A day in Charleston, SC...

Charleston, SC is only a 90 minute drive from Myrtle Beach so mom, Hadley and I decided to spend the day there. As we were packing up the car for the drive, Hadley decided that she wanted to get an early start on driving!

We started out the day in Mt. Pleasant, SC, just outside of Charleston at the Boone Hall Plantation. It is registered on the National Register of Historic Places. The plantation includes a large Colonial Revival plantation house, a number of slave cabins (which were occupied by sharecroppers well into the 20th century), several flower gardens, and the historic "Avenue of Oaks." I think I got spoiled by Oak Alley Plantation in Louisiana, as this plantation was nice, but definitely not as grand.

It was so flippin' hot today that we literally drove in the plantation, checked in at the visitor's center, took our tour of the house, sweated off a few pounds...or 20 pounds, and then decided to leave because of the heat and the humidity. I can say that it is honestly the hottest I have been in a very LONG time. We took pictures very quickly. Hadley didn't seem to mind the heat though. She had two fans on her stroller that she wanted to grab and play with instead of enjoy the cool wind.

Did I already say that it was flippin' hot today? We had 101 degree temperatures on Monday, 98 yesterday and 98 again today. WHEW!

After our short visit to the plantation we drove 10 minutes into downtown Charleston. I absolutely love it there. Austin and I visited a few years ago and I have always wanted to go back. It is a town in and of itself. A step back in time, if you will. Once again though, it was very hot. We were going to take a carriage ride around town, but we thought that was a bad idea with Hadley. Instead, we drove around to each attraction.

We started out at Waterfront Park...

...and then headed over to Rainbow Row. Rainbow Row starts at 83 East Bay Street and runs through 107. Rainbow Row is the name for a series of colorful historic houses in Charleston. It is referred to as Rainbow Row for the pastel colors used to paint all of the houses. It is a common tourist attraction and is one of the most photographed parts of Charleston. Common myths concerning Charleston include variants on the reasons for the paint colors. According to some tales, the houses were painted in the various colors such that the intoxicated sailors coming in from port could remember which houses they were to bunk in. In other versions, the colors of the buildings date from their use as stores; the colors were used so that owners could tell illiterate slaves which building to go to for shopping.

The first picture below is of an oil lantern that many houses in Charleston still burn, and the next picture is of a cobble stone street. One of many that still exist in the historic district of Charleston.

Next, we parked the car and walked up on the harbor-walk that overlooks Charleston Harbor. It is an elevated sidewalk that affords great views of the water, the park and many of the historic district's finest homes.

Below are a few pictures of the carriage rides that we were planning on partaking in had the weather been more cooperative!

We drove down the main street in Charleston, Broad Street on our way to the Rhett-Aiken house. We saw several of these baskets for sale throughout the south. Now this lady means business...she accepts Visa and Mastercard!

The Aiken-Rhett House stands alone as the most intact townhouse complex showcasing urban life in antebellum Charleston. Built in 1818 and greatly expanded by Gov. and Mrs. William Aiken, Jr. in the 1830s and 1850s, the house has survived virtually unaltered since 1858.