Again with good Charleston Food. We had brunch at Magnolia's on Bay St. There are not enough words to describe the melt in your mouth food here. While it is a little expensive, it was well worth it. We're on vacation right!? And that's about how it went the entire stay in Charleston, our food budget just floated away without a care in the world! Back to Magnolia's...Super tasty food in an upscale setting. I would probably not recommend going in shorts and t-shirt, but shorts and a polo are probably good.
Little Miss prim and proper. She had to have her napkin on her lap while she ate!
The Seafood Over Grits - Lobster, Scallops and Shrimp over grits with spinach. Oh so yummy! I had never eaten "true" grits and after having them with our first meal in Charleston, I think I had them with every meal.
We decided to walk around downtown Charleston on our last full day. There is so much to do downtown and you certainly cannot see all you want to see or eat at all the places you want to eat at in a week's time. We decided some pirate stories and a little history were in order so we visited the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon Building. SO cool!
Little Miss waiting for our dungeon tour
We learned the front of the building is actually what was the back of the building but it had been made to look like front had (did you follow that?). We also learned that what used to be Old Charles Town, was actually UNDER what is there now. It has been built up a bit..literally. The original curved wall, the Half-Moon Battery sits under the building in the dungeon. Fun fact - Charles Town was the only walled city in North America.
This was what was the dungeon part and housed many pirates and even Charles Town residence when the British captured the city in the late 1700's. Blackbeard has said to have captured important citizens and ransomed them for medicine. Unable to capture Blackbeard, one of his fellow pirates, Stede Bonnet (who was a wealthy land owner and then turned to a life of crime) was later captured and hanged for his crimes. His crew was held here in the dungeon
On the top floor is the Great Hall. The architecture in here is something to take note of. Old buildings have always fascinated me. It's amazing how there can be so much detail in something so old and know it was all done by hand back then. George Washington visited here on a couple different occasions during his visits to Charleston while he was President. King Charles I and his queen consort, Henrietta Maria's portraits hang above the fireplaces in the room (hence the name Charles Town).
Jacob at the front of the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon building with a British Soldier
Downtown Historic Charleston
Not done with our day, we traveled a little outside Charleston to Boone Hall Plantation in Mt. Pleasant, SC. It was hotter than hot when we visited and of course we forgot water...don't forget water! We did do the tour of the house, which is a private residence so you do not get to see the entire house. You do learn a lot of history on the house (it was the third house to sit on the property, not the original).
This a small section of the Oaks Major Boone planted along the drive up to Boone Hall. I love the spanish moss hanging from the trees. Fun Fact - spanish moss is a member of the pineapple family.
Little Miss playing with the spanish moss. Be careful though, insects and bugs that bite can live in the spanish moss!
Along the drive on the left hand side of the drive as you come up to the house, you will see the slaves cabins. They were made from bricks the slaves made themselves. These would have been the house slaves' houses. Those who worked in the fields would have had cabins closer to the fields.
At the end of the slaves quarters that line the left hand side of the drive up to the house, I stepped out into the drive and took this shot leading up to the house. Imagine this view as you rode up to your house!
Then there is this shot down the opposite way towards the road out. If it looks familiar, it is...kind of. While it is not the actual drive used in The Patriot, it is said someone on the crew of the movie visited Boone Hall Plantation and then went back to Hollywood and drew up the row of oaks that Mel Gibson is seen riding up in the movie.
Boone Hall.
One of the Pecan trees on the Plantation. The Plantation is a working Plantation and one of the oldest working Plantations in the country. They still produce many crops including pecans, strawberries and pumpkins.
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