Not all National Park units are open seven days per week, so I sometimes have to juggle my schedule to see all I want to see on one trip. This sometimes leaves a hole - a day with no parks. This was such a day. Rather than sit around, I decided to tour one of the many plantations around Charleston, SC, as I have never visited one before.

The one I chose is actually managed by the county parks, whereas most others are private. This also made admission a bit cheaper!

It was an interesting experience, first seeing the main house and contrasting it with the slave quarters. This plantation was not one of those massive "Gone With the Wind" size plantations, and was probably more typical of the "average" ones. There was a cell-phone based walking tour that explained the various buildings and day-to-day life.

I learned a few things today, and can say that I have seen a plantation now. Looking at the list of National Park units, I see it won't be my last visit to one. Personally, I find the symbolism of the plantation disgusting. There is nothing good that I can see about the people who lived here or the "southern culture" they claim. It's good to keep a few old plantations around, not to celebrate them, but as reminders of what they stood for.