Our last full day of our Spring Break trip started just 10 minutes away from our Vrbo at the Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. One of the oldest plantations in the South dating from 1679! It’s a beautiful place to wander, take in the scenery, and reflect on the history of plantation life.
Spanish moss!
Photo credit to Kade - he wanted to capture the dragonfly!
Also on the property are five cabins restored to different time periods representing how enslaved people continued to live here - ranging from 1850 to 1900.
What did Brent spot??
That's an alligator!
The Magnolia Plantation is also home to non-releasable animals in their Wildlife Center - animals that cannot be released back into the wild due to injuries or being orphaned too young.
A much bigger alligator than we saw in the pond!
Followed by a "baby" alligator (probably 2 years old)!
We came, we explored, and by the end, we were more than ready for a good lunch and a relaxing afternoon nap.
Riding on our second wind, we got dressed up and headed back into downtown Charleston for dinner. We had a little time to explore South of Broad before our reservation, starting with the Pineapple Fountain along the waterfront.
My handsome boys!
We made our way down Broad Street and wandered into a fascinating historic cemetery tucked behind St. Michael’s Church. The current church building dates to 1761, but the site is even older as the site of the very first church in Charleston, dating from the 1860's (destroyed by fire).
Two co-signers of the US Constitution are buried here - John Rutledge and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney.
We enjoyed Steak dinner at the Oak Steakhouse with a very Charleston view!
The Eason Family all decided we were ready to sleep in our own beds and made the crazy decision to head out after dinner (instead of one more sleep) and so departed at 7:30pm from Charleston, South Carolina, making one coordinated stop at the infamous Buc-ee's Travel Center in Florence, South Carolina (53,000 sq ft travel center with 120 fueling positions!!) and arrived back in Apex, North Carolina right at midnight!
The trip was memorable learning about Southern history! I know it may not have been the boys’ first choice for spring break - there were definitely a few disappointed comments about not being back in the Dominican Republic - but I think they’ll come to appreciate trips like this just as much (like when they're our age!). There were several moments when they connected what they’ve learned in school to what we were seeing firsthand, which was a neat thing to see! Overall, grateful for all the family time and shared experiences.
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