One of the best vacations I've ever had :)

One of the buildings on the Middleton Plantation



The interior of a freed slave's house


Another view of the interior


This a a freedman's house. A freed slave lived here. The original slave quarters on the plantation were destroyed by the Union army during the civil war. (Ironically by a NY Volunteer Regiument)


The blacksmith shop where slaves worked


The carpentry shop



Some of the agricultural tools used then


My son, Jordan. Some of the trees here were amazing. This one was in the neighborhood of 300 years old. One is reputed to be 900 years old!!


A very fine restaurant on the plantation. Excellent food.


The one manor house that was rebuilt after the war by the Middleton family. Two others were completely destroyed.


The remains of the main manor house


The trees were covered with Spanish Moss (which is neither Spanish nor moss) and something called resurrection ferns, which appear dead until it rains, then they turn green and grow.


A man-made body of water on the plantation. I believe it was used for rice cultivation.


My brother with his fiancee and one of the tour guides


The beginning of the plantation tour. An unusual place by Northerner standards to say the least.


Fort Sumpter as our boat approached


The interior of the fort


Another shot of the fort interior


Fort Sumpter-Where the Civil War began


My relative's back yard. I guess he is my great uncle. That is the Intra-Coastal Waterway.


Another view of Ike's back yard.


The pool at the hotel. Always a hit with the kids



I met whole branches of my family I never knew existed. Great folks. We had a series of get togethers at the houses of two of them who lived in Charleston. Food and fun all around. I'm looking forward to our next get together in a year or two. Charleston is a truly beautiful city. A real effort is being made to preserve the old architecture, something I wish we New Yorkers would do :( . A lot of history here too which really appealed to me. I have to admit, I could see myself living there very easily.