Today I got to check off an item on my southern bucket list (although, like everything else on this trip, it just leads to 5 more things tacked on to it). We visited Boone Hall Plantation.

I chose this plantation on the basis of a few criteria. One was cost, and the all-inclusiveness of the price. One, of course, was ratings. But the one that intrigued me most was the focus on African Americans in the history of the plantation.

This plantation also happens to be a big movie location. The only one of which I had seen was The Notebook. Driving up the mile long avenue of the oaks was a quintessential southern experience, dripping with Spanish moss and punctuated with blooming azaleas and camellias. 

We started our day with a short talk on the life of the slaves. Then on to a presentation given by a granddaughter of a Gullah woman. She sang and told stories. It was very engaging.

Then we toured the 9 original slave quarters. They were full of information through the years. It is unusual for slave quarters to have survived the test of time, since they weren’t made of the best building material. But the plantation was a brick making location, and the quarters were made out of cast off, imperfect bricks. You can even see the finger marks of the slave children who helped make the bricks. There were other slave quarters on the plantation that were made of wood that didn’t survive.

Next up we toured the big house. It is actually a later construction (which is ironic, given the slave quarters are older). The tour guide was great, entertaining. No pictures allowed inside though.

Last up we took a tractor pulled ride through around the acreage. Unfortunately, the speakers were very muffled, and we couldn’t really understand any of it. 

We parked our rv in a parking garage in downtown Charleston. Which could probably warrant a story all of its own. From there we walked to a BBQ joint, which was also on my bucket list. Our server was so sweet, having also come from a big family. And the food was yummy.