I LOVE antebellum styled mansions and plantations and enjoy reading about the south in the 1800's. This interest began when I lived in New Orleans for four years from 1956-1960. Even though I was only 12-years-old when my family moved there from West Des Moines, Iowa, I was quite taken with the mansions off St. Charles Blvd. and the southern lifestyle. All my friends had French last names, lived in large, stately homes, and had a maid (and so did we). Or maybe this interest began the first time I saw Gone With the Wind at the movies with Bob in 1961 when we were 16-years-old. I was fascinated with that story and loved Tara, the plantation home.

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Then in November 1990 on a trip to Savannah, Georgia with Bob and Trent, it all came rushing back - my love for the south. During that trip, Trent and I went on a historic home tour. It was great to visit the old mansions and hear the stories about the families who had lived in them. Trent and I laughed about how Bob and I could buy one old mansion we saw for sale. As we walked along the squares in Savannah, I kept thinking how great it would be if we REALLY could do that. We were selling our company back home and I had even figured out how much we would have to get to be able to retire early and renovate a Savannah mansion. But, of course, reality set in and it was never to be. We didn't retire and we moved to a suburb of Los Angeles, California instead.

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However, now that we actually live in the south, I am determined to visit as many antebellum mansions and southern plantations as I can. We started yesterday, Saturday, May 20, 2006, with the Redcliffe Plantation in Beech Island, SC. Click on each image to enlarge it for better viewing.

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This blog album is dedicated to:

ANTEBELLUM MANSIONS AND SOUTHERN PLANTATIONS!