Charles Pinckney National Historic Site, Mount Pleasant, S.C.

On our way to visit Boone Hall Plantation and Gardens, we stopped at the Charles Pinckney National Historic site, which is also located in Mount Pleasant, S.C.

This house sits on the former site of Pinckney's home, according to info on the website.

Here you'll find a home and foundations of former slave cabins of Charles Pinckney, a signer of the U.S. Constitution. This plantation was called Snee Farm.

Only 28 acres of the original 715-acre farm still exists. A 1/2 mile walking trail guides visitors around the house and former foundations. Interpretive signs and brochures tell about each site, giving the culture and history of the farm.

This overlooks where the farm used to be. The house is behind the photographer.

There is an easy, 1/2-mile trail around the property that includes interpretive signs pointing out foundations and other interesting sites.

This makes for a very short trip, but is a good place to get out and stretch your legs.

Fort Moultrie, S.C.

Fort Moultrie is part of the National Park Service and is an amazing relic of our history.




I loved walking around the fort, imagining what it must have been like to work as a soldier there during the years.

The current fort was built in the 1800s. Two other forts sat on the same site prior to the current structure. Interpretive signs point to the former fort locations and tell when they were built, how they were made and how they served us during that part of our history.

The site's history spans from a log fort built in 1776 to WWII.

I'm not big on military-related historic sites, but this is definitely a must see.

Here's some photos from our visit:


























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Conagree National Park, Hopkins, S.C.

Another stop we made on our trip to Charleston, S.C., was at Conagree National Park, Hopkins, S.C., not too far from Columbia.

The wooded trails were quite wet so we only walked on it long enough for Sidney to relieve herself and stretch our legs.

We then hopped onto the 2.4-mile boardwalk loop trail and explored the various habitats and read the interpretive signs.

Pups aren't supposed to be on the boardwalk trail, by the way. That's something to consider when you start off because there is no where for you to get off on the boardwalk as it takes you over lakes, swamps and very wet areas.

Here's the park's descriptions of the boardwalk trail, divided into the Elevated Boardwalk and Low Boardwalk:

• The Elevated Boardwalk is about six feet above the ground and travels through old-growth forest. The trail ends at Weston Lake, an old channel of the Conagree River.
• The Low Boardwalk passes through bald cypress and water tupelo forest.

We heard lots of birds, including woodpeckers, but didn't see much else. Though the ground and boardwalk were still pretty wet, it was still a lovely walk and one that was much drier than the visit earlier in the day at Cypress Gardens.

One complaint I have is there was an interpretive sign that called a tree a pawpaw, but it was most definitely not a pawpaw. We've got a small grove of pawpaws in our yard, so we knew that was not correct. We're pretty sure it was a chestnut oak.

The park's site has a calendar of events. It might be cool to visit during a guided walk or other event.

Besides trails, you can also canoe/kayak, camp and fish. Check out a complete list of things to do here.

Country Park and Guilford Courthouse National Military Park

While in Greensboro, we visited Country Park and Guilford Courthouse National Military Park.

I used to walk around Country Park's paved trail during the few months I lived in Greensboro several years ago. The paved trail is hilly and winds around man made lakes.

Many families, walkers, dog owners and bikers use this trail. There are paddle boats, fishing, playgrounds and picnic shelters.

What I consider the main entrance is north of the Natural Science Center's parking lot on Lawndale Drive, so it was a nice addition to our trip to the science center. (There's also a second entrance located south of the science center. The park runs behind the center.)

From Country Park, we walked along a trail that connects to the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park. This national park has a paved walking, biking and driving trail and some dirt trails through woods on the property.

Throughout the park there are monuments, grave stones and interpretive signs commemorating the Revolutionary War battle here. The Battle of Guilford Courthouse weakened Cornwallis' army and he surrendered several months later in Yorktown, Va.