The scent of Magnolia

In the true spirit of a journal...

Dec. 26, 2015 - Charleston SC

7 a.m.  - Awake feeling refreshed and ready to explore.  Great bed for a hotel, and that's what matters when you're traveling, not whether the wallpaper is peeling in the bathroom.  The fog has once again taken over (what's with me always managing to find places with poor visibility when I travel?) but it's supposed to clear.  Hope to get out to one of the plantations.

9:30 - finished breakfast, still so foggy that the "riverview" restaurant on the 15th floor shows only pure white outside.  Plantation tours run all day, so will take some time now to clean lenses, backup SD cards to the laptop, and recharge batteries.

10:30 - fog starting to lift, so I make a reservation for one of the plantation tours.  20 minutes later the swamp on the other side of the road is visible from the hotel room window, and I can see several ibis grazing in the marsh grass.  Another 10 minutes later and the sun is shining, the fog should clear completely soon!  I get down to the lobby to meet the driver, and step outside into - omg I should have worn shorts and a tshirt!  It's very humid so good thing it's only about 75 F.  But wow does it ever feel great to be in the warm sunshine.

12:00 - At the Visitor Center, downtown Charleston, getting on a shuttle to the Magnolia Garden Plantation.  My pass includes a tour of the house and a train ride through the Audubon Swamp, where hopefully we will see a couple of alligators and other wildlife.  It's about a half hour's drive, and the driver promises I will get lots of pictures.  On the way, I see the odd small tree loaded with large red or dark pink blooms, but the driver does not know what they are.  The other shuttle passengers think it might be camellia, which I've never seen before to my knowledge.  Gorgeous.

12:30 - Arrive at the Magnolia Plantation, 500 acres of the original 2000, where the Drayton family (who still owns it, the only original owner left in the area) to explore.  I start in the garden as my ticket for the train tour is for the 1:30 train, and the house is at 2:30.  Yes, they are camellia and there are several varieties here at the plantation garden.  And other flowers blooming too, azaleas and magnolias (I think, they smell wonderful!), pansies, snapdragons, sweet william, those are just the ones I recognized.  If I let myself daydream for a few minutes, I could easily be a southern belle walking through the garden with my beau, with a parasol on my shoulder to keep the warm southern sun off my delicate face.  Bahahaha!  Ya right.  Ok, back to reality.  Camera comes out, and catches this little beauty, among others.

There are probably an hour's worth of pathways through the garden, plus a conservatory, but have to get back to catch the "train".

1:30 - The "train" is a tractor pulling a couple of trolley cars typical of tourist attractions.  Find a seat and we pull away.  The driver is chatty and informative, and it isn't long before we start seeing some critters, including large turtles (too far away to get a good shot), ibis, great blue heron, ducks (cinnamon teals), and alligators.  Lots of them.  By the end of the train ride, the driver admits he has never seen so many alligators in one tour.  A couple of dozen at least, all sizes, all sunning themselves on little platforms provided, or swimming about lazily.

   

This one was pretty chill.  A couple of turtles joined him on the platform, although smaller turtles are sometimes gator gourmet.  All in all, a lovely ride, although we didn't stop very often, nor long enough when we did, to get many decent pictures.  

2:30 - House tour.  Interesting, but this isn't a true plantation home as I was expecting.  The current home was the third on the property, and the first one was 13000 sq ft.  Now that's a mansion!  The second was only 11000 sf.  The current one was probably less than half of that.  Very historic, and beautiful, but the wraparound porch probably makes it look twice what it really is.  Still, you could have a party on that porch...

4:00 - back at the hotel, trying to find a decent restaurant that has "southern" or at least local food and that I can still get a reservation for at the last minute.  Stars Rooftop and Grill Room looks awesome, and has availability.  And it's only a 5 minute drive.... score!!!  Reservations at 6:45 so better go clean up...

7:00 - 9:00 - Dinner.  Unbelievable.  Must go back, Stars is amazing, fantastic food, impeccable service, perfect atmosphere (for me), great wine...  As usual, I try to eat local and drink the house specialty.  So, started with a cocktail called an Aviation (how fitting) and it was ah-mazing.  Gin, lemon, maraschino cherry liqueur.  However, this place also added a bit of lavender cordial.  It was actually really good.  Appetizer:  Baked Oysters, with sauteed spinach, Asiago cheese, fresh garlic and brandy.  Phenomenal.  For the main course I chose another appetizer and a sharing plate which was actually exactly the right amount.  The appetizer was "Bacon Tater Tots", so, fluffed potatoes and bacon bits coated and deep fried (like croquettes) and served with a bacon aioli.  The sharing plate I selected was more like a small entree, so perfect.  Rare grilled bluefin tuna, crusted with pecans, served with a spicy mustard, a honey-almond sauce and a mixture of vegetables like heirloom carrots, purple cabbage and mild radishes in a wonderful creamy sauce - they called it Vegetable Slaw but it was the best Slaw I've ever had.  Then dessert, which was Smoked Chocolate 'Smore Pie.  Words do not do it justice.