Monday, March 30, 2009

Plantation Dreaming

I have always been fascinated with the south. The hot sultry weather. The Spanish moss dripping from the trees. There have been many books that have taken me back to the the era the the southern ladies sitting on their wide verandas drinking their ice tea. Long hooped dresses, and unimaginable parties and dances.

The inspirational stories of the lives of slaves on plantations and all in entailed. The echo of their singing as they picked cotton, and somehow made it through that time.

The civil war, and how terrifying of a time that had to of been. The movie that brought this home the most to me was Cold Mountain, describing the rawness of that time oh so well. How far our country has come! How far it still could go...

Now, don't laugh at me, but even years ago, Tatum's favorite Nickelodeon show Gullah Gullah Island gave me a taste of the flavor of there. Some of the culture, and the beauty of the land.

This year we have again booked our condo in South Carolina in Myrtle Beach, but instead of going in the summer, we will go in September. Last year (our first time there) I was teething at the bit to to tour one of the many beautiful plantations. Myrtle Beach isn't really near any of them, and it just didn't happen. So this year, Mike told me that if I planned ahead we could take a day out to make a day trip to one. I found this one online, and it seems like the neatest one yet! It is called Boone Hall Plantation and was actually shut down for the filming of the movie "The Notebook".
They have all kinds of tours, and even upick fields for strawberries, tomatoes, cantaloupes, and all different kinds of fruits and vegetables.

Do you know of any really neat plantations in South Carolina besides Boone Hall? If you do, please let me know! I am still investigating:)