Charleston SC/Savannah GA

Had our first trip to the Deep South last weekend. Paul had a conference in Atlanta on Monday/Tuesday so we took the opportunity to visit these two charming antebellum (pre-Civil War) cities of the "Lowcountry". We flew in and out of Charleston,South Carolina, the city where the Civil War began. In Charleston, we went on a tour of the historic disctrict and saw many beautiful mansions
including this peach colored one which the tour guide claimed Margaret Mitchell used as the inspiration for "Tara".

After we finished the tour, we drove out to Drayton Hall, an old plantation 10 miles out of town with its stately 18th mansion, described as the "best example of British American architecture in the country", complete with the iconic Spanish moss hanging from the trees.

then we drove 100 miles south into Georgia to Savannah and stayed the night at the olde-worlde Gastonian Inn (built just after Civil War) in the historic district, with Monica doing this great Southern Belle impersonation.

Before heading back to Charleston on Sunday arvo, we also visited Fort Pulaski, another Civil War site, and the beach town of Tybee Island