Magnolia Plantation & Gardens with Nature Train Tour

 Our second day's trip and this time I was the designated driver...

After driving about half an hour, we arrived at Magnolia Plantation around 11:30 o'clock.

America's Oldest Romantic Garden

Ancestral Home of the Drayton Family

Established 1676

In its original day it was about 2,000 acres or 809 hectares, mainly with wet rice fields.

Today it is approximately 500 acres or 202 hectares as a lot of its lands had to be sold off.

More info here→ History of Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston SC, USA | Tour Guide Interview for a short 3:35 video.

Pieter's older brother Toon invented that for a formal photo shoot in the Nation's Oldest City, we were the owners of the Magnolia Plantation: {Do YOU all know Our Nations Oldest City - St. Augustine, Florida?} ←click link.

So finally we got to SEE IT...

We stood in line for purchasing our entrance tickets.

Guess due to the Tornado warning the week before and prior to that another cold spell, people postponed their visit–just as we did!

The guided 45 minute garden tour was NOT available, so we went on our own.

Might have been better for being able to do it on Pieter's pace.

In the back you see the Long White Bridge and we stand there admiring the many swamp cypress trees.

Magnolia Plantation & Gardens is right along the Ashley River

Me next to the sign pointing to the Long White Bridge and we now follow the Native Azalea Garden...

Pieter near the abundantly blooming Chinese Snowball Viburnum which we have in our wood garden.

click link→{Our Viburnum Tinus & Viburnum Macrocephalum - Chinese Snowball Viburnum}

Well, not all azaleas were past their blooming period!

Live Oak trees with their Spanish moss hanging down.

Everyone not from the South might have never seen that...

Dad loved it very much: click→Bye-bye Spanish Moss and dear Friends...

Here Pieter is standing under several Chinese Parasol Trees, 

Another tree that we have in our garden: click→ {Our Firmiana simplex, Sterculia platanifolia, Chinese Parasol Tree}

This is the spot where those Chinese Parasol Trees grow...

Do you see all those knees from the Swamp Cypress?

They grow up from the roots of the trees.

We also have a few in our wood garden, they do grow in swamps and lowlands.

I'd walked a little ahead for capturing this huge water bird.

Don't know what it is, looks like a stork but guess its bill is too long for it...

Maybe one of my readers knows?

Here you can see its long bill clearly.

Yay, found some picture perfect Azaleas and they match Pieter's t–shirt.

A left over from the many t–shirts we had made in Indonesia, in different colors, for Dublin, Georgia's St. Patrick's Festival...

Here we stand actually in the back yard of Magnolia Plantation and it is being worked on...

The front is facing Ashley River and from the video link that I showed in the beginning you get a better understanding.

Shown here is the entire walk we did... 2.87 km in total.

By 13:30 o'clock we'd gotten onto the Nature Train Tour, with driver/guide Sharon.

Just had to capture these tulips and Azaleas near the parking area.

Yes, that is an ALLIGATOR swimming in the marshes...

Those trees were full with Great Blue Herons and Egrets, nesting!

Slave houses, which were used mainly for sleeping, as their cooking was done outside.

An Egret on the wooden board.

To the left another alligator...

Sharon was very knowledgeable about all things nature!

Below is a short Relive video from me driving to Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, crossing the Ashley River and also from our Nature Train Tour; ENJOY!

Our Charleston See–It–All Sightseeing Bus Tour

 Quite pleased with having booked us a Charleston See–It–All Sightseeing Bus Tour!

That proved to be excellent and conveniently close within walking distance to our Hyatt House Charleston Historic District in South Carolina.

Thanks to TripAdvisor, where I found some excellent reviews that highly recommended this.

Also instead of a carriage tour, which covers only a limited area and would be rather noisy as you are out in the open... Considering my Pieter wearing hearing aids.

Having booked on line I had our tickets on my iPhone and we walked in about 5 minutes from the Hyatt House Charleston Historic District, to 375 Meeting Street to VISITOR CENTER of Charleston.

That's where all the tour buses come to pick up their passengers.

Charleston with its Southern Charm was founded in 1670 as Charles Town in honor of King Charles II.

Charleston is also called the Holy City because of its religious tolerance and abundant places of worship.

Charleston has lots of handmade wrought iron work. Notice the elaborate front door that goes to nowhere?

It just gets opened for letting the natural breeze go through all the way by opening the next door and/or windows.

Also the single house (one room wide) has its narrow side with a gable end, along the street.

Always facing north/south or east/west for taking advantage of prevailing breezes.

Citadel Military College

The Citadel Airforce Jet named Annette from the Vietnam War era.

Huge Replica of the Citadel's Class Ring

Colonial Lake Park a charming historical city park in the middle of Charleston's historic neighborhoods

As you can see, the weather was perfect!

Charleston maintains also a perfect green image of its beautiful historic city!

Great architecture and perfect gardens, parks and green sections throughout.

Lovely historic home and especially the lower outdoor shutters are exactly in the pattern as we have for our indoor shutters and doors!

You can see our Historic Charleston raised panels here: {Our 'GREEN' Bedroom} ←click on link.

Also The Charleston you can see here: → Solid Oak Shutters REDONE: Now Professionally Mortise Hinged by Husband Pieter

Real lovely homes and often surrounded by Live Oak trees, as you see here in the front.

Statue to the The Defenders of Fort Sumter Monument in Battery Park

Text reads: To The Confederate Defenders of Charleston 

Fort Sumter

1861–1865

The statue is located in the southern tip of the Battery

The Battery in Charleston is a fortified seawall and promenade.

The Battery is lined with historic antebellum homes... the cream of the Holy City's architecture.

Our Sightseeing Bus Tour lasted 90 minutes and the driver was very knowledgeable.

My Pieter enjoyed listening to him and getting to know more about Charleston's history and architecture; so did I!

Charleston See–It–All Sightseeing Bus Tour provided by Adventure Sightseeing, SC ←click for more info.

Just snapped this picture hastily as we had disembarked at the Visitor Center before driver Benji pulled up...

That was a wonderful Adventure!

Now we leisurely stroll back to our hotel...

Pieter comfortably dressed in his Zegna jeans and comfy shoes, just as I was wearing, with my Escada jeans and Wolford top seen in top picture.

Lovely handmade wrought iron work everywhere and these lanterns got adorned with flower baskets.

And arriving "HOME" again at our Hyatt House...

Perfect for tea time at our One Bedroom King Suite!

The weather was perfect as well with still 23℃ or 73.4℉ at 16:40 o'clock! 

Enjoy our short Relive video and stay tuned for more...

Hyatt House Charleston Historic District – Great Courtesy

 Sure enough we managed again to escape for 3 wonderful nights!

This time I'd booked us a High Floor Studio King with Kitchen and Sofabed, using our Hyatt points.

We were in room 772 and guess this was the most QUIET room we ever stayed in!

Around 18:15 o'clock we checked in and went to our room on the 7th floor out of 9 total. 

It took me about 3.5 hours to drive there after lunch and nap time for Pieter.

The public parking garage was just to the right, very convenient!

The Hyatt Staff showed Great Courtesy!

Our One Bedroom King Suite (they also have Two Bedroom King Suites).

Our living room with Sofabed... if needed, that is.

Kitchen with our small cool box visible.

Now time for relaxing with a cup of tea and rice cake with mixed unsalted nuts, just like at home.

Later we had our supper as we'd brought our food from home.

Great at HOME feeling!

The bathroom with toilet (as seen mirrored in shower glass), shower and spacious vanity.

Here we could easily settle for the 3 nights!

Next day we would go on a See–It–All–Sightseeing Bus Tour for exploring Charleston, South Carolina.

~

We have been to this city before, on Tuesday, February 28 in 1990, for retrieving our cars at Charleston harbor, as they got shipped back to the USA from Italy...

Our dear friend Uncle Bo Whaley, did drive us then, in his Lincoln, and we had lunch with friend Donna Rae Canady and her daughter Lynn at restaurant Brian.

Driving home each in a separate car...

We were quite shocked from seeing the devastation done by Hurricane Hugo in September 1989.

In honor of our friend Donna Rae, who died of cancer, I hand crocheted: {Fleur de Lys Filet Crochet designed by Mariette's Back to Basics} and you see also a photo of Ellie and Jeu, taken in 2010 when they visited us the day Pieter had his heart attack...

~

Once more we came very close to visiting Charleston, South Carolina with best friend Ellie and husband Jeu from The Netherlands on June 11 of 1997.

We were on the way and had just purchased things at the Escada outlet in Hilton Head.

When arriving at the hotel for the night, Ellie discovered that 3 of her purchased items were not on the hangers in the large plastic garment bag. 

So we called the Escada outlet store and the elderly sales person Mary, had not wrapped them all up...

We went back in the morning and decided not to continue to Charleston, also since I'd been very ill that morning already while in the shower and was too dizzy for breakfast.

~

So glad we now finally made it to Charleston! 

Well deserved!

Great Courtesy—all the way!

Enjoy this short Relive video.

Stay tuned for more...

Happy Easter to my Readers and their Families!