Nice Knockers!

A much better day in Charleston today.  This morning, we drove out to an old plantation called Boone Hall.  Driving down the long, long approach to the big house, bordered on either side by Live Oak trees draped in Spanish Moss was an amazing experience -- just like something out of Gone With The Wind (See Extras). We toured the house, and then visited the beautiful rose gardens before going on to see the old slave cabins -- a sobering reminder of a dark period in American history.  We also listened to the most amazing lecture about the Gullah and Geechee culture that sprang up from the importation of slaves from West Africa.  The woman who gave the talk was incredible, weaving stories and information with songs and quotations from the Gullah bible all delivered with the strongest, most commanding, and beautiful voice.  She is a descendant of slaves brought to South Carolina from Angola.

This afternoon, we walked from one end of the historic district in Charleston to the other, enjoying the beautiful old houses with their handsome ironwork balconies, porches (or "piazzas" as they are called locally), fan lights, and door hardware.  This is a collage of several of the brass door knockers we admired.  Lions seem to be quite the thing!