Friday Fun: Touring the Magnolia Plantation!

 

                I miss vacation and am glad I can relive it here with you for a few days, so I can experience it all over again! Today I want to tell you about our trip to Magnolia Plantation. In my research and in talking with friends who had visited Charleston before, I learned that there are a few plantations you can visit, and I decided on Magnolia, because I thought it would be the best fit for us.

                It sits just outside of Charleston, and I think in driving time it took us about an hour to get there. The road leading up to the entrance of the plantation was BEAUTIFUL, and so was the drive into the estate. So many gorgeous trees.

                We decided to spring for just one extra-pay adventure at this stop, so we had to choose between a boat ride tour through the swamp area or the trolley ride that would take us around the whole grounds. I was leaning toward the boat, and Ryan was in favor of the trolley. We landed on the trolley, and I was sure glad we did! We had a fantastic tour guide and because we did this first, we were able to understand the layout of the entire plantation, and that served us well for the rest of the day. Good choice, Ryan!

                Our tour guide was a history professor (of ancient Egyptian history, actually) at one of the local universities, and this is her summer job. She was incredibly knowledgeable and really energetic (without being annoying). We learned a ton and thoroughly enjoyed her presentation.

                We drove by some swamps and saw all kinds of birds – and some gators. She showed us the different parts of the plantations – cabins from the days of slavery, the rebuilt plantation house (original ones burned), and we ended at this bridge that is one of the most well-known and photographed spots in Charleston. Stunning.

   

                With our entry ticket, we had a slot to visit the inside of the plantation house, but we decided we would eat lunch first. I had read you could purchase food at a walk-up café on the grounds, but you were also permitted to bring in your own food, so we had packed a picnic lunch. We found a table under a giant live oak tree and enjoyed our food! It actually rained a little bit while we were eating, but the tree branches kept us dry, and it was so lovely to sit and listen to the gentle rain while we ate.

                We also checked out the bridge a bit closer and had our picture taken with it. (The last photo is a contender for our US travel map.)

                We walked a few trails, enjoyed some little fairy gardens, and then it was our turn to tour the house.

                We started in the gift shop, mostly because it had air conditioning. As you can see, it was kinda hot. We were so gross.

                Our tour was self-guided with an app feeding us the information. Full disclosure: it wasn’t my favorite. The house was pretty, but I think I would have enjoyed a live tour guide more. (That was an additional charge, I believe, so the app was fine…just not amazing.)

                We were SO hot by that point that we decided to go to the walk-up café, get some iced coffees and return to our table under the live oak tree. So good.

                There was a peacock near our table, in a little wildlife area, and he had a LOT to say. He even gave us a full display of his pretty feathers!

                We went through the wildlife area, saw the other peacock and some other animals. All was well until I saw a snake. The caretaker said it was “just” a chicken snake. You can imagine how well that went over for me. Ryan took a picture. If you’d like to see it, please text him. I do not wish to ever see it in my lifetime.

                A kind couple took our picture in the butterfly garden. We returned the favor!

                We found more fairy gardens and hiked most of the trails in the plantation. Praise the Lord, we never saw a gator or copperhead.

                These tiny cabins housed enslaved people many years ago. It was hard to think about their work and living conditions. These cabins were so primitive, so hot, and so hard to imagine.

                By late afternoon, we were hot, tired, and done, so we came back to the hotel for leftovers and rest. We watched an intense movie called Apex. I requested a nice Hallmark movie after that so I could sleep!

                What a sweet day. What beautiful country!

Travel Thursday: Exploring Downtown Charleston

 

A couple of days ago I introduced you to the beginning of our Charleston vacation! We arrived in town late afternoon on Saturday, so we settled into our hotel and then headed downtown to explore. Our hotel was about a half hour from downtown, so by the time we drove in, found a parking garage that still had space (hello, holiday weekend) and made our way into the heart of the city, it was nearly dinnertime.

                I’d read that the City Market (like a giant farmer’s market) is also open Friday and Saturday nights from March-December. I’d never been to a farmer’s market at night before, so we decided to try that. This market is housed in permanent buildings, and I think there were three or four of these long, skinny building stretched out through multiple city blocks. Not all the booths were open for the night market, but we had fun exploring! We found our Christmas ornament souvenir and another little treasure for our house.

                While exploring, we saw the Charleston Crab House seafood restaurant and noticed it had rooftop seating. That sounded fun, so we put in our names and only had to wait about a half hour. Ryan tried shrimp and grits – and actually enjoyed it – and I got a blackened fish. (Donated the bun and most of the fries to Ryan.)

                After dinner, we walked around some more and wanted coffee and dessert, so we were excited to find a legitimate dessert café. Alas, they didn’t have any seating, so we asked for ours to go. We ordered a sundae to share, but it was ready about a full ten minutes before our coffee and was mostly soup by the time we found a park bench where we could eat. It wasn’t the best experience, which made me so sad!

                By that time, we were tired and ready for some sleep, so we went back to the hotel. Sunday morning was supposed to bring more rain, so we had breakfast at the hotel and spent some time in Bible study/reading/napping, and then we headed back into the heart of the city for more fun.

                We went back to the City Market and got some sandwiches, and then we took them to a cute little park to enjoy lunch outside by the fountain!

                Ryan really wanted a pineapple whip (and I don’t think I’ve had one before…if so, I didn’t remember), so we got those to enjoy while walking around. It was so hot and so crowded.

                Found the cutest fire station!

                And Rainbow Row. These colorful houses are a Charleston landmark, but I was surprised at how hard they were to see through the trees! I guess the pictures I’ve seen are not summer photos.

                We wandered down by the water and walked around a bit. It started looking stormy, and we were ready for some air conditioning and coffee, so we went in search of that – by way of the Pineapple Fountain.

                We found a little coffee shop called Clerks. It was attached to a hotel and kinda fancy. We ordered Americanos and shared a cannoli.

                Ryan’s one goal for the trip was to find a cool hat, so we went back to City Market to check out the hat vendors. He found one! I loved it.

                Then we walked foreverrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr in a lot of people to see the theater where Noah and Allie had their first date in The Notebook.

                Then we had to walk foreverrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr back!

                We were hot and tired by then, so we called it a day, found a Publix to get some food for random meals throughout the week, and rested the remainder of the night!

                Ryan liked downtown Charleston more than I did. I think I would have liked it more if it hadn’t been a holiday weekend. Maybe there were just too many people pressing in. But I am so glad we went, and I did have a lot of fun seeing the famous landmarks!

Wednesday in the Word: Part of the Story

 

                In church on Sunday, I shared a message about Bible study, and I talked about the reasons I love reading and studying from a physical Bible. One of those reasons? The chance to mark verses that are impactful to me…to keep a written legacy of my faith journey.

                Psalm 37:23-24 are among those verses: The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.

                Next to those verses, I’ve written January 25, 2024….praying for open doors in ministry. At that time, I was still working for LifeWise, and I was preparing to fill in for Jonathan during his sabbatical that would start in about four months from that date. I had known since October of the year before that God had placed a call to local church ministry on my life, but I had no idea how or when He would work it out. While LifeWise was about ministry, I knew the job wasn’t the kind of role God was preparing me to do.

                If you’ve ever had a desire to fulfill something the Lord has called you to, you understand the frustration of trying to be faithful where you are while praying for the God-planted desires of your heart. And that’s where I was.

                I found the verse that particular day when I read a social media post written by Christine Caine. She said, “We all want to get from here to there. I love it when I realize I’m standing in a here place that used to be a there place. As I reflect on all the steps I took – being obedient, faithful, staying my course through all the hard times, I realize how my heart and endurance are what got me here. Every step you take today to move you from here to there is ordered of the Lord. Rest in this assurance, resist the temptation to obsess about where you will end up someday, and trust God by being faithful where you are now.”

                Perfectly timed words, right?

                I didn’t know on that day that I would have less than four months left with LifeWise, and that the weeks of filling in for Jonathan (plus the weeks throughout that year that I filled in at a different local church) would be meaningful preparation for what God had for me later that same year.

                I didn’t know on that day that in one year I would be there – working in full time, local church ministry.

                May the Lord always establish and order my steps. May I always delight in His way. As I go through seasons of here-to-there ministry, may I always be faithful where I am and trust that the Lord is always preparing me for moments to come.

                And may He do the same for you!