Wandering Sylville: Brookgreen Gardens

Monday, March 15, 2010

Brookgreen Gardens

Murrells Inlet, SC
Huntington Beach State Park site#119

Yesterday we went to Brookgreen Gardens for a few hours to leisurely stroll through the sculpture gardens. It’s right across from the CG and was also property once owned by the Huntington’s. He was a philanthropist and poet while she was a sculptor. They bought three large old rice plantations in the 1930’s to establish a winter home with better climate than New York. Early snowbirds but on a grandiose scale. :) When they passed away, they deeded all this ocean front property to the state of SC so that it could become a beautiful state park for the public to enjoy. I’m very thankful that they did. If you stay at the CG, get a coupon for the gardens at check-in. The ticket at the gardens is good for 7 consecutive days because it’s so large that you can not see it all in 1 day. We intended to get to the zoo area, but that will have to wait until another time.

It was a cool breezy stroll and we were tired when we finished. I had seen a brown sign on the main road pointing to a boat landing (Wacca Wache) that was on the Waccamaw River. It’s a nice landing with a marina and nice looking restaurant on the waterfront. We may take our kayaks there someday when we’re full-timing. After an early steak dinner, we sat by the campfire in the evening and enjoyed more time in Sylville. Our neighborhood raccoon wandered around the edge of the woods but didn’t bother us. As long as I can see what’s making all that noise, it’s ok. :o

We tried out our new camera so here’s some shots of some of the many very nice sculptures. I must say that my favorite ones were not made by a person but rather by nature. The live oaks there were absolutely magnificent. They look like sculpture the way their branches twist around. One old tree was standing there before the US Constitution was written.