Today, we woke up rather early and drove to Boone Hall Plantation. At one point in time, there were about 230+ slaves and the plantation was as large as 5,000 acres. Today, the plantation is about 700 acres. We learned about the life of a slave, went inside the home, took a carriage ride around the plantation, and learned a little bit about the Gullah people. Between hurricanes and the boll weevil, the owners of the land have had many ups and downs. The land has produce indigo, cotton, and pecans over the years. The Gullah are the descendants of enslaved Africans who lived in the Lowcountry regions of Georgia and South Carolina, which includes both the coastal plain and the Sea Islands. We heard from one in a skit. You can press play on some of the videos to hear her singing. They make the baskets you sometimes see.
Afterwards, we went to the Boone Hall grocery store. Then, we drove back into Charleston and went on a carriage tour of downtown Charleston. Between the American Revolution and of course, the Civil War, there is a lot of history in the area. We walked up to the Fort Sumter National Park entrance, but we took a different boat around the harbor. We actually didnโt go to the island. We took a 1.5 hour boat tour. I believe the highlight of that tour had to be seeing the dolphins. If you look towards the end of the pictures, you can see decent pictures of the dolphins.