Father's Day Visit to Hampton Plantation

Lucky Kirby!! For Father's Day Jake and I took him to Hampton Plantation.

Hampton Plantation is about 35 minutes north of us on Highway 17.  It is a lovely state park that is open for hiking (walking really) and exploring all on your own and dogs are allowed.  We loved it because Jake could go with us and as there was NO ONE else there - he was off leash which was a first for him in "someone else's yard"!

This is all that remains of the cabin built by freed slaves.

(Click on the pictures to enlarge them)

Kirby is always the faithful one about reading all the postings.  

Then he tells me what he read so I don't have to.

This really, really big oak tree stands in front of the house which was built in the mid 1700's.  When George Washington visited in 1791, he advised the lady of the house to keep the tree even though it blocked her view of her husbands race track.  She took his advise and the tree is magnificent today!

Can you see George Washington standing on that porch looking out at the race track and the lovely oak tree?  I did!  And I stood right where he had!  I loved it!!

This is the backside of the house.  It is in great need of repair and I just have to wonder where the state is going to come up with money to maintain it. It is very sad and makes me want to go up there and peel paint and sand and put fresh paint on and.........well, not for very long.....I am getting too old.

Jake was in heaven with no leash and was very good! 

Look at this visitor I found!  Or maybe I was the visitor??

In this picture you can see Kirby and Jake walking out onto one of the old dikes.  There used to be rice on either side during the "Gold" days of South Carolina.  Once the slaves were freed, the plantations could no longer afford to grow the rice.  This plantation once had 315 slaves!

It was getting pretty hot and Jake thought that water looked pretty good but we convinced him not to go in!

See, he is doing it again!

This has always been my view when on outings.  In this picture Jake is following Kirby.  In the picture below, taken in 2002 our dog Holly was doing the same.  Pretty funny!

After all that excitement we rested on the lovely porch, just like George!