Yesterday was beautiful, and I took a drive out Ashley River Road following it some 15 miles or so. There are three plantations, centuries old, authentic and charming that sit back off the two lane road. Magnolia Plantation, Drayton Hall and Middleton Place are all on the National Register of Historic Places and offer up more to see and do than anyone can do in an afternoon. Since the weather was perfect, the afternoon begged to be an outdoor event. I decided on Middleton Place for my self-guided tour. It was easy to stay in the gardens and meander the grounds since the house was burned by the Yankees and what was left standing was toppled in the devasting earthquake of 1886. So, I wandered the maze of the formal gardens that were laid out in 1741, and looked for alligators on the banks of the rice fields. The stables and barns were quiet and the entire scene was peaceful and harmonic. I was there for two hours and only saw two other people. Pretty relaxing way to spend the waning hours of daylight.
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