Charleston SC
Mon Oct 16, 2023
(~57 miles)

Happy birthday, Char! Yup, besides work commitments and riding, this trip is serving as a getaway celebrating my fellow adventurer, stalwart pillion, unpaid trip photographer, and love of my life. Because my colleagues would be travelling to get here tomorrow while I’d be working from our room, I was able to take today off as a “travel day” so we could do something fun.

After a blasé continental breakfast in the hotel lobby, we took our second cups of coffee out for a morning stroll on the beach, which lies right over the dune from the hotel garage level. As is common for beachfront areas in storm-prone areas, the hotel rests atop concrete pillars to minimize damage from flooding. This provides garage parking as well as a shaded sandy corner by the dunes with a couple picnic tables.

We enjoyed a peaceful beach walk, though the clouds were fairly solidly socked in, preventing any real glimpse of the sunrise. Traversing the boardwalk from the hotel over the vegetated dunes to reach the sand, we turned north toward a large pier. There were scattered morning walkers, several with dogs, as well as a few people with fishing poles stuck in the sand. We scrunched sand in our toes, splashed through the reaching waves, and watched the various birds and crabs do their bird and crab things. Char picked through the shells and we just breathed in the salt air… letting the road stress and memories of cold wet riding just fade away!

I’d suggested to Charlotte that we find some sightseeing to do in the area that was unique to the area and would be of interest to her. If you have read any of our past trip reports, that usually means something to do with plants or gardens, and this was no exception! For the first half of the day, we’d be checking out Magnolia Plantation and Gardens – a former agricultural plantation turned museum with botanical gardens just west of the city, along the Ashley River.

Leaving the hotel around 09:20, we backtracked last night’s route, through Mt. Pleasant and then looping via I-526 all the way over to the west side of Charleston. The raised interstate gave us our first views of the area and city in daylight. The industrial seaport dominates the skyline from this angle, with its tall cranes, contrasting visually against the overall flatness of these coastal plains. The rivers, inlets, and ocean really shape and control the landscape around this southern city.

After crossing the Ashley River, we took the first exit to pick up SC 61 northwest away from town. Once through the initial intersections and commercial area, traffic thinned out and leafy trees with hanging Spanish moss gradually took over the roadside. The plantation is just outside Charleston city limits, tucked between 61 and the river. I hadn’t had all that much time to read up on the place ahead of our visit, so I was looking forward to seeing a little bit of the area’s history.

 

Founded in 1676 by the Drayton family (and still owned/operated by a direct descendant to this day), Magnolia Plantation boasted the earliest plantation house in the Carolina colony when it was built in the 1680s. We would learn during our visit that rice drove this plantation’s success, a crop I’d never really associated with the southern US, compared to the more common cotton and tobacco that the region is famous for growing. Now, the vast acres of cultivated trees, flowers, and fauna here represent one of the oldest public gardens in the US.

We followed the lovely tree-lined driveway deep into the property and parked in a large gravel lot with other visitors. Even on a weekday morning, there were already a couple dozen cars parked already, so it’s a popular attraction. Pumpkin arrangements reminded us that it was indeed harvest season, making an odd contrast to the green foliage everywhere. October in the northeast usually presents the final bright colors of autumn mixed with mostly bare trees. We stripped our riding gear and boots right there by the bike to change into more comfortable sandals and walking clothes.

At the gate, we paid for the general admission plus the Audubon Swamp Garden, which gave us access to all outside grounds plus a timed historical tour of the slave cabins on the premises. We never do seem to attend the inside tours at this type of places – Biltmore, Monticello, etc. The next tour was going to start at 10:30 in just 15 minutes, so we decided to do that first and learn a bit before wandering around. As directed, we walked back along the driveway to join several other visitors under a magnificent old live oak tree as big as a mansion itself.

A docent appeared among us at the appointed time and led us over to a pavilion by the row of four one-story cabins that were once living quarters for the plantation’s enslaved workers. Though a brief presentation, our guide was great – very knowledgeable and honest about the history of the property and the world events that played into life here in the bayous and swamps along the river.

We learned a bit about rice farming and how absolutely back-breaking the labor was, more so than most other types of crops. Apparently, Magnolia specialized in growing the Carolina Gold variety of rice, which was a highly prized commodity in Europe in the 18th century. That type of rice requires deeper water than usual for growing, so the enslaved workers were constantly trudging through waist-high water, muck and mud to work the land, not to mention dealing with the insects, disease, snakes, and gators.

The docent was respectful in explaining the facts of history and honest about the brutality and hardship forced upon the plantation workforce. Needless to say, it was a particularly difficult existence during a shameful period in our history.

The cabin styles and architecture dated from different periods in the history of the plantation, with varying degrees of original construction vs reconstruction. I think only one of them was almost completely original, while the others had been rebuilt or repaired to spec over the years.

20 people or more were forced to live together in these tiny shacks during the heyday of slavery and traditional plantation life. After Emancipation, roughly half the newly freed workers stayed to continue working the property as sharecroppers and tenant farmers, with their final descendants finally departing from the last cabin in the late 20th century (!).

After the presentation and questions, we were released to explore the cabins up close, trying to visualize what it must have been like to survive the long hard hours of labor and then squeeze into these tiny homes at the end of a day with so many other people right up in your grill.

With the timed tour of the cabins finished, we were now free to choose our own adventure. Looking at the property map on our phones (provided via QR code), we seemed to be closest to the swamp/wildlife trail so we headed there first. I had never really considered South Carolina as alligator country, but after this little stroll I’m a believer.

It was a beautiful walk around and between flooded former rice fields and adjoining marshland turned wildlife preserve. They’ve build some sloped platforms of wood out in the water for the alligators and turtles to climb up into the warm sun, and they were enjoying themselves today!

At one trail junction, there was a small sign pointing the way to an old graveyard where slaves and resident sharecroppers had been buried over the years. There are headstones of various shapes and sizes, though mostly the flat classic rectangles. The lush woods are slowly reclaiming everything, with tree roots knocking many of the stones off-kilter or bushes completely enveloping others. It was quiet and peaceful there in the deep shade under the trees, and we walked around reading what names we could make out. There was evidence that some of the graves were still being regularly tended, which was heartening, if poignant.

We continued on along a sturdy boardwalk section, past thickets of yellow flowers and still water coated with yellow-green algae, combining to create a hazy monochromatic effect when looking across the swamp in the bright sunshine. A couple herons and an egret were startled up by our passing and we watched a few other picking their way through the shallows, hunting a meal.

We spotted several more alligators and turtles enjoying the midday sun, including a particularly large gator on one of the floating rafts who looked like he just might own the place. I spotted a movement in the grass by the trail and an unnervingly fast snake with black scales slithered across the path once we’d stopped to watch, pausing to register our presence with a look of disdain. I later identified it as a Southern black racer. A night heron stalked a shady pool next to the trail as we continued on. For such a short stroll, we’d certainly seen quite a few critters and gotten our money’s worth!

Completing our loop through the swamp trail in peaceful solitude, we ended up on the driveway fairly close to the main road. We headed back in towards the busier part of the property to see the house and gardens now. The current plantation house is not the original building, which was lost in a fire as was the second, but was built elsewhere in 1873 and moved to the property by river barge. It’s a beautiful example of southern architecture with a huge welcoming veranda wrapping around all sides.

There were dozens of visitors on the veranda, likely taking the guided tour, so we snapped our photos and moved on to start walking the garden trails. Thickly wooded and beautiful, the acres of public garden trails wind between the still waters of man-made canals and former rice fields that haven’t been allowed to grow quite as wild as the area we were just exploring. There are plenty more huge live oak trees draped in Spanish moss all over the property, in addition to many other varieties of trees and flowering shrubs brought from all over the world and cultivated here for first the owners’ and now the public’s enjoyment.

The long wildlife trail through the river marshes was under construction and inaccessible today, so we contented ourselves with the gardens until about 14:00, when we figured we’d looked at about as many plants and alligators as you can for one day. We geared back up and headed out to route 61, back into Charleston. After stopping to fuel up, we continued on past I-526, just to take a different route through the city to get back to Isle of Palms. We cruised through the West Ashley district, crossing the river on SC 7 to pick up I-26 straight into downtown Charleston.

We’d be coming back here shortly to spend the remainder of our day, so for now we hopped on US 17 west over the wide Cooper River and back into Mt. Pleasant. This is quite the busy suburb that seems to consist almost entirely of shopping districts and restaurants. So much traffic! But we weren’t really in a rush and just picked our way patiently through many intersections back to our hotel to freshen up.

Next on our birthday agenda was getting a rideshare back into downtown to enjoy some dinner and explore the city a bit on foot. Checking the Uber app, it seemed that getting a ride from IOP into town would be possible but not that quick. It took two tries, but finally seemed to connect with a driver that intended to actually come get us. We showered and then just hung out a bit in front of the hotel to wait. There are a few bars and restaurants in the immediate vicinity, but nothing overtly garish. This area must really be buzzing during the summers, but right now it had the perfect off-season sleepy beach town vibe.

The Uber driver got there in due time. She was friendly after we initiated conversation and confirmed that getting rides between Charleston and IOP could be iffy this time of year. We’d need to keep that in mind for getting our ride home tonight, as well as for later in the week.

For her birthday dinner, Char had chosen a hole-in-the-wall “Asian fusion” restaurant called CO, serving Thai & Vietnamese food. It’s right on Lower King Street in the heart of the city, and the driver managed to get us right to it without much delay. At 16:00, we were a bit on the early side for the dinner crowds, but that suited us fine – we were both starving after stomping around the plantation all day!

We took seats at a long high-top table near the bar, ordering a cocktail called a Ginger Mule (variation on the Moscow ) which really hit the spot. Appetizers included beef/kimchi dumplings, edamame gyoza, and tofu spring roll – all were yummy. I’ve never eaten Vietnamese food, so after perusing the menu and picking Char’s brain, I decided to go full out and get a bowl of spicy pho, despite the inordinate number of dangerous-looking pepper icons next to it in the menu. 😅

The pho was fantastic! I’d never eaten something so spicy and yet with so much fantastic flavor. Feeling adventurous, I dumped in ALL of the extra slices of hot pepper and ALL the hot sauce. I had steam coming out of my ears by the time I finished the bowl. SO GOOD. We gushed so much about the food that the owner made our second round of drinks on the house….how’s that for southern hospitality!

After this amazing meal, we headed back out into the slightly cooler evening to stroll around the city and admire the beautiful architecture of the Harleston Village and French Quarter neighborhoods. We walked down King Street to Broad, then east towards the harbor, enjoying the quiet evening’s mostly empty sidewalks and beautiful weather. Lots of nooks and crannies to look at on all the buildings, and soo much history everywhere.

At the end of Broad Street, we circled the Slave Auction Site memorial by the Exchange Building, pausing to read the disturbing historical marker and reflecting on the significance of where we stood. Humans were bought and sold right in the heart of this city (all over the city actually), next to the federal and county courthouses. It brought to mind from my history classes the prominent role of Charleston in the trans-Atlantic slave trade triangle of the 18th-19th centuries. It was sobering to be standing on ground zero of such a sorrowful chapter, where hundreds of thousands of people had their human rights and dignity stripped from them in the name of commerce.

We continued up one of the few remaining original cobblestone lanes in the city, towards the Waterfront Park. We took in a beautiful view of the harbor over the tall marsh grasses, then sought out the famous Pineapple Fountain for a couple snaps. A family was there taking formal photographs of a young lady in an absolutely HUGE ball gown – very likely celebrating her quinceañera – so we tried to stay out of their way.

We walked out to the end of the boardwalk pier to enjoy more angles of the harbor, including the big Arthur Ravenel Jr Bridge (US 17) that we’d crossed earlier. Directly across the harbor, we spotted a large navy vessel, what we later learned is the decommissioned USS Yorktown aircraft carrier, now a museum. Something to check out on a future visit perhaps.

We rested a bit on one of the swinging benches thoughtfully provided by the city on the pier, then headed back into the French Quarter in search of dessert. Meandering up Queen Street a couple blocks to Church Street, we enjoyed more beautiful architecture of the block buildings and old churches, framed by lots of trees, private gardens, and overgrown alleyways.

Kaminsky’s Dessert Café on North Market Street was the best recommendation we’d come up with to get a slice of birthday cake, after asking people more familiar with Charleston than us. We luckily arrived there just before the post-dinner rush, as the place began to fill up quickly after we were seated.

Char was hoping for carrot cake, but they were all out today so she settled for apple caramel. It turned out a bit too dry and the frosting too sweet for both our tastes. I had pie of course, a nice-looking slice of bourbon pecan with a scoop. It was good, but also a bit too sweet for my preference and rather bland crust. I was glad for the strongly bitter cup of coffee to wash it down. Southerners really do like their sugar!

Tired from our full day of outings and our bellies quite full now, we called an Uber to get us back to Isle of Palms, which arrived much more quickly here in town. Back at the hotel by 19:00, we spent the remainder of the evening chilling out before bed. Tomorrow is a workin’ day.

More photos from today’s adventures.