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Charleston East Bay Street mansion - photo Ron Cogswell
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Alligator at the Magnolia Plantation and Gardens - photo John Hoey
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Boone Hall Plantation
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Cape Hatteras Light Station - photo Amy Meredith
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Croquet at Jekyll Island Club
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Driftwood Beach, Jekyll Island - photo Jillian Meridith
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Fort Sumter - photo Rob Bixby
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Historic house, Charleston, SC
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Kitty Hawk, Wright Brothers replica - photo Mark Ittleman
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Plimouth Plantation
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Plimouth Plantation - photo Rob McCready
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Plimouth Plantation
By Perry Mack
History and homes of antiquities - and wildlife
Travelling the eastern seaboard is a tour through American history. Living locations that are rich in the childhood tales that shaped our southern neighbour. But rather than reading the words in dried ink on paper, you can see, hear, breathe, touch and talk your way through experiences including the landing at Plymouth, the plantations of the old south, the start of the civil war, and the first flight that heralded in our modern era.
And though history and architecture buffs will certainly rejoice, unique experiences of the maritime natural world are along the route, just waiting for you to pause and rekindle your connection to the sea, the shore, and the myriad flora and fauna that make these places home. Let’s begin.
Visit the Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, MA: This living history museum shows visitors what life was like along the shores of Plymouth Harbor in the 1600s. It includes a recreated 17th century English village, complete with actors dressed in period clothing who portray actual residents of Plymouth Colony. The plantation also includes a Wampanoag home site with actual Wampanoag or Native American people, who are also dressed in historically accurate clothing. The plantation aims to provide visitors with an understanding not only of the pilgrims who came to Plymouth Harbor from Europe, but the Wampanoag people who have lived in the Plymouth region for more than 10,000 years. www.plimoth.org
Explore North Carolina’s Outer Banks: Attractions along these scenic islands include the little town of Kitty Hawk, where Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first successful airplane flights on Dec. 17, 1903. The National Park Service operates a visitor’s center there where you can see replicas of their original planes and see the hill where they flew for the first time. Other Outer Banks attractions include Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, which provide 62000 ha (154000 ac) of wetland habitat for everything from wood ducks and alligators to black bears and red wolves. You can also visit the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, which provides habitat for migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds, raptors as well as endangered and threatened species, such as Loggerhead sea turtles. The Outer Banks also provides numerous recreational opportunities, from dolphin and whale watching, to sports fishing and hang gliding, to horseback riding on the beach. www.outerbanks.org
Take a walking tour of Charleston, SC: Charleston features the highest concentration of beautiful historic colonial architecture in the US. Here you’ll see classic Georgian, Federal, Adamesque, Greek Revival, Italianate and Victoria style homes. You can also take guided walking tours that focus on Charleston’s Civil War history and slavery, historic homes and ghost tours. www.oldcharlestontours.com
See Fort Sumter: This sea fort in Charleston Harbor is the site where the American Civil War began. The war began when Confederate artillery opened fire on Fort Sumter, which surrendered 34 hours later. It would take Union forces nearly four years to take it back. https://www.nps.gov/fosu/index.htm
Tour Charleston’s plantations: Some of the most beautiful plantations and gardens in America are found in the Charleston area. They include:
- Boone Hall Plantation: Founded in 1681, this 738-acre plantation is one of America’s oldest and most photographed plantations. It originally produced cotton and pecans. It now produces strawberries, tomatoes, pumpkins and other fruits for visitors to enjoy. www.boonehallplantation.com
- Drayton Hall: This 350-acre plantation home, owned by John Drayton, is the first fully executed example of Palladian architecture in North America. The gardens are designed to emulate idealized English landscape scenes. Drayton owned close to 100 different plantations with 76,000 acres of land across South Carolina and Georgia. www.draytonhall.com
- Magnolia Plantation: Founded in 1676, also by the Drayton family, this plantation is considered to have one of the most beautiful gardens in America. www.magnoliaplantation.com
- Middleton Place: This plantation has the distinction of having the first landscaped gardens in America. The house museum on the property was built in 1755 and features original family furnishings, silver, porcelain, rare books and portraits. www.middletonplace.org
Stroll through the streets of Savannah, GA: Savannah is the largest national historic district in the US. It features more than 20 city squares with museums, churches, mansions, monuments and other historical sites from revolutionary and Civil War periods. Numerous companies offer historical walking tours, including ghost and cemetery tours. www.savannah.com
Visit Jekyll Island, GA: This scenic island, which has more than 400 ha (1,000 ac) of maritime forest, used to be the exclusive hunting club of America’s wealthiest people, including J.P. Morgan, Joseph Pulitzer, William Vanderbilt and William Rockefeller. But the hunting club era ended with World War II and island was sold to the state of Georgia for use as a state park. The island is now known as the Jekyll Island Club National Historic Landmark District and is one of the largest preservation projects in the Southeastern US. The island offers historical tours, as well as opportunities for birdwatching and golf on four courses, including Georgia’s largest public golf course. The island is also the home of the George Sea Turtle Center. www.jekyllisland.com
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