Our original plan for today had included visiting Historic Brattonsville and a place called the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens, but Tom had a brilliant suggestions. Our hotel was just down the road from the NC Arboretum where my grandmother used to volunteer. Instead of going to other gardens, which are farther away, we decided go visit the ones that have a family connection and are literally two miles down the road.
And so we did! A lovely, sunny morning with a nice breeze made for a very pleasant visit. We were there just at opening time, so there weren't a lot of folks around, and we were able to meander through the assorted gardens. This being very early April, a lot of the plants aren't blooming yet, but what we saw were lovely. I was especially fond of the bonsai garden.
It made for a quiet start to the day, then it was on the road for South Carolina.
Neither one of us knew there was such a thing as the Eastern Continental Divide until we passed a road sign telling us we'd just reached it. The downhill side was pretty abrupt, with a good drop-off, but there were at least trees to block most of the view.
We eventually reached Historic Brattonsville shortly after noon. It's in the middle of backwoods South Carolina and was not very busy.
Brattonsville was the site of a Revolutionary War battle--the Battle of Huck's Defeat or the Battle of Williamson's Plantation. There are several buildings on site, both ``18th and 19th century. The Bratton family held a plantation there, and the site included historical information about both the Scots-Irish Bratton family and their slaves.
Most of the buildings on site were either reproductions on the foundations of original buildings or period buildings which had been moved from elsewhere to be a part of the site. There were, however, also some buildings that were original to the place. Most that were open to the public had been furnished in period-appropriate fashion.
The place reminded me very much of Camlann Village--which represents a village in medieval England and at which I worked for many years--in that it was manned by historical interpreters partaking in historical crafts and activities, including spinning and caring for the animals on site. The animals included a horse, some cows, many chickens, pigs with piglets, and sheep--with eight shiny new lambs, including two who had been born only yesterday. SO CUTE!
The other animals on site were the copious and voluminous bees and wasps. Waaaaay too many large stinging insects. Still, they pretty much seemed to ignore us and go about their business, so that was good.
Overall, we really enjoyed the slower pace and significantly smaller crowds at both stops today. I learned about the south's involvement in the Revolutionary War, which I've always considered a mostly northern thing, although that is clearly not the case.
After our adventure into South Carolina we drove back into North Carolina and are staying just on the outskirts of Charlotte tonight. Tomorrow should involve a bit less driving, though possibly more crowds. It's also supposed to be our first real rain day. Glad that I brought a good jacket along!
And so we did! A lovely, sunny morning with a nice breeze made for a very pleasant visit. We were there just at opening time, so there weren't a lot of folks around, and we were able to meander through the assorted gardens. This being very early April, a lot of the plants aren't blooming yet, but what we saw were lovely. I was especially fond of the bonsai garden.
It made for a quiet start to the day, then it was on the road for South Carolina.
Neither one of us knew there was such a thing as the Eastern Continental Divide until we passed a road sign telling us we'd just reached it. The downhill side was pretty abrupt, with a good drop-off, but there were at least trees to block most of the view.
We eventually reached Historic Brattonsville shortly after noon. It's in the middle of backwoods South Carolina and was not very busy.
Brattonsville was the site of a Revolutionary War battle--the Battle of Huck's Defeat or the Battle of Williamson's Plantation. There are several buildings on site, both ``18th and 19th century. The Bratton family held a plantation there, and the site included historical information about both the Scots-Irish Bratton family and their slaves.
Most of the buildings on site were either reproductions on the foundations of original buildings or period buildings which had been moved from elsewhere to be a part of the site. There were, however, also some buildings that were original to the place. Most that were open to the public had been furnished in period-appropriate fashion.
The place reminded me very much of Camlann Village--which represents a village in medieval England and at which I worked for many years--in that it was manned by historical interpreters partaking in historical crafts and activities, including spinning and caring for the animals on site. The animals included a horse, some cows, many chickens, pigs with piglets, and sheep--with eight shiny new lambs, including two who had been born only yesterday. SO CUTE!
The other animals on site were the copious and voluminous bees and wasps. Waaaaay too many large stinging insects. Still, they pretty much seemed to ignore us and go about their business, so that was good.
Overall, we really enjoyed the slower pace and significantly smaller crowds at both stops today. I learned about the south's involvement in the Revolutionary War, which I've always considered a mostly northern thing, although that is clearly not the case.
After our adventure into South Carolina we drove back into North Carolina and are staying just on the outskirts of Charlotte tonight. Tomorrow should involve a bit less driving, though possibly more crowds. It's also supposed to be our first real rain day. Glad that I brought a good jacket along!
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