South Carolina 9-21

We left at 10. It took us awhile to get through Myrtle Beach, SC. That is a huge amusement/attraction filled area fronted by the Atlantic ocean. Lots of golfing related stuff and HUGE miniature golf places. It is definitely a vacation destination. It took us so long to get through the outer area we opted out of taking the business route through the heart of Myrtle Beach, too crazy with towing the trailer.

We were going by one of the historic plantations, Hampton Plantation so I called first to be sure we could get in there and park. It was built around 1750 as a six room farm house and by 1780 it became the mansion it is today with the addition of six rooms including a ball room. To me it just looked like a farmhouse with a big high ceilinged room that they called a ballroom. None of the rooms were particularly large or outstanding. It was impressive standing in something that has withstood so much history and in a place that George Washington had visited. This oak that I have a picture of was a baby tree when George visited this place in 1791. Harriet Horry, the owner, was talking of removing it because it blocked the view of the house and President Washington suggested she leave it and she did. This is it today. Huge. There are a lot of equally old oaks and big old magnolias too all over the place. This waterway was down behind the house that was lined with big old Camellias. There were hermit crabs skittering this way and that in the mud and I wanted their pictures but I was mosquito beverage and had to get moving.

The park has purposely left the mansion unfurnished and it is stripped down to its bones so people could see how it was built. It was interesting if you like to know how things are built and have an interest in historical building practices.

After that little detour we headed on to Charleston. We opted to take 526 around Charleston as 17 went right down through the historic part of the city with a lot of interchanges. The lights were timed so badly that we were glad to get on the freeway around it so Larry wouldn’t have to keep slamming the brakes on, the trailer wasn’t as tossed as I expected cause he had to lay on the brakes pretty good a couple times and Larry doesn’t speed.

We got into our new home around 3:30 and we had traveled 153 miles. We paid $2.70 for diesel and then several miles down the road we saw it $2.44. Rats. Right here where we are it is $2.47.

We took a walk after dinner and shockingly, nary a mosquito! It was a still, gorgeous evening with the serenading of the bugs. This park is quiet except for the train that seems to go by every half hour or so…ahh we’ve missed that sound so. Oops, they are getting closer together, there goes another one, hmmm, could be an interesting night.