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Peanut, "Wow, mom, now we can say we've been to all 50 states! What are we gonna do next?"

16 May 2009

Magnolia Plantation





I'm no stranger to the rain... and I'm good at finding shelter in a downpour...

Magnolia Plantation was a rice plantation owned by some Reverend Drayton and his wife, Julia. After the war it became a visiting plantation, which means these people had buckets of money long before they started the plantation. Geared toward the masses of tourists who visit each year,

we happened to pick a day with a big black rain cloud and few people. That should have been a clue.

South Carolina has an extensive marshland, more than any other coastal Atlantic state and it feels low and swampy, like Louisiana. Just as we were about to board our little train for a tour of the grounds and the surrounding swamp, the rain came. It came down in sheets accompanied by a Rachmaninoff symphony from the sky.
The kids were NOT impressed by nature's display despite my enthusiasm.

Grandma and I taught them the expression It's Raining Cats & Dogs
and showed them how to judge thunder distance by counting slowly once you see lightning. We even bought fried peanuts (you eat the shell and all) to keep us busy while we waited out the storm under a small roof, just like the resident Peacocks.

The storm never did clear, so the shoes came off and puddle jumping ensued. We took a tour of the house -- which was a complete yawn fest. There's always something to be learned, however...

A grandfather clock stood in the house which only displayed hours and tides, but no minutes. Before Greenwich Mean Time was up to speed in 1884, people had no need for minutes! They checked the tide and if it was high, they could get to town on the river in about 3 hours. Useful enough. Who cared if they were 5, 10 or 15 minutes early or late? Doesn't that sound wonderfully appealing? Think what would happen in your world if you dropped the specifics of minutes in your day!

A quick stop at the muddy petting zoo and we were off to Charleston where only 15 minutes away, they hadn't seen a drop of rain all day!

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