Carolinas, Georgia & South Trips (Lonely Planet, 1st Edition) - Alex Leviton [81]
Feeling hungry yet? There’s no need to leave for lunch or dinner, as the Restaurant at Middleton Place is on the plantation grounds, overlooking the scenic Rice Mill Pond. Delicious meals are reminiscent of Lowcountry cuisine a generation ago, but with a modern twist. Follow she-crab or okra soup with main courses such as pan-seared quail (updated with thyme and white grapes) or shrimp, crawfish and scallops with grits. You could have something besides the Carolina Gold rice pudding for dessert, but why bother? You can visit the restaurant for dinner without paying the admission fee for the plantation. Walk off your meal on your way to your hotel, the Inn at Middleton Place. Owned by the foundation that operates Middleton Place, the inn is a surprising twist of modernist architecture in a decidedly historic setting. All 52 rooms have full-length windows with, of course, plantation shutters that overlook the Ashley River. The foundation is committed to a green hotel, so each room has recycling, shower dispensers instead of travel-sized containers and locally handmade soap. There are yoga classes and a full breakfast. Alligator count: two dozen.
* * *
“Growing up, we listened to many stories from our grandfather, Willis Johnson, who was born a free man, son of slaves, at Drayton Hall. We finally visited with our great uncle Richmond Bowens in 1974. Can you imagine the footsteps we feel there? We feel them walking around us and we feel their presence in the cemetery. We’re about to have our third reunion with the Draytons, and it will be a memorial for Richmond Bowens. We’re working with Drayton Hall to enhance the African-American cemetery, which will be open so our ancestors’ spirits can enter in and out freely.”
Rebecca Campbell (b 1935) & Catherine Braxton (b 1937), descendants of the Bowens family
* * *
You’ll need an entire day for the next destination, Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. Like an Antebellum Disneyland, Magnolia has dozens of “rides,” activities and locations. Admission buys you entrance to the grounds, and you can then choose whether to take an additional house tour, nature boat tour or nature train tour. The grounds encompass a vast expanse of wetlands and forests, so either one of the tours can be a fabulous way to traverse a mile or two and rest your weary feet. In addition to the plantation house tour itself, the list of possibilities is endless - a biblical garden, bamboo forest, camellia maze, and a slave cabin tour. Oh, and did we also mention the zoo, Revolutionary War reenactments, never-ending gift store and tropical garden? Take a rest mid-day at the plantation’s on-site restaurant, the casual, outdoor Peacock Café. It’s suitably named, as you will be dining with the beautiful (but loud - very, very loud) creatures. Specialty sandwiches come with side salads, and there are hot dogs and PB&J sandwiches for the kids (and pecan or key lime pie for everyone). Alligator count: more than 500.
That evening, stop for a picnic or a walk at Dorchester State Historic Park. Follow Ashley River Rd to its northern end, then bear right on Bacon’s Bridge Rd. Dorchester is a lovely city park with a twist: an active archaeological dig where you might mingle with working archaeologists. Stop at the visitor’s center to pick up a visitor’s guide and follow the trail past remnants of the old town, including a church wall from 1719. Alligator count: zero.
Alex Leviton
* * *
TRIP INFORMATION
GETTING THERE
Ashley River Rd is just northwest of downtown Charleston. From I-526, take exit 11B towards Ashley River Rd/Hwy 61.
DO
Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site
Come see where it all started, way back in 1670. 843-852-4200; www.southcarolinaparks.com; 1500 Old Towne Rd, Charleston; adult/child $5/3; 9am-5pm;
Dorchester State Historic Park
A city