REDCLIFFE PLANTATION AND AUGUSTA GA

We traveled down to Redcliffe Plantation and Augusta GA for a day.  It was sunshining and beautiful!! 

We also want to take this time to wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving Day and season.  We will be going in to Lexington SC to have dinner and fellowship at a friends home with them, their daughter and another couple from church.  We are looking forward to it.
Gary has received an offer for workamping in Alaska for next summer.  Not sure what we will do.  I really want to spend another summer at home before our grandson begins working, especially since we did not have much free time this past summer because of our workamping job.  The Alaska job sounds good as it is May to Sept and only four hours a day.  A neighbor here in the park said that is the only time to go!!  Not sure what the job will be though, probably clean motorhomes that are rented out.  So time will tell.

Redcliffe Plantation, a Greek Revival style mansion, was built in 1859 by former US Congressman, SC Governor and US Senator,  James Henry Hammond so that he could show off his wealth.  However, it is not now furnished to show their oppulance as much of the furnishings were removed over the years by his decendents.  There have been three generations that have lived there after him.  It was one of three plantations that he owned and the smallest of the three with four hundred acres.  Many changes took place over the years as the following three generations lived in it.  The greatest change was when Mr. John Shaw Billings, the managing editor of Timeand Life Magazines, left New York and moved into it in the 1930's.  The biggest change that he made was a small addition and three modern ceramic tile bathrooms.  He removed his modern furnishings ammenities including a television before he donated it to the State of South Carolina for a historic landmark in 1975.

We were an hour too early for the tour, so we just relaxed on the porch.  It was very relaxing and such pretty landscape.These awesome trees with large low branches always make me think of many hours as a youth in a swing.

Ballroom serving as Entrance from both front and back.

Bread warmer for in front of fireplace.

Moving on to the the second floor and bedrooms we find samples of the original bathroom!!

 

This is only half of the library shelves, which held family collections of books some that were as old as the 1700's and through the mid nineteen hundreds. 


A replacement stable from later years.

Driving on into Augusta GA, we stopped by the Riverwalk Ampitheatre and Plaza. 



Analematic Sundial for Eastern Daylight Time



However, when Gary stood on November it showed 4 pm though our watches said 3 pm.  Hm-m-m?

Our manager over the Park told us to be sure to go to Rinehart's Oyster Bar to eat.  So we did - - - but when stepping through the door my mind was sure saying "scuzzy"!!  We did go on in though and ordered shrimp and fries backets.  While we sat there to eat at our picnic table with the grafitti on the walls, many people who passed through from the open air seating area were very well dressed!!  So it must be the food reputation!!  The woman who opened it in 1983 began with a small refrigerator and toaster oven.  She still uses the paper china as we do in our motorhome, but has expanded to have a large bar and a much larger kitchen.  We did not check those out as we were not sure what we would find.  Just call us chicken.  However, the food was good.

The computer is running so-o-o slow that I am ready to give up!!  Will try again tomorrow and see if I can get the Thanksgiving pictures in.  Take care and hope that you enjoyed your holiday.