Charleston: day one, part one...

Ah, Charleston.  Chams and I have made it back, and the trip was absolutely wonderful.  So much to share...so get ready for several blogs-worth!!

Matthew and Sarah took a similar trip a few weeks back and coached us up on what to do, and what not to do.  They stayed at the Inn at Middleton Place and were extremely pleased.  Chams and I decided to follow suit and knock out our plantation tour early in the trip.

We arrived at Middleton Place around 9:30 eastern time, after (thankfully) an uneventful drive over.  We first made the turn into the main entrance of the plantation, driving up straight to the house (a definite no-no) before being rerouted 1/2 mile down the street to the Inn. 

Chams and I really couldn't really soak it all in, in the darkness.  All we could tell was the room was quaint and comfortable.  The next morning, we had a chance to scope things out.

The grounds of the inn were so beautiful... 

[my eyes are closed (surprisingly not Chams'), but a good picture nonetheless]

No time for dilly-dallying, though, so we quickly enjoyed a free muffin/cereal breakfast, got our coffee to go, and headed toward the plantation and gardens...this time not getting anywhere near the plantation house in our car.

This is all that is left of the original Middleton Place.  It was burned during the Civil War, with the remainder of the house being destroyed in an earthquake.  The "South Flanker" of the plantation is the only thing left today.  It was originally a gentleman's guest quarters.

The Middleton family was very active in politics and foreign affairs.  Arthur Middleton was even a signer of the Declaration of Independence.  Impressive.  What is so great about this place is all the original artwork, furniture and trinkets kept here by the family.  There are beautiful paintings of the family members, and souvenirs of their foreign travels.

The Chapel on the plantation grounds was my favorite thing.  Just the thought of the beautiful songs sung there was so touching.

The stables were still in tact, with sheep, goats and even a few alligators milling around...

Surrounding Middleton Place are wonderfully amazing gardens.  We missed the height of the azaleas by a week or so, but they were still beautiful.

After spending way beyond out allotted time at Middleton Place, we headed into Charleston.  Hominy Grill was on our drive in, and had excellent reviews, so Chams and I stopped in for our first real taste of Charleston.

We thoroughly enjoyed fried green tomatoes for our appetizer...it was the best part of the whole experience.

Chams ordered some type of purloo something, and I got the standard (and well known in Charleston) shrimp and grits.  Hominy was good, but not our favorite of the trip by a long shot.  I think we miss-ordered.  The Big Nasty (fried chicken with gravy and a biscuit) would've been the more correct order, despite its name.  Owell.

From there, we headed on in to the city to visit the Aiken-Rhett house...the only house tour of our trip.  More on that in part two...