Olde Town Bluffton, South Carolina

 The Heyward House, Visitor Center, in Olde Town Bluffton.  This house is one of only 15 buildings that survived being burned in 1863 by The Union.  But, let's back up a bit.  Bluffton is an easy day trip for anyone visiting Hilton Head Island.  It's about 8 miles one way, around 15 minutes depending on traffic.  Bluffton is situated on the May River, has bluffs over looking Glenn Cove, Heyward Cove, Huger Cove, and Verdier Cove.  You get the picture of lots of water.  Bluffton was once a summer place for the rich and famous.  Though plantations were vast holdings of land and typically worked by slaves, the land owners apparently still needed to "get away".  The area, the low country wasn't the nicest or easiest place to live with rats, mosquito's, alligators and the like.  The very weather and swampy conditions that could make a white plantation owner wealthy were also the very conditions that were hard on his family.  Yellow fever was a constant threat in the low country.  Wealthy families "summered" elsewhere while their plantation overseers and slaves worked the land back on the plantation.  Bluffton provided cooler breezes being on higher ground,  protection from the mosquitoes, rats, and alligators, and transportation for goods with the water ways. 

 Because the rich land owners gathered here many political discussions took place.  Now we all know South Carolina is where the Civil War began, but Bluffton, not Charleston is probably where the talk of secession took hold first.  Discussions about secession took place as early as 1844.  When war did in fact break out, and Hilton Head Island and Beaufort were occupied by The Union families vacated Bluffton.  Bluffton was utilized by Confederate Pickets as a base to spy on Union activities. 

 The house was originally built as a summer house for John Cole and is the 4th oldest structure remaining southern Beaufort County.  Guided tours of the house are available, as well as free maps of a olde town walking tour.  This old elaborate mirror is signed by a Union Soldier from New York.  Though it's hard to read, it gives the date of July 12, 1863.  I can't make out the name, and sadly I don't remember it, but you can read it's Company E 6th NY.

 Much in the house is in fact original.  Beautiful quilts.

 A game that looks similar to checkers.

 A singer sewing machine.  This one is much smaller then an old treadle machine I have.

 A beautiful wedding dress.  You may not be able to tell from the picture, but when you stand next to it, you realize how much smaller women/people were in those days.

 This 2nd Singer predates the treadle.  It's in fabulous condition and you see the carry case even.  Can you imagine the skill it took to crank the wheel with one hand while using the other hand to feed the fabric through the machine? 

 I don't recall seeing Slave Tiles before this tour; but our tour guide said we probably had but they might not have been discussed, or labeled.  Tiles were hand made by slaves and unique to that property.  While on a tour in Savannah, we saw an entire building made from bricks from slave tiles.  These bricks are very expensive and highly sought after.

 A slave dwelling remains on property.  Records indicate this slave dwelling was probably built before the main house and used while the slaves built the main house.  While not the smallest of similar dwellings I've seen on tours in The South, you wonder how many people lived in this one small room.

The name Heyward, has a huge presence in South Carolina.  You see streets with the name, we've toured plantations where Heywards lived, and other large family homes.  Prominent family members graves are scattered about The Hilton Head, Charleston, Beaufort area.  As you travel around the low country "rich" takes on a how different picture.  The wealthy plantation owners owned so much, houses and land here there and everywhere it seems. 

Thomas Heyward was a signer of The Declaration
as well as The Articles of The Confederacy.

Lunch in Bluffton South Carolina at 55 Vineyard

The 55 Winery in Olde Town Bluffton also called 55 Vineyard is located at 55 Calhoun St and is a must stop when visiting Olde Town Bluffton.  A great day trip, only about half an hour from Hilton Head.  As you can see very quaint little winery with a wonderful wine selection.  It's rustic interior is very comfortable whether sitting at one of tables made from wine barrels or the small bar.

 They have an excellent and very comfortable patio, covered for sun protection with outside fans during warmer weather.  The menu is varied.  We opted for personal pizza and a choice of adult beverages for lunch.  It's peaceful and relaxing there on the patio.  Even has a porch swing at one end, several rocking chairs in addition to the tables and chairs. 

 Another view of the inside.

 Oophs, my wine glass is empty.  This problem can be solved as I preview the list of what we've already seen and what we'll see next on our walking tour of Bluffton.

 Hey, let's try a picture of the two of us.  The kids manage to do it all the time.  Typically, we're not able to get both of us actually in the picture, so this was a surprise.

You can see the rockers, the pretty greenery.  It doesn't get alot better folks.  Great food, super service, wonderful atmosphere and lunch outside on the patio.  Add this to your list of places to stop and enjoy yourself.

*hope you've enjoyed the newest Menu Monday post, even a wee bit early, check back next week*

Crazy Crab Hilton Head Island

 What to do when you've been out shopping in Harbour Town on your BIKE, and it starts raining?  Hubby says, "you hungry?"  Great plan, let's have lunch here instead of riding our bikes back to the condo (Marriott's Monarch), and maybe by the time lunch is over...the rain will be gone.  Normally riding a bike in the rain isn't a big deal.  Unless it's cold, which it wasn't.  But, I had just purchased a nice wool sweater and really didn't want to get the new sweater all wet in the ride back.  Doesn't the Bloody Mary look awesome?  It was!

 And how perfect is this?  Naturally a beachy place for lunch is the place to stop.  The Crazy Crab in Harbour Town isn't the only Crazy Crab on the Island; but this location is perfect for shopping, eating, and sight-seeing.

 The menu is quite diverse, from simple things like my Fish N Chips to Lobster.  The place really rocks at night, I'm told.  It's quite large with several different rooms.

 Now this is the best fish n chips I've ever eaten.  Truly.  Not the last bit greasy.  I'm not a lover of fish at all and enjoyed every bite.  The slaw was fabulous and even the tartar sause and cocktail sauce were special.  I highly recommend you put this on your must eat list.  Hubby had, I think blacken grouper which was also fabulous. 

When lunch was over, it was still raining a bit.  So the manager double bagged my new sweater to help me keep it dry while I made my way to the bike rack.    However, hubby had gone ahead and brought the car back.  He was already wet and being nice thought it silly for 2 of us to be wet, so I drove the car back and he road my bike back.  What a guy!

I've mentioned this restaurant in a previous post, from an earlier trip, HERE; but this is the first we've eaten.  It won't be the only time though.  We do plan to return.  It's family oriented, casual, but has a nice upscale menu for adults in the evening.  Service was excellent.

*next Menu Monday is February 3, 2013.*


 

Alligators on Hilton Head Island Alive and Well

 How many alligators do you typical see when you're out for a bike ride?  One, two, or maybe three?  At least 3 would be my answer.  This is one pon/lagoon, one sunny spot further down the bike path/trail/road another pond/lagoon had 3 or 4 more.  They were further away so I wasn't able to get a picture.  I saw alligators several days in row, almost in the same spot.  Now being from Ohio, I'm not accustomed to seeing alligators.  But, after spending 2 weeks on Hilton Head Island, it began to seem the "norm".

The one in middle almost silver.  The one on the right was huge.  Probably can't really tell that from my little point and shot camera...AND, no......I didn't try to get closer for a picture.  Males are typically about 12 feet long and weight around 500 pounds, though last May, 2012 a 13 foot male weighing 1,000 was found in Bluffton which is about 45 minutes from Hilton Head.  Female's are smaller, around 160 pounds, but regardless of the size they have 40 teeth and can produce 3,000 pounds of pressure with their mighty jaws.  Normally they hibernate in the winter months, trying to stay warm in their mud dens from October to May, so my seeing them almost everyday in January is a apparently unusual.  I've seen them other trips there, also in January; but nothing like the number I saw this time round.

They will eat almost anything, and anybody if provoked.  There are signs everwhere warning people to stay away, to not feed them, and not harass them.  When out west in places like Yellowstone where wildlife abounds....you always see some idiot who thinks the sign means everyone but him or her.  I would imagine the same thing happens here on Hilton Head Island.  If you feed them, you will be heavily fined.  And once you feed them, you can almost bet the gator will have to be killed.  Why?  Because once fed by humans they will approach and become aggressive.  Even when not provoked small pets and children are at risk and should not be around lagoons, particularly not the edge.  In addition to the wild life they've been known to eat rabbits, small deer, and dogs.

The are cold blooded animals, so warm themselves with the sun, and cool themselves with the water depending on the time of the year.  Though they are a fresh water creature, they will travel through salt water to get to better food so can be found even on the beach, or in the marshes.  Spring and Fall is suppose to be the best time to see them.

Mothers protect their young.  Alligators can protect their young up to 3 years, and even a non aggressive Gator will go after anything and anyone without fear if they feel their young are in danger.   So, even if you don't see the Mother Gator; chances are she is there and you should be ware.

Alligators are very quick and very fast, they can outrun most people, even a horse for a short distance, something around 50 yards.  If you're being chased by one; you should run a zig zag pattern; as they can't make turns very fast.

Though the population is prevalent on Hilton Head Island, large gators are removed to protect humans on The Island.

Makes me wonder about Alligator shoes, and hats.....

One Hundred Miles of Bike Fun at Hilton Head Island South Carolina

Walk, Run, Pedal along with me on Hilton Head Island South Carolina.  This red bike with a nice comfy seat was my transportation during the first week of our 2 week vacation.  Rented this bike directly from Marriott's Monarch Resort for $30.00 a week which included the basket, the lock, delivery, and set up.  You really must rent a bike while on The Island.  It's loads of fun, easy, cheap and great exercise.  You can ride for miles and miles and miles.  The beach is nice and packed making it a wonderful place to ride as well as all the bike paths.  AND, as you can see wide open during the winter months.  We've traveled to Hilton Head now for the 4th year during either January or February.  Love it.  No, it's not the time of year to go if you want to bake yourself on the beach; but it's a great time of year to go for peace, quiet, fewer crowds, cheaper prices and there's much to see and do.

 This map shows the bike trails and the shared bike paths...both paved and not throughout the Island.  The part that looks like the toe of the foot is Sea Pines Plantation and they have their own map, showing the trails and paths there.  It changes constantly, but currently there are over 100 miles of bike trails/paths and shared roadways to enjoy.  Biking is easy as there very little up or down hill biking to worry about.  Staying on the bike paths also helps you avoid traffic and is safe for people of all ages.  Though I think you'll see more families during the traditional beach months, June, July and August when the kids are out of school.

Once again you can see the Island truly is shaped like a foot.  This map shows all the Marriott resorts in the area.  Marriott has a huge presence on the Island both with hotels, timeshares, and The Marriott Resort.  Click to enlarge so you can read the resorts names.  There are 3 time shares in Sea Pines, with a 4th near by that has easy access.  Some of the Marriott's are on the ocean, some on the marsh, some in the harbor area. 

Here's the bike trail map of the Sea Pines area where one can ride in a very picturesque setting of ponds, golf courses, ocean, marsh and wildlife areas.  There's shopping and dining by bike as well.  I've added some color dots to this map of locations where we've stayed.  Up by the lighthouse where the red dot is Heritage Club in Harbour Town where we've stayed twice.  Very nice adult oriented time share.  The purple dot middle bottom is the approximate location of Marriott's Monarch, the very first timeshare.  We spent our first week there this trip and really enjoyed it.  More on Monarch to follow in other posts.  Biking from there is the best of both worlds.  You're on the beach and in the middle of Sea Pines with somewhere around 17 miles of bike paths!  To the right bottom of the map is the blue dot which represents Marriott's Grande Ocean Resort.  This resort is also right on the beach and has it's own rather large bike shop.  It's a large resort and probably the most family oriented of the 3 with lots of extra kid friendly activities.

Will be blogging in more detail about the various resorts, what to see and do; but......hop on your bike and follow along; don't want you to miss anything.

**You'll be seeing some changes here on the blog, as this newer template doesn't work quite right.  Too bad, it seems perfect.  The previous blog template went by the wayside as many of the graphics on it weren't supported so I nabbed this one awhile back and see there's still need to keep looking, please bare with me**

Drayton Hall, Charleston South Carolina

Drayton Hall
The front of the historic sign indicates this plantation house is the only one along the Ashley River that has survived. That's it architecture is that of Georgian Palladian. The nature of that architecture is that the house inside and outside is balanced. What is to the right of door for example visually appears to be the same as that on left. If a bookcase or fireplace is a room with a shelf or window or one side, you'll find the same feature on the other.

Side 2 of the sign talks about how grand, the Drayton families were. That William Henry (1742-1779) was a Revolutionary War Patriot, and Chief Justice in South Carolina, and a member of The Continental Congress. A person who fought for his rights, a person who fought to be free of someone else's control. It goes on to tell us Dr. Charles Drayton (1743-1822) was Lt. Governor, and John Drayton (1767-1822) was Governor of the State of South Carolina. Well yes, on the surface this would seem to be quite a family. It does not tell us about the huge number of slaves they owned. I personally found it ironic that a family who fought for their own freedoms, from the control of others would ignore the rights of others, and not only control them...as England tried to control the colonies; but buy and sell them and hold them in bondage.
This is the front view of the large plantation house. Notice the number of windows on each side of the door, the stairs lending up both sides. The balance of the design.

A side view gives you a feel for the depth and size of this house. This was indeed a grand house that would have been surrounding with out buildings, slave quarters, crops and the like.
And speaking of out buildings.

Notice again the balance with a doorway on each side of the fire place. The family crest above the fireplace. There were examples in the house where a door might not have been a door, but appeared to be by the way it way painted and the molding etc....this might have been one.

A magnificent tree. It was quite large with moss hanging down. Here it looks rather eery due to very bad smoke the day we were there; due to forest fires in the area.

Beautiful details even on the ceiling.

Excavation has taken place and plenty more scheduled. This plantation, is a preservation project , not a restoration project. There are 2 distinct schools of thought on learning history from historic areas/houses etc. Preservationists believe things should not be rebuilt, as rebuilding focuses on one time in history. They believe letting something stay in it's natural state is more of a living history. Personally, I disagree. I would rather have seen this place restored, to see it in all it's grandeur. The grandeur is what demanded the use of slaves, and as that was it's peak time, it's place in history such a vital part of our country; I'm not sure what happened to the house afterwards is of much interest. So, one family changed a color in a room, or added shelves or took out a wall...that seems insignificant to me. But, to see this house as it was, with period furnishes would have been a marvel to me

A small gift shop/museum is on the grounds.

Looking up to the 2nd story. Again...balance, details in the stairs and the walls.

Difficult o see, but if you click to enlarge and look where the Guides finger is pointing, you'll see a growth chart. Every year the family's children would measure up.

Another view of the staircase. Can't you see someone in a fine gown decending...making their appearance as the quest looked up?

Though the older generations don't appear to be buried on property there is a small circular grave area. Only 2 burials appear to be here, that of Mary Jervey Drayton (July 13, 1920 through March 22, 2006), and John Garrnett Nelson (March 11, 1939 through Dec 8th, 1999). Obviously these are very recent burials. The hope is that these later generations will have a place at The Drayton Home. The center stone reads Haciter Ad Astra, which was the family motto, meaning; "this way to the stars".
A model showing 2 additional buildings exists. One of these building footprint is marked from the excavations.

The plantation became part of a National Trust in 1974.

It was very interesting, and I do recommend the tours for adults; definitely not for small children. There's lots of talking and no one is permitted to touch anything, or sit down. Standing still and listening would be very difficult for children. There's also a rather heavy push for contributions to the cause at the end of the tour. I'm all for honoring and remembering history, and giving people the opportunity to participate via contributions. But, you see the sign about that as you drive in; it's on your ticket, and your pamphlet, signs in the gift shop...and so the push at the end of the tour seemed a bit over bearing to my way of thinking.