Friday, July 19, 2019

More Fun in Charleston

Thought for the day: All good things must come to an end. (sigh)

No matter how beautiful a day may be, the sun has to eventually set, and no matter how much fun an experience may be, it, too, must end.

So I promise this'll be the last post about our 50th anniversary trip to Charleston. Then I'll find something new to bore you with.

This last post will be about two plantations in the Charleston area. Boone Hall, located in Mt. Pleasant, has been dubbed the #1 plantation by USA Today, and called a must-see destination by many, so that was our first plantation stop. But that wasn't the only reason. I'd seen pictures of the entry to that plantation... and there's a good chance you have, too, because it's a rather iconic shot. If you saw the movie North and South, you might remember the scene with Patrick Swayze riding on horseback down that entryway road. The plantation was also featured in numerous other flicks, like The Notebook. So me being me, even though we'd already visited the mighty Angel Oak, I wanted to see this impressive line-up of live oaks in person.




Boone Hall was founded in 1681 by Englishman Major John Boone, and it was his son who planted the 88 live oaks in 1743. It took nearly two centuries for the trees to become large enough to form a canopy over the road, and this Avenue of Oaks extends for 3/4 of a mile.







A view of the canopy from the car. Believe, me, it looks a lot more impressive in person than it does in this picture.











This one was taken on foot. A little better.


The Avenue of Oaks offered the most concentrated grouping of live oaks on the plantation, but they weren't the only ones in sight. They were all over the place... and they were all gorgeous.






Last shot of the trees. I (ahem) tend to get carried away...











The old cotton mill (circa O-L-D) is an impressive-looking building. As you can see, it's currently undergoing some extensive restoration. 

It's kinda funny that I took a picture of THIS, but not a single photo of the plantation house. Without a doubt, it is beautiful, but what I would've really liked to capture is its interior. The furnishings are magnificent, and the sunroom-like area is fabulous. Unfortunately, taking pictures inside was a no-no. The McRae family purchased the plantation in 1955, and a year later, the family began allowing tours. Family members still live on the upper level of the home... which was not part of the tour. Although the number of farmed acreage has shrunk over time, Boone Hall remains America's oldest continuously working plantation.

A handful of original slave cabin remain, and they're all made of bricks... which were made by the slaves themselves. In fact, millions of bricks were made on the plantation, and they were used to build many important buildings in Charleston and far beyond. Ft. Sumter was constructed of bricks that were made at Boone Hall.

Each of the remaining cabins has been converted into small museums, each one telling a different chapter in the story of  African Americans. This gal in the picture told the story of the Gullah people, and her presentation included some awesome music. Man, does she ever have some pipes! And she sang a little bit of everything...

I delighted in the music of Africa, the earliest of the slave plantation songs, the transformation into Christianity and all that Christianity brought to the lives of the Africans who were forced to come to America. [Harry Belafonte]

I'm a little sorry I didn't take more pictures. I guess I was too busy taking in the experience to bother recording much of it. Sorry... how selfish of me not to think of you guys. HA! Here... maybe this short video will make up for it. (And I don't know how the sneaky fella got away with taking a couple shots inside of the house. I wish he would've gotten the darned sunroom!)                                       


                                                                Pretty cool, huh?



The other plantation we visited was the Charleston Tea Plantation... the ONLY large-scale commercial tea plantation in America. There, we toured the area where the tea is processed, sampled all kinds of their awesome teas, took a wagon ride all around the plantation, learned a ton of stuff about tea, and... came home with a whole grocery-sized bag full of teas. (Which I'm drinking my way through quite handily. I just ordered some more of their loose leaf tea from Amazon. The peach and mint are my favorites.)

This is one of the many fields of tea. See how flat the plants are on top? That's because the process of harvesting entails skimming off a couple inches of new growth at the top of the bushes. Every plant on the plantation today is the offspring of the plants originally brought to South Carolina in the 1700s, and for hundreds of years, each plant has been grown from shoots, which are nurtured in greenhouses for four years before taking their place in the fields.




This funny-looking contraption is called the Green Machine,and it was built specifically for harvesting tea. There are only a few of them in existence in the world, and each machine can do the work of 500 people. Where people would have to carefully pick the new growth leaves from each bush by hand, one at a time, this machine gently slices off that new growth and tosses it into a bin.

Did you know the three basic types of tea all come from the same plant? The difference between black, oolong, and green tea lies not in the tea, but in how long it's processed after it's picked.

SOME FUN FACTS ABOUT TEA:

  • Tea-drinking dates back to 2700 B.C. Not sure how it was first discovered to be such a tasty beverage, but rumor has it that some tea leaves accidentally fell into a pot of water that was being boiled for his consumption, and Chinese Emperor Shen Nung was so pleased with the taste, he mandated that they be purposely added to his water every day after that. 
  • Tea became immensely popular in China and Japan, where it was considered both health-enhancing and mystical. It wasn't introduced to the Western world until the time of Marco Polo's explorations in the 1600s.
  • Tea is a member of the camellia family. Its proper name is Camellia Sinensis.
  • America provided two innovations for tea: the tea bag, and iced tea. Tea bags are now popular all over the world, but iced tea? Not so much. About 85% of the tea consumed in the U.S. is iced, but it has never become popular anywhere else in the world. 
  • Tea is the world's most popular beverage after water.
  • Approximately 6 billion pounds of tea are produced every year, enough to provide every man, woman, and child with 200 cups per day. (I'm doing MY part... are YOU?)
  • The boiling water you pour over your tea bag or loose tea releases the caffeine. To reduce the amount of caffeine by 65%, pour boiling water over your teabag or loose tea... and then dump it out and pour some fresh water on the bag or tea. Ta DA!

                                                         Gee... suddenly... I'm very thirsty...

                                    Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

P.S. Many thanks to all of you who left a comment on my last post, even though I wasn't available to respond. I appreciate the heck out of it. And you. We were chilling in western North Carolina with some friends who live at the top of a mountain. Lots of fun, and after seeing bear scat up there, I won't be grumbling so much about the piles neighborhood dogs leave in our yard. And Geo? Your comment gave me cause to pause, but although your account is terrific, our Huong was most definitely trying to get a rise out of me. :)

56 comments:

  1. You really had a great anniversary trip. That plantation looks really interesting, loved the oaks. A blast from the past. so to say. And I never knew there were tea-picking machines. Have a fantastic weekend, hugs, Valerie

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    1. It truly was a wonderful trip, but then again, I'm the kind of gal who thinks a trip to the local flea market is an adventure. :)

      You have a fantastic weekend, too. Hugs back atcha.

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  2. It looks an incredible place. And to be remembered by trees that I have planted sounds pretty close to perfect to me.
    I am a tea addict. Not iced tea, but black tea, green tea, white tea and chai all make regular appearances here.
    I hope your time away was blissful.

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    1. Those live oak trees that Mr. Boone planted so many years ago left a beautiful legacy for other people to enjoy. Sounds darned near perfect to me, too.

      I'm a tea addict, too. And the peach tea is beyond amazing. Now that I've started drinking it, I reckon I'm gonna be hooked on it for life.

      Yes. Blissful. :)

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  3. What a lovely, relaxing place to rejuvenate and dismiss the chaotic world! The Avenue of Oaks is wonderful - - and,of course, my passion for tea is legendary. Peach and mint are great iced teas for the summer.
    The plantation video is really beautiful. I watched it twice.

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    1. It absolutely was a wonderful place to unwind. Everyone we met was super friendly, too.

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  4. I don't drink too much iced tea, but my family does. I drink it hot. And why would I ever want to reduce the caffeine? LOL.

    Those are some beautiful plantations. How awesome is it that the plants are still growing from their originals? And those trees- gorgeous. All of the times I've visited Charleston, I have never visited the plantations.

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    1. I don't drink much iced tea, either. It used to be a staple in our house, but after my hubby quit drinking it, I stopped making it. I'd just as soon have it hot. HA! Good point about the caffeine... but just wait... you'll get old one day, too!

      Maybe you should visit Boone Hall the next time you go to Charleston. It's worth the trip.

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  5. That canopy of oaks is exactly how I'd like my driveway to look, if I had a driveway.
    Sadly, I'm not doing my bit towards 200 cups of tea a day. I like tea, but mostly drink instant coffee.

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    1. Me, too! It is soooo gorgeous, and makes such a dramatic entryway. (But I wouldn't want to rake up all those leaves come autumn!)

      I used to drink a lot of coffee, but now, it's pretty much tea all the way.

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  6. Glad you had a great time. I loved reading about your trip. Great photos too.

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  7. Looks like you had a great time! Thanks for the lovely photos.
    When in the USA we found that when we asked for tea they brought us a box of various teabags and a flask of hot water. However, the British way is to add BOILING water to the tea and then a dash of milk. We use the brand Yorkshire Tea which is quite strong. We do also drink a lot of herbal and spiced teas (but not with added milk).
    Hmmmm....feeling thirsty now - where's that kettle?
    CLICK HERE for Bazza’s instantly intransigent Blog ‘To Discover Ice’

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    1. We had a terrific time. :)

      Tea drinkers are made to feel like second-class citizens in a lot of restaurants here. Coffee refills are usually free. Iced tea is very common, but hot tea drinkers have to pay a ridiculous price for each cuppa, so I generally just drink water when we go out. BUT... a lovely teahouse opened near us recently. They have a terrific selection of teas, and they bring it to the table in pretty tea pots. Very civilized. HA!

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    2. Tea is ridiculously cheap in the UK. Yorkshire Tea works out at about two pence per teabag. If we bother to make it in a teapot one bag, if left to brew for less than five minutes, makes two strong mugs of tea! Coffee is dearer though.

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    3. There's a shop near us called Taste of Britain, and for quite a while, I've been buying my tea from them. PG Tips, I think it's called. (Too lazy to go into the kitchen to check.) I buy a box of 240 for twenty dollars, but now that I've tried the teas from Charleston, I'm afraid I'm hooked on them. Next time I visit Taste of Britain, I'll have to take a closer look at their loose teas.

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  8. We have been fortunate enough to visit Charleston three or four times and I love that city. There are so many interesting things to see and then there is the food, oh my, that wonderful, wonderful food.

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    1. This was the first time we visiting Charleston, and I fell in love with it. And oh yeah, you're right about the food, too. Anyplace with fresh seafood is the place for us.

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  9. As soon as I saw "North and South" and Patrick Swayze, I flashed back to my teen years and when I read those books/watched that mini series. Sigh. Hmm, I wonder if the books/show will hold up....

    I never really gave much thought to the tea I drink. I'm a tea bag in a mug sort of person - black tea, herbal tea. Oh, and I love a glass of good iced sweet tea - yum!

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    1. I dunno, but I think the books will hold up, and maybe the show will, too. They represent a time in history that's kinda looked at with disdain these days, but then again, so does Gone with the Wind, and that's still popular. (I think...)

      I'm a little bit of a tea addict, but I didn't know much about how it was grown and processed until we visited that plantation. Much to his surprise, my hubby even found it interesting.

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  10. I so love the saying by Lucy Larcom, friend Sue. From ever since I was little, I remember my mumme would say it like this: "And even if the world would come to an end tomorrow, I would still plant my apple tree today." … I also really like the WEP Challenge 2018 Poster … at first I thought that you were advertising a calendar designed by you … hope this puts an idea into your head cuz I would definitely buy it … Love, cat.

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    1. It sounds like your mother was an optimistic lady. :)

      That WEP pic is neat, isn't it? But alas, I'm not the clever person who created it.

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  11. I need to start taking better care of myself, in order to visit all the places I still want to see. Amazing the things I've learned about this great Country from bloggers like yourself!
    I'm not much of an iced tea fan, but all of a sudden I'm craving a glass of that mint!

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    1. There are sooooo many awesome things to see. I reckon we'll just have to live another fifty years or so... (It'd be cool to celebrate a 100th anniversary. HA!)

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  12. Very interesting travelogue! Thanks for sharing those lovely photos.

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  13. What a beautiful area and what a sad history of enslavement.

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    1. It is a beautiful area, but you're right: the pall of slavery hangs over it to some extent. However, I considered it a great sign of progress that there were black tourists visiting these places, too. I'm not sure if I expected that or not.

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  14. I think you'll have to have my share of the tea. Darn, that is a lot of tea consumed. That contraption is neat looking too. You sure weren't barking up the wrong tree. Such places sure don't grow on trees. Now I'll make like a tree and leave.

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    1. HA! You're right. Places like that don't grow on trees, but the trees sure do grow on them!

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  15. I love this post and it does not have to be your last. As a fellow museum slut...I'm with you baby. Ray and I go to Charleston next May for my niece's wedding - we'll go longer to visit plantations, etc. So you are filling in my itinerary nicely.
    Stay cool this weekend and have a good one.

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    1. Awesome! I'm glad to hear you'll be visiting Charleston next year, and I hope you love it as much as I do.

      You stay cool, too. The heat's bad, but the humidity has been horrid. We're looking for a break in it soon.

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  16. What wonderful photos and I love the trees !
    Interesting facts about tea, especially the part about the harvesting machine.
    Such a wonderful trip to an area I do not know much about !
    Stay as cool as you can
    parsnip x

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    1. The trees are absolutely breathtaking in person.

      You stay cool, too, and have a terrific weekend.

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  17. "...and each machine can do the work of 500 people." We've been real busy helping relatives for 2 months. Where can we get one of these machines?

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    1. If you have a couple million lying around doing nothing, maybe the folks in Charleston would make you a deal...

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  18. "All good things must come to an end" was pretty much on my mind, as I just posted about our camping trip and realized that my summer vacation is just about over :( Oh, well.

    We don't take many pics, either. I used to get fed up carrying a camera around because I spent way too much time trying to get decent photos at the expense of actually experiencing the vacation and storing away memories.

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    1. Look on the bright side. After you retire, life becomes like one long summer vacation. :)

      I have mixed feelings about taking pics and videos. We used to tease a dear friend of ours about the movies he made during our shared vacations in the mountains, but then he died unexpectedly, and those movies he made are now very dear to us. Especially since his voice is also recorded. Thanks to his movies, those memories are safe.

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  19. I loved Charleston, although I had to keep my mouth shut.
    Whenever anyone heard my Yankee accent, I got the stink eye.

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    1. I'm familiar with that stink eye. It's usually accompanied by a barely audible: "Bless his little heart..."

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  20. Hi Susan. Thanks for taking me on your cute little trip. Closest I've ever gotten to American plantations if on tv. I never knew slave cabins were made of bricks. Great pics of the avenue of trees. Must be cool on a hot day. Love tea. Have been to tea plantations in China and Vietnam. So many varieties. Great trip!

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    1. Hi-ya, Denise. All of the other slave cabins I'd seen before were made of wood, so I was surprised to see ones made of bricks, too.

      China and Vietnam? I'd say your travels have been much more exotic than mine, but with the right attitude, even a trip to the local flea market can be an adventure. :)

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  21. Great pictures! I love the Oaks--so amazing. Sound like you had a wonderful and memorable trip.

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    1. Thanks! We had a super time. (I'm ready to go back...) :)

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  22. Wow, sounds like you had a great time at North Carolina.

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  23. You never bore us, silly girl. We'll love a million photos of trees taken by you. But harvesting tea? I had no idea.

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. Thanks for the kind sentiments, dear lady, but sometimes, I even bore myself. :)

      We learned a lot of things about tea at that plantation. Before, all I mostly knew was that I liked it. Now I know all that extra stuff... and I like it.

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  24. Those canopies are really hard to capture, aren't they? We have one here on the way to the beach and I've taken a bazillion pictures (at least) but have never really captured how pretty it really is in person. :) Glad you had a nice time for your anniversary!!

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    1. Well, SOME people have captured that canopy beautifully. Unfortunately, I ain't one of 'em!

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  25. That sounds like such a fun experience together for your 50th. Quite a milestone and happy anniversary!

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    1. We had a terrific time. Thanks! (It's good to hear from you again!)

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  26. Glad you enjoyed Charleston. You should have come down to Savannah. One of my stops when friends come to visit (I live on Skidaway Island, about 14 miles from downtown Savannah), is to take them to Wormsloe Plantation entrance just to see the long live oak driveway that Forest Gump ran down. It's supposedly the longest in the world.

    As for tea, we are trying to grow a tea plant. I didn't realize that tea related to the camellia plants which quite well here.

    www.thepulpitandthepen.com

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    1. We've been to Savannah before, and we absolutely love it there, but we wanted to go somewhere different. Charleston certainly didn't disappoint. I'll have to put it in my memory band about Wormsloe, in case we ever make it down that-a-way again. We've been to Tybee multiple times. We're amateur radio operators, and several years, we put the lighthouse there "on the air" with a bunch of other hams. Lots of fun! And we were an the command center with GEMA when the G-8 meeting was held on Sea Island. (Some of the intel we were getting was a wee bit scary, but there was a lot of fun involved with that, too, in between the scares.)

      Good luck with your tea plant. I didn't realize they were related to the camellia, either, until we visited that plantation.

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  27. Hi Susan - sorry way late getting here ... and I certainly looked at the Boone Hall information ... looks gorgeous - no wonder you just absorbed life of being there. I'd love to visit and to see the tea plantation ... I drink hot tea - basic stuff! - in fact my main drink is that wet stuff ... water. Sounds like you had a fantastic 50th ... so pleased for you both ... cheers Hilary

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    1. Hi-ya, Hilary. There's no such thing as being late in the blogosphere! :)

      Water is my main drink, too, but I drink a good bit of tea... which is water, only better. HA

      Cheers back atcha!

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