A full day in the south

Correction from yesterday, Charleston is on the Ashley River. Actually, it is an island surrounded by two rivers.

Up and at 'em early today. Went to Middleton Plantation to see the formal gardens. Initially owned by one of the founding fathers, he had hundreds of thousands of acres of rice patties. Lots of walking, but beautiful. The owners put in the formal gardens to mimic the ones in England. Saw alligators basking on the banks of the rice paddies. Lots of Spanish moss dripped from the live oak trees that are huge, and one in particular was nearly 1000 years old. Odd thing, Spanish moss is not Spanish, nor is it moss. It is an epiphytic plant that lives by getting moisture and nutrients from the air.

Following that we took a historical tour of Charleston. Fascinating history. As our guide rightly pointed out, history is written by the winners, thus much of the history of the south has been omitted from our textbooks. Lovely architecture, Greek, Victorian, colonial, all combined to make up the lovely homes painted bright colors.

Also went to the Citadel. Absolutely astounding to see the grounds and students striding around in their fatigues. The stained glass in the chapel was astounding.

Then headed to the large market for some shopping and authentic southern food. Had fried green tomatoes with grits and crab cakes. All very good.

Never to have a day without excitement, one of our companions was ushered to the hospital for emergency surgery for a hernia issue. We didn't know until our harried tour guide returned.

Tomorrow we head for Beaufort, then will spend a couple of days at Jekyll Island. It is the playground of the rich and famous of the early 1900s.