September 6 - Biltmore Estate (YRE)

The Biltmore Estate is one of those bucket list places I’ve always heard about, and I’m so glad I finally got a chance to visit it.  It was absolutely breath taking.  Sure, it is over-the-top ostentatious, but it is also a national treasure.  Biltmore House is the gorgeous châteauesque home built by George Vanderbilt in 1895. No expense was spared, and no detail was too small to merit attention in this lavish mountain retreat.

I’m not going to go into a lot of detail about Biltmore House, or about the grounds, designed by Frederick Law Olmstead (but I could, and I might supplement this post after I get home).  I will just say, go see it, and rent the audio tour.

Biltmore contains over 250 rooms and we toured 42 of them.  Then we did a 5K volkswalk on the grounds.  It was a beautiful day and it was delightful to wander through gardens and woods.   

We started out on the terrace where the view of the Blue Ridge Mountains was stunning.  After walking through an arbor, we walked through the Spring Garden and the Azalea Garden.   The landscaping was artfully blended into the forest to create a beautiful, peaceful environment.  Rustic bridges complemented the paths of the estate.   

The Boat House

At the Bass Pond, we were treated to the Boat House, a small gazebo on the edge of the water.  At the other end of the pond we caught a view of a little waterfall and a pleasant natural stream. 

The Conservatory

Inside the Walled Garden

The final part of the walk took us to the Walled Garden and the Conservatory.  The conservatory is a huge hothouse with every type of tropical plant you can think of, and lots of inviting nooks to sit in.  The Walled Garden was a huge formal garden with flowers, fruit trees, ornamental plants, and lots of roses.  Olmstead was a genius, but we already knew that.

After our walk we went to Antler Hill Village, a newly developed area of the Biltmore Estate.  We saw a fabulous exhibition of Tiffany Lamps and went to wine tasting at the winery. There wasn’t much else there.

Rating:

Walk Route: A

Walk Documentation: B-

September 5 - Columbia (YRE)

State House

We did the 10K walk in Columbia on Labor Day.  This meant there was practically no traffic.  It also meant that EVERYTHING was closed: restaurants, museums, stores, even the Capitol Building. 

Our walk included the State House and grounds, the University of South Carolina campus, Woodrow Wilson’s boyhood home, the Robert Mills house, the Governor’s Mansion, half a dozen other notable houses, Finlay Park, Memorial Park, and Adluh Flour Mills.  All of these points of interest were closed with the exception of the two parks and the University campus.   

 

Waterfall at Finlay Park

There were very few people about.  We didn’t see anyone on the USC campus.  We saw people in only two places: a large crowd of homeless people in Finlay Park where they seemed to be having some kind of program aimed at helping homeless people and a large crowd of members of the press at the Convention Center where they were preparing for a Republican presidential candidate’s debate.

"Tunnelvision," a mural by Blue Sky

Busted Plug

When they were giving out charm and vitality, they gave so much to Savannah and Charleston that there wasn’t much left for Columbia. 

The walk instructions had a nice supplement describing 23 different points of interest. There were a couple of places where the instructions were hard to follow.

Prominent Feature of the downtown skyline

Rating:

Walk Route: C+

Walk Documentation: B-

September 4 - Charleston: Magnolia Plantation (YRE)

The Audubon Swamp Garden

Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, the oldest plantation on the Ashley River, dates to 1676.  Originally a rice plantation, Magnolia became known for its gardens after the Reverend John Grimke Drayton inherited the property in the 1840s and began to rework its gardens in an English style. According to legend, he built the gardens to lure his bride south from her native Philadelphia. Dripping with pink and red azalea flowers and framed by live oak trees, the gardens of Magnolia on the Ashley were quite well known in the Antebellum period, and were photographed by Mathew Brady, who would later become famous for his photographs of the Civil War. Another visitor to Magnolia in this period was John James Audubon for whom Magnolia's Audubon Swamp Garden is named.

Cypress "Knees"

Slave Cabin

Today, Magnolia Plantation is a thriving tourist attraction with a restored plantation house, slave cabins and a slavery history tour, a nature train, a marsh boat tour, a wildlife area, a petting zoo and, of course, gardens. Many of today's attractions were built starting in 1975 during the garden's renewal.

We had to buy entrance tickets in order to do the volkswalk, and the various ticket options were confusing.  We didn’t know which tickets we needed for the volkswalk, so we bought the basic ticket and that turned out ok.  We also bought the Nature Boat tickets and we were able to enjoy the boat tour after our walk.

We chose the 5K walk and got to see almost everything but the the Wildlife Observation Tower and the Waterfowl Refuge.  (We saw the Waterfowl Refuge on the boat tour.  Our walk included, or at least passed by the entrance to, the following features:

•          Barbados Tropical Garden - indoor tropical garden with many varieties of orchids
•          Biblical Garden - plants mentioned in the Bible, with an Old Testament area commemorating the twelve tribes of Israel, and New Testament area representing the twelve disciples
•          Camellia Collection - First Camellia japonica plantings date from the 1820s, with current plantings containing nearly 900 varieties, of which almost 150 originated from the gardens' own nursery
•         Cattail Wildlife Refuge
•          Cypress Lake - Bald cypress trees, up to 100 years old, along riverbanks and wetlands.
•          Flowerdale (50 acres) - Oldest sections established 1680. Formal plantings of annuals set within triangular beds enclosed by boxwood hedges
•          Long Bridge - Built in the 1840s, one of seven bridges on the grounds
•           Maze - replica of England's famous Hampton Court maze
•         Nature Center and Zoo - domesticated animals typical to Southern plantations, injured or orphaned native animals, and exotic birds including Malayan jungle fowl, guinea hens, and peacocks
•          The Audubon Swamp Garden
•          Slave cabins
•          A very old cemetery
•          A barge used long ago to transport goods to Charleston. (Because the Ashley River is tidal in this area, it was possible, with careful timing, to take the 3 ½ hour barge trip in both directions!)
•          Plantation House - Oldest section built prior to the Revolutionary War near Summerville, SC, and transported down the Ashley River after the Civil War. The wide verandah and huge columns are a fairly recent addition.

The Old Cemetery

Gator!

We saw some turtles and alligators in the Audubon Swamp and we saw a number of interesting birds on the boat tour, including egrets, herons, wood ducks, ibis, and anhinga.  There were several ancient live oak trees on the property, as well as fresh water lakes and salt marshes.

The gardens, with the exception of “Flowerdale,” were not the formal type of gardens I was expecting.  It was more like someone had planted flowers and ornamental plants (such as coleus) here and there in the woods. It was a nice change from the typical botanical garden. It probably would be best to go earlier in the year when more flowers are in bloom.

We “forgot” to go to the orientation film, and I am sorry to have missed it.  The ticket seller did not mention it and there wasn’t any prominent signage directing new arrivals towards it.  It might be a good idea to include it in the walk instructions as the first step in the volkswalk.

The Plantation House

The gift shop at the Plantation House was delightful.  It was several notches above the usual tourist trap.  In fact, the Magnolia Plantation and Gardens overall did a very good job of maintaining authenticity and avoiding Disneyfication.

Rating:
 

Walk Route: B

 Walk Documentation: B

September 3, 2011 - Charleston (YRE)

Charleston was established in 1670 by English settlers from Bermuda.  In Colonial times, Charleston was an important hub for trade in deerskin, rice and indigo.

The first thing we came to on our walk was a farmer’s market.  It was very crowded, but in a good way that said “This is the place to be.”  There was food to take home, such as handmade raw pasta, honey, jam, local cheese and fresh eggs.  There was also food to eat right there, including doughnuts (cooked right in front of you), crepes, and gyros. The non-food items also looked very interesting.  I assume this is something you can only enjoy on Saturdays.

One of the faculty office buildings at the College of Charleston

We proceeded to the campus of the College of Charleston.  Founded in 1770, the campus has many historic buildings and is quite beautiful.  The enrollment is about 10,000.  Perhaps As a result of the presence of so many students, this section of Charleston is lively and full of shops and restaurants. 

On the campus of the College of Charleston

Cobblestone street

In addition to pedestrians and automobile traffic, the streets of Charleston are full of horse-drawn tour carriages and “rickshaws” (pedicabs).  There are still some cobblestone streets, paved with stones brought over from Europe as ships’ ballast.  Many of the sidewalks are slate or brick.

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

The historic downtown area also contains many striking examples of museums and other public buildings, and especially, churches.  In fact, Charleston is known as the Holy City due to the prominence of churches on the low-rise cityscape, particularly the numerous steeples which dot the city's skyline, and because it was one of the few cities in the original thirteen colonies to offer religious tolerance, albeit restricted to non-Catholics. 

Door provides access to the veranda

After a while, we left the commercial district and walked through a residential area.  Many of the houses bore plaques testifying to their historical significance.  There are interesting architectural details everywhere you look.  Most of the lots are narrow and deep, so many of the houses were built with the “front” facing the side lot-line.  A common feature was a large front porch or veranda (facing the side lot-line), often on two or more levels of a residence.  In many cases, there would be a locked door, framed in on the side of the veranda, providing access to and from the street.  It looked funny because you could see around the side of the door to the verandas.  There were also some quaint alleys where many interesting old homes were tucked away.

At the tip of the Charleston peninsula, we arrived at White Point Gardens.  I would not have called this a garden.  It contained some trees, but no flowers or shrubbery.  It also contained various cannons and other military relics.  From here you could walk along the river to a point from which you could view Fort Sumter.

Pineapple fountain at Waterfront Park

Waterfront Park was located in the “wharf district” and provided a panoramic view of the harbor and the USS Yorktown, a WWII aircraft carrier.  There were some gorgeous fountains here, filled with kids escaping the heat.  (I was tempted!)

At this point, we had reached the oldest part of Charleston.  It included the Old Slave Mart, a theater dating back to 1736, and some more churches.  Next up was the City Market, established in 1788.  Once an actual market for meat and other staples, it is now a three-block long market that is full of t-shirts, cheap jewelry, and other imported junk.  It was jam-packed with tourists.  Why would you buy a Russian nesting doll or a knock-off purse from China as a memento of your visit to Charleston?

Dock  Street Theater

A few more old houses, a few more old churches, another cobblestone street, and we were back at the Visitor’s Center after a very long day.  Be sure to allow plenty of time for this walk.

By the way, Charleston was the first city in the US to establish Livability Court. A Livability Court is a municipal court focused on cases involving non-compliance with codes and standards about housing, waste, the environment, noise, animal control, zoning, traffic and tourism.

Rating:

Walk Route: A

Walk Documentation: A

September 2 - Savannah (YRE)

 Savannah:  charm, history and food. Make that Charm, with a capital “C.” 

A Savannah Backyard

Savannah Ironwork

Our 10K walk today started at the Savannah History Museum and Visitors Center. The entire walk was in the historic downtown area.   

Just about every block had something of interest.  There are architectural treasures everywhere you look. Our route instructions were supplemented by a 4-page single-spaced narrative describing 23 significant points of interest (cross-refernced to the map, no less). 

Forsyth Park

The historic district includes 22 lovely squares, including four which were laid out in 1733 by James Oglethorpe.  We walked through 19 of them.  

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

Temple Mickve Israel

There were many beautiful churches, particularly the Victorian Gothic-style Cathedral of St. John the Baptist.  (Catholics were not allowed to settle in Savannah until after the Revolutionary War due to a fear that they would have a greater loyalty to the Spanish in Florida than to England.)  We also saw Temple Mickve Israel, founded in 1733, the third oldest Jewish congregation in America, and the only neo-Gothic style synagogue in America.

High Noon at the Mercer House

We saw various structures from the film, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, including the now iconic Mercer House, with its striking ironwork, and the Hamilton-Turner House. 

Andrew Low House

As a Life Member of Girl Scouts USA, my visit to Savannah would not have been complete without seeing where it all began.  The walk route did not disappoint.   

Entrance to the Carriage House

First, we saw the Andrew Low House.  Juliette Gordon Low was living in this house when she founded the Girl Scouts of America.   The Carriage House in the back was the first official headquarters of Girl Scouts.   

Not far away, we saw Juliette Gordon Low’s birthplace, the Wayne-Gordon House.  Girl Scouts USA saved this house from demolition in 1953 by purchasing it.  They have restored the house and furnished it with authentic family pieces.  It is now open to the public as a museum. Her family was clearly very well-to-do.

Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace

Our walk also included the lively Riverfront area, the City Market, and the Telfair Art Museum. Including our stop for lunch, it took us 5 hours, and we felt like we barely scratched the surface.  If you spread this walk over two days, you might have time to tour some of the museums you will pass and more fully appreciate the architecture and the squares.  And you would have more time to explore the numerous dining options offered by this food lover’s paradise. 

Rating:

Walk Route: A+

Walk Documentation: A+

September 1 - Amelia Island: Old Town Fernandina (YRE)

I was really expecting something that would knock my socks off on this historic resort island. I thought I was going to wander the streets of a charming “Old Town,” and I expected to see a fort and maybe a harbor or some nice waterfront areas, since it was on an island.  This 10K walk was a huge disappointment.

After registering, we walked half a block before we realized that we needed to drive to a remote start point.  This is an example of how one can be easily misled by thinking that the BOLD TYPE is the most important part of the instructions.  It didn’t help that  no map was provided with the walk instructions.  (Doesn’t the AVA require a map?)

The first 20 minutes of the walk took us through a very nondescript residential neighborhood.  Eventually we arrived at the Bosque Bello Cemetery.  It was very charming (can you say that about a cemetery?) with lots of trees and Spanish moss. 

The site of Fort San Carlos (Pippi Longstocking House in the background)

Who knew platting was such a big deal?

After exiting the cemetery, we soon arrived at Old Town.  It was truly underwhelming.  The expected fort (Fort San Carlos) was nothing but a vacant block.  There was no evidence of a fort other than a sign telling us this was the site of the fort.  It was just a bare field with some dried-up grass and nothing else.  There was nothing else to see in the Old Town except the Pippi Longstocking House, which had no sign and was not open to the public.  We only knew which house it was because the walk instructions mentioned it (but did not provide the date of its construction).   Other than a historical marker about platting by the Spaniards, there was nothing else to see in Old Town.  There were no shops, restaurants, or any other public amenities in the Old Town - not even a bench anywhere to sit on.

We next had a rather long walk along a busy road that had no sidewalk.  Then we walked for quite some time around two sides of a noisy, smelly and completely uninteresting paper mill. 

An interesting house in the Historic District

Finally, after walking for 90 minutes, we arrived at something interesting: the Historic District (not the same as Old Town).  For about 20 blocks we walked through a residential area that had a number of restored Victorian era homes and churches, which were pleasant enough to look at.  I expected to see a lot of “old Florida” style homes, but there were only a few. A little narrative in the walk instructions would have enriched this portion of the walk.  Although the Historic District had an interesting-looking main street with shops and restaurants, our route only followed this main street for one block.  

After leaving the Historic District, the final stretch of our walk took us through another completely unexceptional (1960’s, I would guess) residential area.  We never saw the water except briefly at the site of the fort.  It was hard to believe that we were on an island, or that we were in Florida (except that it was quite hot).  

For all you hear about Southern hospitality and good manners, the drivers, who I presume were local, did not live up to this reputation, and apparently do not value tourists.  On more than one occasion we found that drivers did not stop for pedestrians at (or even in) crosswalks.

Yes, ma'am!  You are in The South!

We came a long distance and deserved better than this. Okay, got it off my chest.

Rating:

Walk Route: D

 

Walk Documentation: D

No map (!!!), no distances, not enough commentary