25 April 2020 Plantations

We decided we needed to get out and about after 32+ days of staying close to home. There are six historic plantation homes fairly close by. Two of them were owned by signers of the Declaration of Independence. But before we did that, we needed some Mexican food! But all the sit down restaurants were closed so we found a Taco Bell with a drive through. It took care of the urge even if not the best Mexican food we have eaten. We headed for the historic plantation area outside Charleston only to find the entrance gates were all closed. They were not even allowing you to drive up to the plantations. There was only one we could see from the road, all the rest were so far back from the road you could not even get a glimpse. But we could see the Middleton Plantation home from the closed entrance gate. Another one we ran into one of the people that works there and she informed us they were opening the gardens and the outside of the home on 1 May but there would be no tours. We then went over to Mount Pleasant and drove through the historic district admiring the beautiful southern style homes. It was great to get out. There are indications that some of the states are going to open up to some extent but so far the National Parks are remaining closed. We are starting to consider heading west into Tennessee and Kentucky since it looks like they will open before anything on the north east. So we may reverse our tour plans and go west, then north to Maine and then down the eastern coast since those states (eastern New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut) will open much later since they have been hit the hardest. 

Entrance Sign

Middleton Plantation Home

Historic Sign

18 April Lockdown continues

We are still parked outside Charleston. With the new recommendations on how the states can begin to open their economies, we are watching the neighboring states to see when we might be able to move forward. We are still trying to decided if we want to try and continue north, given the states around New York will be the last to open, or if we will abandon or East Coast tour and instead visit some of the midwestern states that are likely to open sooner. We can always return another year for the East Coast. But with all the work it took to get our itinerary set, its hard to just abandon it. The next couple of weeks should be the deciding factor.

28 March 2020 Touring Charleston

After four days of being cooped up in the Wanderer, we needed to get away from the RV park. We took a driving tour of old Charleston. We stayed in the truck, practicing our social distancing, and drove through the old portions of Charleston and gawked at the beautiful old homes. We thought about getting out for a walk but even the public parks were closed and taped off. We drove past the closed Charleston City market and the closed visitor center for Fort Sumter. We have both been to Charleston in previous years and had seen much of the sights but neither of us has visited Fort Sumter NM. There were many people out walking or jogging on the sea wall, and most were observing their Social Distancing. After a few hours of driving up and down the old district, we headed for the Wanderer. 

Cooping with weeks of quarantine

Closed Charleston City Market

Entrance sign for close Fort Sumter NM

Sun shining through the Spanish Moss