Charleston: Middleton Plantation

On our last day on the Charleston trip we went to see the Middleton Plantation. The plantation was part of a 20 plantation empire owned by the Middleton family. This one was their headquarters and so had beautifully manicured grounds and fancy buildings. The current setup also had some living history type exhibits and themed tours we went on one about farm animals and part of one about slavery on the plantation. The formal gardens were beautiful and we liked the mill pond with it's beautiful bridge. The plantation house was not quite Gone with the Wind style; it actually looked more like a British country estate.

The living history part was mostly shut down while we were there. One part that we did get to see was a cooper making a little barrel. The cooper shop was pretty cool and the cooper himself was very enthusiastic about his craft and excited to share it with us. He explained that the main difference between coopers and carpenters is that carpenters love the measuring tapes and protractors: they measure twice and cut once. Coopers by comparison don't measure at all but cut a lot.

We also went to the blacksmith shop. The blacksmith wasn't there but we got to see all his tools which the Batbaby thought was pretty cool. 

Traveling with the Batbaby we paid more attention to some aspects of the plantation than I normally would. We found giant leaves and sheep. 

We also discovered that he loves classical sculpture. He was very excited about the sculptures of the four seasons. 

But probably the reason he was so excited about it is that he fits right in with the classics.