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Middleton Place Plantation

West Ashley, SC

Charleston, South Carolina is one of America’s favorite vacation destinations; and for good reason. It offers pristine oceanfront beaches and an historical district that would take several days to cover on foot. The famous Market where you can watch local women as they make “sweetgrass” baskets the same way they have for hundreds of years. For the nautical lovers, there is Patriot’s Point where you can tour the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier. Or, you can visit the Confederate submarine the Hunley; the first underwater vessel to ever sink another ship. Or take a tour boat out to Fort Sumter where the first shots were fired in the American Civil War.

But the crown jewel of Charleston is located west of the Ashley River in the appropriately named suburb of West Ashley. About 10 miles from downtown Charleston, out Ashley River Road, lays the Middleton Place Plantation.

One of the oldest homesteads in America, the original property was deeded to Jacob Wayte over a hundred years before the American Revolution. The next owners were the Middleton family and this is where the Plantation drew its name. The Middleton’s were one of the richest and most influential families in the antebellum south. Henry Middleton (1717 – 1784) was President of the First Continental Congress. Arthur Middleton (1742 -1787) signed the Declaration of Independence. Arthur’s son Henry Middleton (1770-1846) was Governor of South Carolina and an Ambassador to Russia. Williams Middleton (1809 – 1883) was a signer of the Ordinance of Secession that launched the American Civil War.

The original plantation house was built in 1755 with the main house and north wing ransacked and burned by Sherman’s Army in February 1865. The southern wing of the house, which suffered less damage, was restored in 1870.

In the great Charleston earthquake of 1886, Middleton Place was dealt yet another destructive blow. The beautiful garden terraces that had taken hundreds of slaves decades to build were destroyed in a matter of minutes. After the earthquake the stately mansion and beautiful gardens fell into disrepair.

In 1916, J.J. Pringle Smith inherited Middleton Place and soon began a massive restoration of the beautiful gardens. If you’ve ever seen the Mel Gibson movie, “The Patriot” you have seen the magnificence of the restoration. In 1991 the International Committee on Monuments and Sites named Middleton Place one of only six U.S. gardens of international importance.

In 1974, J.J. Pringle Smith's heirs established the non-profit Middleton Place Foundation, which now owns the Middleton Place National Historic Landmark.

Today, Middleton Place is a thriving restoration of eighteenth and nineteenth century plantation life. If you plan to visit Charleston, make the short day trip out to West Ashley and Middleton Place. Bring your walking shoes. There are amazing gardens spread across 65 acres. For those not inclined or unable to walk the grounds, a 45 minute tour in a horse drawn carriage conducted by a knowledgeable guide can be purchased at visitor’s center.

In addition to the gardens, there is a house tour available and a plantation stable yard with displays of the tools and methods used in the daily life in the Old South. These stables are staffed by local volunteers who are willing to share insight into jobs and the daily lives of the slaves who used to live there.

Be sure to include Middleton Place in your Charleston vacation plans. It is a day you will not soon forget.

Middleton Place
4300 Ashley River Road
West Ashley, SC 29414
(843) 556-6020
(800) 782-3608

Written by John Q. Wilson, owner of YourWestAshleyGuide.com and famous for the annual “Best of West Ashley” awards.

Storage Solutions

The home storage industry is experiencing a recent Renaissance. It seems that most every day someone comes out with a new and clever way to hang something, box something or store something. The most recent improvement has been in long term storage which is also climate controlled storage.

There is a growing trend in markets large and small to convert former grocery stores or other vacant retail space into secure, climate controlled storage centers. This new market model is a win-win for everyone. Strip mall owners are able to get long term leases on retail space that was sitting idle. The self storage center is able to get a great price on existing space that is already under roof and has HVAC. Plus,can be converted less expensively to storage units then if they were starting from scratch. The big winner is the self-storage consumer.

Since these new storage centers are in retail areas they tend to be more conveniently located than newer, free-standing self storage centers. Because the overhead is lower the rates for individual storage units are often less expensive per square foot. These centers also offer a wider variety of space options since not all of their storage units are the same cookie-cutter size. This is really handy if you have something that is over sized or an odd shape that needs to be stored. The biggest plus is this new generation of climate controlled storage is an added level of security.

The converted retail stores to self storage centers have limited access, either through the front doors or the shipping bay doors. These are easy to monitor both by humans and by video security cameras. This is much better that hundreds of feet of chain length fence – often with blind spots that are not monitored – and the risk of someone breaking into your storage unit undetected.

Another plus, especially if you do not visit your storage unit very often, it is unlikely you will experience a climate related accident such as freezing of water damage. If the roof is leaking in these storage centers, someone will notice. If the roof is leaking in a single storage bays of a free standing self storage center, no one would notice until you arrived and opened the door.

Another plus of these next generation storage centers is many will offer high security storage. This is usually a section within the storage center that is well secured, with heavier locks on doors, better video monitoring and often manned by a security guard 24/7. These are well suited for the storage of valuable antiques or works of art. While not inexpensive, this level of storage goes for a fraction of what high end, all-climate storage used to cost.

The only down side to these new storage centers, especially those that are just getting started, they do not offer the same access that the more mature free standing self storage centers offer.

Because there are now more options then ever for self storage, including the new portable on demand storage solutions, rates have been stabilizing and in some cases actually coming down. You would be well advised to shop around for the best pricing, especially if you are looking for a long term contract. Self service center owners are less likely to give a price break to someone who will only be there for a few months, but will often cut deals better than the printed price sheet for someone looking at a multiple year lease.

Before you sign any long term contract, be sure to read it carefully and insist on a job change or emergence “escape” clause. If you suddenly get transferred or have something else unforeseen occur, you don’t want to end up paying for years on an empty storage unit.

About the Author:

Written by John Q Wilson, owner of Practical Storage Solutions. For more information on this subject visit EA Storage or Awesome Storage.

It is always amazing how quickly you run out of space, especially if you’re a packrat like me. Fortunately, there are tons of solutions available to increase the useable space you already have, rent a temporary solution or rent a full blown all weather storage unit.

To increase you usable space without remodeling or renting, look to shelf, closet and garage storage solutions. There are some really clever items on the market and a quick internet search on Google, Yahoo or MSN will net you a wealth of great ideas.

Then there is the traditional backyard shed. They come in all shapes and sizes and different level of complication. Some can be assembled in a few minutes, other require skilled labor and a building permit. These are usually used to make more room in a garage by providing a space for lawnmowers and other hand tools.

A recent innovation is the POD or temporary storage unit that you can park in your driveway for a few weeks if you need storage and don’t want to haul everything across town. These are really handy, as we discovered when we put in new flooring. We were able to move all of the furniture out of a section of the house while the work was being completed.

Finally, there are the full scale storage rental units. They come in all shapes and variety but a general rule of thumb if you have extreme weather in your area, either very hot or humid to very cold in the winter; it is probably wise to rent an air-conditioned unit. This is especially true if you are storing furniture or clothing.

Check out your options online.

There are some wonderful FREE design ideas with pictures and layout available online. Try it, you'll like it.

Nothing increases the value of your home then improving your kitchen. Whether you are just replacing the old countertop and refrigerator, or ripping everything out to the bare walls and starting over; look online first.

Stunning Kitchens

Blinds and Curtains

For the purest, shopping for new curtains or blinds online is silly In the age of electronic shopping, you can even find curtains and blinds online. Yeah, yeah, I know you want to look at the materials first before you purchase. That’s why they make decorating center.

Before you reach for your cars keys to go shopping for curtains or blinds, reach for your keyboard instead. You will get some great ideas online and also get a good idea of what a fair price is for what you’re looking for. Now let’s go shopping

To avoid that knot in your stomach when you are shopping for curtains or blinds, do the preliminary scouting on the internet in advance. Shop the world, but buy local. If there are any problems, the guy down the street is easier to deal with than the guy four states over.

CHINESE

China is a vast and ancient culture with a wealth of knowledge. Among the things passed down is tattooing. From the 12 Chinese Zodiac Signs to the Chinese Characters for Love you can find these pieces of body act throughout the western world. Other popular items are Chinese Dragon Art, Chinese Calligraphy, and Chinese Characters.

From ancient Chinese Silk to Chinese Contemporary Art, you can find what you're looking for Online.