Last Day :-(

 Last Day in Charleston.  I am ready to be home but don't look forward to having to say goodbye to Chase!
We had to pack up the VRBO this morning. Rentals are not cheap around here so switching back to a hotel for the last night. 

Today's agenda is Boone Hall Plantation. Upon arrival you drive down the Avenue of Oaks. It is breathtaking! Pictures don't do it justice!



We toured the gardens a bit before our house tour. All the flowers were in bloom and smelled great! The tour of the house was just the first floor as it is still a private residence. When it first opened for tours in the 1950s the family that owned it opened the first floor and lived on the second and third floor with their children. I can't imagine growing up with tours going through my house and wandering my yard and gardens. Because it's a private residence they ask that you don't take pictures inside (I don't really understand as the rooms you can tour are obviously staged).

The main house (the house from the Notebook)

After our house tour we made our way to the Gullah presentation. This was a short talk by a Gullah woman. The Gullah are said to be descendants of the enslaved people of the Lowcountry region (S Carolina, N Carolina, Florida, and Georgia). This woman is a descendant of the slaves at Boone Hall. She did an excellent presentation on family and how they used songs as code. Warnings to get off the road, that an escape with the Underground Railroad was coming or cancelled. She sang and did a little rap. I am really glad we were able to catch it!

They had 9 different slave cabins set up with a different video playing in each. These covered everything from the Civil Rights Movement to daily lives or the slaves to the excavating of cabins to learn more about the history of the people enslaved there.


One last drive down the Avenue of Oaks. Can you imagine this as your driveway???

After Boone Hall we were a bit hungry so went to New Realm Brewing for a beverage and a bite to eat. Kurt and I shared a white bbq smoked turkey sandwich since we were going to supper with Chase we didn't want too much.  Kurt wasn't a huge fan so I ate most of it - I thought it was delicious. They had pretty good beers too.

Checked in to the Drury Hotel and relaxed for a while as we waited on Chase. Went to Big Billy's Hamburger Joint. They had quite an interesting list of burger options. Chase and Kurt both had the macaroni and cheeseburger and I don't think either was super impressed. I had a chili dog with queso that was good. Don't think of any of us would put this on our recommendations list. After supper went back to the hotel for our complimentary drink (gotta love Drury!) and then back to the room to play some Uno Flip. Kurt and Chase ganged up on me and I don't know that I won a game. Chase headed back to base around 8:00 as he had PT in the morning. That means a 5:30 am run (they switched to mornings due to the South Carolina heat). Kurt had I had to be at the airport at 4:30 so we didn't mind the early hour!

So hard to say goodbye. At least right now I have an idea of when I will see him again. Not looking forward to when he is actually deployed and I don't know when I will see him again or even where he will be. 

Chase and his new car



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