Easter in the Lowcountry, Mar 26-29
South Carolina and Georgia's Lowcountry is an area of fertile marshland, formerly drained for plantations of rice, and coastal plains where cotton thrived. Mike and I stayed in Charleston (founded in 1670 as the trading center of the Carolina Colony), Hilton Head (South Carolina's largest barrier island) and Savannah (the first permanent colonial town in Georgia, begun in 1733).
Waking up to a grey and wet Charleston, we experienced the legendary Southern hospitality over a leisurely breakfast before a quick tour of the historic downtown, including the Battery (above) at the tip of the peninsular overlooking Charleston Harbour.
Stopping for lunch in Beaufort, the state's second-oldest town, whose pretty streets and historic homes have been the backdrop for many films, such as Forrest Gump and The Prince of Tides.
The Point became a fashionable residential neighbourhood during the height of the cotton boom and features magnificent antebellum homes with wide porches and raised basements all facing south to catch the ocean breeze - many of them have appeared in films like The Big Chill.
Dinner on Hilton Head Island.
A dry day dawned over the 12 miles of white sandy Atlantic beaches on Hilton Head.
A quick look at South Beach Marina and then breakfast in Harbour Town, both on the island.
We briefly visited Historic Bluffton (population 300), a true backwater port of Civil War-era homes where traditional Lowcountry life exists in a place time forgot.
On Savannah's old cotton wharves, known as the Riverfront, in time for lunch.
Like Charleston 100 miles to the north, Savannah's historic district has a large collection of 18th- and 19th-century mansions, including the Regency-style Owens-Thomas House above.
The city is laid out in a gridlike pattern around 21 shady, flower-filled squares. Mercer House (above) was made infamous by the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
The Savannah River is a commercial river with ferries and huge container ships.
An ice-cream breakfast on Factors Walk in front of our hotel.
Magnolia Plantation on the Ashley River near Charleston sits on 500 acres owned by the Drayton family since 1676; the plantation crops included rice, cotton, sugar cane, corn and potatoes.
The gardens, which included a horticultural maze and a waterfowl refuge, were ablaze with azaleas and camellias with the ever-present Spanish moss hanging from the trees.
Water oak, cypress and tupelo trees in the adjoining Audubon Swamp Garden.
