More Low-Country

Leaving Beaufort, SC on our spring break trip, we made several stops on our way to Charleston, SC. The low-country is truly beautiful! Our first stop once we left Beaufort was the Old Sheldon Ruins. To get to the ruins, you drive along a two-lane road through marsh and then a canopy of live oaks lining the road before pulling off to the side and walking through the gate. I love it. The ruins were breath-taking! A little history:  the original church was built in the 1740s-50s and burned in the Revolutionary War. Then, it was rebuilt in 1826 from the remaining walls only to be destroyed again during the Civil War. We got some wonderful family pictures here!

 Our next stop was the Charleston Tea Plantation on Wadmalaw Island. Did you know that this is the only place that tea is grown and produced in America? We did a factory tour and tasted their tea; a trolley tour was available and looked good, but we passed to continue on to Charleston. It was a charming tea garden.

After the Tea Plantation, we almost missed our next stop because it looked farther away on my map.  We actually happened upon it when I wanted to pull over and take a picture of this church:

We turned too early trying to get in the parking lot and turned on a dirt road and I happened to see a sign to the side that said Angel Oak - oh wait - that's where we are trying to go!  It is one of the oldest known live oaks in the country, believed to be 500-1500 years old.  It is spectacular in it's size and beauty.  The picture cannot properly convey it's sheer impressiveness.  Now protected, cables help the branches (as big as most tree trunks) from snapping under the weight.

Here's the road that leads to Angel Oak

So because by now, the kids are threatening mutiny because of lack of nourishment, we go to Freshfields Village to get some lunch.  The village is at the crossroads of Kiawah, Seabrook, and John's Islands and is basically shopping and dining.  We chose to eat at Vincent's Drug Store & Soda Fountain because it was so stinkin' cute! I loved the mint and white checkered floor, the soda fountain, and all of the vintage touches.

Whew!  We avoided mutiny with lunch and a ice cream treat - on to Charleston!  Join me next time for pictures of Charleston!

My First Post - Southern Charm

My husband and I were discussing the possibility of getting away for spring break this year.  I have been obsessed with visiting Beaufort, SC for years after seeing it featured in Southern Living.  It is located near Charleston, SC which is one of our favorite places, so we decided that we would love to take the boys somewhere so special to us.  For me, if the directions are to drive until you see the moss in the trees, I'm a happy camper.  So I came up with an itinerary and off we went.  I thought I would share what we saw on our trip to the low-country.

Beaufort, SC
Beaufort, SC is the quintessential southern charm town.  We enjoyed our time there so much and did a variety of activities.  The town sits on the Intracoastal Waterway and surrounded by beauty.  The historic downtown is so inviting with restaurants and shops intermingled with historic homes and of course, spanish moss hanging from the trees.  Yes, please!


Here are a few of the pictures I captured of the town and historic sites

While the hubs was at the Parris Island Marine Museum with the boys, I had a chance to shop downtown and grab lunch from a place called The Tooting Egret, which combines a little lunch with a little boutique shopping complete with a florist upstairs!  I had a wonderful brussel sprout sandwich with granny smith apple, crushed peanuts and a ginger carrot dressing along with their awesome potato salad.  

 

Before I move on from the historic district, I must post one more photo.  In the historic district, many of the most AMAZING homes are located in an area called The Point.  Thanks to a little googling, I found the address for one home I absolutely had to see...The Big Chill house.  I could not have made this trip without seeing it.  It was so beautiful and sits right on the water with plenty of live oaks and spanish moss.  It was everything I had hoped it would be minus the pesky locked gate, large vegetation growing in the way of my view, and signs that I was being monitored electronically :)  Anyway, I soon found that I really needed a paparazzi camera to capture it well, but it was fun to see it!

While in Beaufort, we saw The Lorax at Highway 21 drive-in.  We had concessions from their concession building and they had a playground  - like in Grease! So fun!

We decided to drive out to Fripp Island and visit the Hunting Island Lighthouse.  It's the only historic lighthouse in South Carolina that you can climb - and we are glad we did.  It was a beautiful view.  We had a picnic lunch after our climb on one of their many, and I mean many, picnic tables just beyond the lighthouse.  We finished our outing by playing on the beach for the rest of the afternoon.

Thanks for letting me share with you - stay tuned for more of the low-country on the way to Charleston!