Southern Charm: Savannah, Charleston and Myrtle Beach

There is just nothing like this part of the South. Everything about it says slowdown, enjoy your neighbors and admire God’s handiwork. From the wonderful old trees with the long, low reaching branches, to the iced tea-sipping porches, to the home cooking restaurants and beyond… It has every bit as much southern charm as you might imagine.

It’s an easy flight to Charleston out of our hometown regional airport in East Texas. We made Charleston our homebase and absolutely loved our time there. The wonderful historic neighborhoods have one gorgeous restored home after another. Oh and the pretty and mature landscaping makes meandering through these areas just that much more enticing. I absolutely love the trees there because they have so much character. It’s as if those branches are just reaching down to scoop you up, inviting you to climb them.

One of our most favorite days there, was spent at Middleton Place. It’s an old plantation on the Ashley River where you can explore the massive estate and gardens. You can take tours of the house, and even take a horse and buggy carriage tour around the estate and learn about the rice farming that this plantation is known for. One of the coolest things is that it’s set up to show you all of the aspects of a real working plantation back in the day. There is a guy making pottery, antique equipment, animals etc. Middleton has a story similar to others from that era in that the Union Army overtook them and burned the original home down. The home that you are able to tour, is the home that was subsequently rebuilt and it is furnished from the period. There is also a nice restaurant on the property. We had lunch here and it was very good. Overall, such a beautiful and interesting place to visit.

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Another cool place that we visited in Charleston, is the City Market. This is a must if you go to Charleston. There are 100’s of vendors selling their creations, art, etc. One of my favorite items would be the sweetgrass baskets that they weave and sell here. Great place to find a little piece of the South to take home with you.

It’s amazing to me how many islands there are in the Charleston area with all of the rivers winding through and severing each tract of land. The two large ones are James Island and Johns Island. We explored Johns Island mostly due to a reality Real Estate show originating there. We had to go find the offices shown on the show. Haha Always enjoy TV coming to life.

We ventured south along the coast to Savannah which is just as amazing as Charleston. While we were there we ate at Paula Deen’s famous The Lady and Sons Restaurant. Might want to get here early for this yummy buffet of home cooking. Not just home cooking, but Paula Deen Southern style home cooking. We also took an interesting Paula Deen/Savannah tour. You know that’s another thing we enjoy, is to be driven around and have the history and interesting stories imparted to us. There is so much history and beauty in this Southern city.

Savannah not only has rich history, but also fabulous historic homes. The Federal, Colonial, Greek, Victorian, and other architectural styles keep it intriguing. The neighborhoods are filled with restored estates in beautiful settings just pulling you in. I always wonder about the people who live in these homes…who they are…their history. Maybe it’s the Realtor in me, but I’m always curious how folks live in all of the nook and crannies of this world.

I’m also a fan of the park like squares that have benches around the perimeters with a statue, a monument, or what not in the center. They are filled with old trees and other mature landscaping, providing shade and adding to the character and the appeal. Apparently, Tom Hanks sat on one of the town square park benches in Savannah as part of filming Forrest Gump. Cool. By the way, this is one of Big Dog’s favorite movies. He will watch it if he notices that it’s on. I always say, Tom Hanks doesn’t make a bad movie!

We also headed north from Charleston up the coast to Myrtle Beach. This was a nice day. We mainly just relaxed at the beautiful beach while here. There was a good amount of traffic, even in September along the beach roads. The beach is large enough though and we found a great spot without a lot of people to take in the ocean. Wonderful.

Big Dog’s Review: I have always heard of this part of the USA referred to as “The Old South”. Lots of history with the plantations and old homes, like those of the movie “Gone With the Wind”. On our trip we stayed in Charleston and day tripped to Savanna and Myrtle Beach.
The Middleton Plantation was an amazing stop. When I think of plantations in the south I think of cotton plantations. But, the Middleton Plantation was a rice plantation. The tour we took was very educational. The tour guide explained how water was brought in from the Ashley River. This water flooded the fields to grow the rice and then was drained back to the river. Amazing for the 1800’s!
One day trip took us to the great state of Georgia. Savanna Georgia to be exact. Here we took a city tour of beautiful homes and historical sites. The park bench from where Forrest Gump entertained millions to Paula Deen’s house. We also had lunch at Paula Deen’s restaurant. It was down home southern comfort food at its best!
Myrtle Beach was also a day trip where we relaxed on the wonderful sandy beaches.
Take in the history and the beauty of “The Old South” and visit Charleston SC. The southern charm of Savannah and Charleston doesn’t disappoint.

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