South Carolina Safari — Walterboro, SC

Here’s a great little road trip y’all can join in on– it includes romance, food, car culture, farming,

photo from tripadvisor

blackwater swamps and book stores.   Thursday evening, I’m doing a book reading (ok, sometimes it comes off as save-the-earth-preaching) at the Walterboro Farmer’s Market/Colleton County Museum.  (click for time/directions).

For Columbia, Beaufort, Charleston, Savannah friends, make an afternoon of it and explore this part of the world near where my family comes from.  And Try out:

1. Auldbrass Plantation — Frank Lloyd Wright’s only Southern Farm which is mentioned in my book as inspiration for what became the good parts of Hilton Head style.

2. SC Artisan Center — Just what is says;  the best of our artists who don’t necessarily have time or resources for big galleries.

3.  Old Sheldon Ruins — Not too far away, this was always our family half way stop on camping trips to Edisto and remains one of the most memorable stops in the state.

4.  Harold’s Country Club — This gas station, bar, restaurant gets accolades from all sorts of national press.  But it’s still a real local’s place.  Last time I was there, my friend Nancy brought a casserole, and my Momma and Harold struck up this conversation about mutual friends (from nearby Brunson, 55 year ago) that evolved into some story about a firetruck being sabotaged…….

5. End up in Walterboro at the Colleton Museum for the book signing and gathering.

Unless something else comes up (Allendale, Fairfax, Brunson people) this is about as close as I get to the places I spent many summers with my cousins.  These are my deep roots.  And if y’all don’t care about the book, just come to see my Momma.

One last bit of info: though you can’t go to visit, know that this is the home of one the first and most celebrated naturalist landscape designers ever to emerge from South Carolina, Robert Marvin, who set what I referred to earlier as the best of Hilton Head style.