Day 6, Saturday, June 12, 2021, New Bern, NC (337 miles)

Travel day.  Departed Charleston 10:00 and arrived at New Bern KOA (50 amp FHU) at 4:30. Nice campground on the Neuse River with boat launch, docks and rentals. Got our steps in after dinner in a delightfully cool breeze.

Day 5, Friday, June 11, 2021, Charleston, SC

A morning visit to the Middleton Place, a National Historic Landmark, claiming to be the oldest landscaped gardens in the US.  The Middleton family resided here from 1741 to 1865.  Henry Middleton was a President of the First Continental Congress; Arthur, a signer of the Declaration of Independence; another Henry, Governor of SC; and Williams, a signer of the Ordinance of Succession. The property adjoins the Ashley River and the gardens are gorgeous in spite of the azaleas and camellias past their bloom. Many farm animals reside here including Gulf Coast Sheep which made a lot of noise and Cashmere Goats which I had never seen before and were quite beautiful.  The goats moved around a lot so difficult to get a good photo. The Middleton Oak is estimated to be 900-1,000 years old. To its credit, the place gives lots of credit to the slaves which made the gardens possible. After lunch we headed to the Angel Oak Tree which is approximately 400 years old .  We saw it in 2014 and thought it so impressive we wanted to see it again.  Covering 17,000 square feet and still impressive. From there we headed to the Charleston Tea Plantation on Wadmalaw Island which we also visited in 2014.  At North America’s only tea plantation we filled ourselves with various hot and iced teas and toured the tea process. On the way back to the coach we hit a heavy rainstorm which gave my car a much needed washing. Fortunately, the rain stopped before we got back to the coach.

Day 4, Thursday, June 10, 2021, Charleston, SC

Bright sunshine to start the day allowed me to remove the driver side headlight which had burned out.  This required me to lay on my back under the front end of the coach and fully extend my arm to reach the bulb.  A shorter arm and I would have been out of luck. We visited the Magnolia Plantation & Gardens.  The gardens are the oldest in America having been established in 1676.  We spent two hours walking around the 60 acres.  The informal gardens are nice but not the most beautiful we have experienced. It probably should be visited in the spring when it is in full bloom especially since one of our goals is to leave the summer Florida heat. The South Carolina heat is just as bad. On the way back to the coach for lunch we stopped at NAPA auto parts to pick up a new headlight. A four minute fix and the headlight was good as new. After lunch, we headed to downtown Charleston and had a guided tour of the Nathaniel Russell House Museum. The three story house is Federalist (aka Georgian) style circa 1808 and features a beautiful three story free-flying staircase with no visible means of support. We then walked along the Battery wall, viewed the Edmondston-Alston House, and walked around downtown including a visit to the Charleston City Market where we purchased some coconut cashews and two packages of “Bennies”, a sesame cookie/cracker - a little sweet, a little salty. On the way back to the coach, we picked up a rack of ribs and baked beans with brisket from Swig & Swine and had a delicious dinner.  The forecasted rain never came and made for a good day.

Day 3, Wednesday, June 9, 2021, Charleston, SC (212 miles)

Well, it was a good night’s sleep until about 5:15 am when the jets started flying what seemed like just a few hundred feet above us. Scratched Pecan Park RV Resort off our list in the future.  An easy drive to the Old Plantation Campground (50 amp FHU) in Charleston, SC.  We arrived at our campsite around 3:00 and just as I was finishing hooking up the rain came and lasted the rest of the afternoon.  Good chance to relax and catch up on some reading.