we should have a little weekend adventure, so one Saturday in March we headed across the bridge for the Home and Plantation Tour hosted by the Saint George Winyah Episcopal Church in historic downtown Georgetown, SC.  The two day event allows attendees access into numerous historic homes and plantations in Georgetown County.  Friday was the south of Georgetown tour, which we were unable to attend because of work, and Saturday was the north of Georgetown tour.  They flip the schedule each year, so we are hoping to go back next year to see the other plantations and homes we didn't get to see this year.

We arrived before the doors opened at the church to get our tickets, and being second in line, we quickly devised a plan of action as soon as we got our tickets and map.  With 17 stops on the list, we needed to move and act quickly.  Scanning the list we decided Arcadia would be our first stop.  We had heard that the grounds were beautiful, and the home is hardly ever open to the public.  We jumped in the truck and were the first guests to arrive at the house.  These photos really show the beauty of this historic property without other visitors to distract from the scenery.