Charleston - Days Two and Three

We decided on day two, Tuesday, that we would go visit some plantations, as it was still rainy. We bought tickets to go to Boone Plantation, but when we got there it was closed. So we headed down to the Charleston Tea Plantation, the only working tea plantation in the US. We visited the processing plant and took a tour of the fields and greenhouses. 

Since I am not a tea drinker I did not know that green tea, oolong tea, and black tea all come from the same tea bushes. The difference in the teas is created in the processing. 

After we visited the tea plantation we stopped at Angel Oak, the oldest known live oak tree on the East Coast. It is over 400 years old, 60+ feet tall, measures 28 feet in circumference, and produces shade that covers 17,200 square feet. The photo at the top of the page is of this tree. It was an impressive sight, even if way off the beaten path and difficult to locate (we found its gravel road with help from the locals). 

That is Mike next to its trunk. 

Yesterday we drove back into Charleston and parked at the end of the peninsula on Murray Blvd. Our bus tour driver had told us about this little known free area to park that accommodates rvs easily. Since it was another cold day, it never really went above 40 degrees, we left the tandem in the sprinter and walked. The homes SoB - south of Broad - are some of the most impressive in the city! Later, when we visited the Charleston Museum, we learned that the most wealthy rice and cotton plantation owners had their homes here. The gardens beside these homes were gorgeous. 

We also walked by Rainbow Row, featured in every gift shop in some form - platter, painting, magnet, etc.  

We ate dinner at the restaurant suggested by my sister, Poogan's Porch. It is next to Husk and down from 82 Queen. It wasn't as expensive and the food was excellent! But the best place we ate was Five Loaves, located in Summerville. All in all, a good visit if NOT warm.