Charleston South Carolina

Dana stayed at a cool place called the Vendue Inn in Charleston.  I checked the availability on the way and booked us a room.  We arrived at night in the rain and the it was so charming.  The door man helped us to the room and brought us some cookies from the cookies and milk reception that we missed earlier.  The room was cozy and had the best shower with robes!  It was hard to get up in the morning to go sightseeing because it was really cold and windy.  We made it out the door and checked out all the art that was on display in the Vendue.  The Gibbes Art Museum was closed so they had some pieces on display in the hotel.  Then we braved the cold.  We wanted to take a carriage tour so we found one and got some hot chocolate.  Our horse was named Dan and he new exactly where to go and what to do.  it was amazing!  He even pulled over for cars.  The tour guide gave us a lot of info and i was so cold I can't really remember any of it (which is kinda lame)  All i know is it was beautiful, the houses were unreal and the city was burned time and time again.  It was a reoccurring theme.  We ate at a place called Poogan's Porch.  Gerrit had Shrimp and Gritz and I had a Grilled Cheese with Bacon.  We drove down Rainbow Row and saw all the colorful houses and took one last look of the historic downtown on.  On our drive to Magnolia Plantation we enjoyed our massive carmel apple and a Gopher from The Savannah Candy Kitchen.  Holy Tasty.

We visited The Magnolia Plantation and Gardens outside Savannah.  The entrance is just what you would expect and it just kept getting better.  You pay and entrance fee to walk the gardens and paths.  Then we decided to do a home tour as well.  This was so beautiful.  It was hard to believe we lived this way not so long ago.  It was founded in 1676 by the Drayton Family. The plantation has been run by the family ever since.  Generation and generation involved.  We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but enjoyed hearing all the facts.  The Live Oak trees and Spanish Moss everywhere really made it seem like we were in a movie.  On our way out of the plantation was the slave housing.  This was another tour that was separate from the rest.  I bet this tour would be really great.  Sad we missed out on hearing from a slave relative.  This particular plantation grew rice and we climbed a tower overlooking the old rice fields.  Then we were back in the car making silly faces and losing our minds!