Charleston and on to Beaufort SC

We continued our wonderful culinary adventure with several new places and a return to 39 Rue de Jean for mussels. Yum

That evening we were entertained by the Christmas boat parade, which went by our marina so we had front row seats to the colorful and very entertaining event!

Quite imaginative








We played tourist with a trip to an old and wonderful home in Charleston called Middleton Place.

The home was built by a signer of the Declaration of Independence and was destroyed by Union Troops just before the end of the civil war. The owner, a 4th generation descendant had been a signer  of the South Carolina's Ordinance of Session. Once wealthy, now poor after the Civil War, they rebuilt the side guest house which exists today. The gardens, patterned after Versailles in France are restored and breathtaking.

We took a tour of the grounds by buggy which include the 110 acres of the estate and parts of the estate still owned by the family
(over 1000 acres). Quite interesting and was a great learning experience.

We toured the house  (sorry no pictures) and then a garden tour.

The gardens were delightful. They had some species of plants that are the first to have been imported to the US. They have over 30,000 azaleas.

On Monday we left Charleston for Beaufort SC. Our trip was pleasant and uneventful. It started out chilly but by midday we had de-layered and warmed up a bit. We will depart tomorrow morning for Isle of Hope Ga.