Spring Break in Charleston (Day Three)

Monday morning we went to breakfast at a recommended spot called Toast.  They serve "bottomless mimosas" and breakfast food until 10 pm.  I ordered (of course) the Original French Toast with a side of fruit.  I have to be honest, the french toast wasn't the best I've ever had.  They offered a stuffed french toast, but I don't like filled doughnuts or toast/pastries.  I'm guessing their stuffed french toast was probably a bit better.

After breakfast, we went back to the hotel and got the rental car, then drove out to Boone Hall plantation.  Boone Hall is one of the oldest working plantations in the U.S. and is about 20 minutes outside of Charleston in Mount Pleasant.  

 

 The thing I loved most about the plantation was seeing the beautiful trees.  They lined the long driveway and were spread over the property.  They were so huge and provided so much shade underneath... I just wanted to get a good book and a blanket and spend the day underneath the trees!! 

  

The slave quarters were a bit more somber than the beautiful, serene driveway... In each of the slave houses, there was a different exhibit regarding aspects of the slaves' lives and even the Civil Rights Movement.  In one of the slave houses, archaeologists had dug up the floorboards and found animal bones underneath: proof that the slaves hunted during the night to provide extra food for their families.  Some research shows that, with the added animal meat, the slaves that hunted likely had better nutrition than their masters!!   

Heartbreaking... In the first photo above, J is looking at a list of all the slave ships that landed in Charleston.  In the second photo, I was wondering why the list of slaves for auction often said "1/2-Hand" after the names.  After watching a video in the exhibit, we learned that it meant the person was aged 12 or under.  It broke my heart to visually see just how many children were being sold and separated from their parents and other members of their family. 

Boone Hall was a gorgeous home... But I was a little surprised at its size once I was inside.  I guess in the movies like Gone With the Wind they portray the old Southern mansions to be so enormous... I expected sprawling, gleaming Twelve Oaks-like interiors.  Leave it to Hollywood... Creating unrealistic expectations for years.  

Twelve Oaks... The Wilkes family plantation in "Gone With the Wind"

The Atlanta home Rhett builds for Scarlett in "Gone With the Wind"

Unfortunately, I wasn't even able to admire the Boone Hall interior for long... I have no idea why, but I started feeling really warm and dizzy right before we walked inside.  By the time the tour guide was speaking, I could barely hear her and the room turned to a pale shade of gray.  I told J I was either going to be sick or pass out... I tried to wait for the tour guide to finish speaking as the edges of my vision disappeared... And then boom! - I felt my knees go and somehow J had me out of the room, up the stairs, and into a chair in the foyer in seconds.  

A doctor from the crowd came over and told J to take me outside to a bench and get my feet elevated above my head.  He did, and within a few minutes I started to feel much better.  After we left the plantation, we had lunch at McAlister's Deli.  Apparently these little gems are all over the South and some of the Midwest?!  You Southern girls are so lucky!!  I got the Spicy Southwest Chicken Griller, and it was so yummy.  I was shocked for it being just a quick place to stop and grab something.  

 After lunch, J and I went back to the hotel to rest and so I could catch up on blogging a bit.  We were both tired... J was feeling a little sick and I was feeling exhausted after fainting around like Ms. O'Hara all day.  :)  J offered to stay in and order room service that evening so that I could watch The Bachelor: Women Tell All.  He is a keeper for sure!!

Via People.com

Did you guys watch the WTA episode??  What did you think of Courtney's sob story??  Who do you think Ben will pick next Monday?!


Xoxo B.