Riverbanks ZOO and Garden

Last week I was so excited to begin my new travel series to Savannah, Georgia!  I explained in my last post that we took a road trip and made a pit stop in Columbia, South Carolina to spend the night and visit the Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Garden.  In last week's post I covered the botanical gardens, and this week I will talk about their amazing zoo!

My husband and I try to visit the local zoo wherever we travel.  I love to see the different designs of the zoo in each state.  This was a beautiful, charming zoo.  It was so pretty!  How often can you say that about a zoo?  It was very well designed, clean, and well-kept.  I really loved all the tropical plants and flowers too!

This is the sign that greets guests as they enter the zoo grounds.  I really like the sentence underneath the title.  That mission statement is definitely reflected in the beautiful grounds and loving care of the animals.

Read the little sign on the lower a left.  Isn't that beautiful?

Riverbanks zoo and garden is 170 acres and is home to more than 2,000 animals.  

For a smaller zoo, the zoo had almost every animal you'd expect to see at a zoo.  All the animal environments were re-created to be as natural as possible and esthetically pleasing. We loved the koalas.  There were three of them, and they were all asleep...aren't they always?  Have you ever seen a koala in a zoo when they weren't asleep?  I haven't.  I was surprised how close we were able to get to them.  That really helps to see these sweet little creatures.

Ya'll know I'm a huge bird lover, so I was thrilled to enter the aviary and see these beauties.  You could buy food and hand feed them too!

Bamboo, along with palmetto trees was everywhere in this zoo.  We can't grow bamboo in Wisconsin, so I'm always fascinated with it when I travel.

These sweet llamas were my favorite!  They were so friendly.  Their fur was so soft.  This was part of a small kids area which included a petting zoo, and pony and train rides.  In addition to these attractions there is also a water park, a rock wall, sky high safari, and a zip line...so your child will not run of things to do!  These are not included in the general admission, but you can buy a wristband for $20 which provides unlimited daily rides and attractions along with admission to the zoo/botanical gardens.

I wanted to take this one home with me.  I just loved his/her eyes!

They did have some larger animals like zebra, giraffes, elephants, and gorillas.

This alligator was so huge!

There were so many restaurants and places to eat in this zoo...I was actually surprised at the amount of choices.  I've never seen that before.  We stopped at one restaurant so I could enjoy a glass of ice tea.  I loved sitting on the patio and listening to the birds sing with my husband.

When my husband was taking this picture, another elephant surprised us and joined the frame!  I had no idea till I saw the picture!

Isn't this little creature a cutie?

Though they did have bigger cats, they were all sleeping/hiding when we were there, so we couldn't get a descent photo.  This cat though made up for it because he woke up right when we got there, stretched, and went for a walk on a tree limb.  It made me miss Jackson.

There were several large gorillas.  Some were hard to spot as they hid in the tall brush quite effectively, but this one, seemed to enjoy the attention!

If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend stopping in this zoo.  There is so much more to see there than what I covered here.  They have an aquarium and a seal area (with demonstrations) too!  They are open daily from 9-5 (except Thanksgiving and Christmas).  The cost is $15.95 for an adult and parking is free!

Next week I'll begin my coverage of Savannah starting with the beautiful historic home we stayed in "Printmaker's Inn".

Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

Riverbanks Botanical Garden

I am so excited to start a new travel series!  Last week my husband and I took a spring vacation to Savannah Georgia.   We were so ready for some warmth and flowers after experiencing a blizzard in our home state just the weekend before.  We left on Friday afternoon and spent the night with the kids in Illinois, the next day we drove to Knoxville, Tennessee to spend the night, and the following morning headed out to Columbia, South Carolina to see the "Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Gardens".  Now your probably wondering why we made that stop.  Well, although we love zoos and botanical gardens, when planning our Savannah vacation I had a difficult time finding hotel availabilities from Sunday night through Friday morning.  But, when I changed the dates to Monday night through Friday morning not only did more availabilities come up, but the prices came WAY down too!  My husband saw there was this zoo and gardens only a few hours from Savannah, so he thought that a visit here would break up our trip a little bit and solve our hotel dilemma.  I'm so glad he did, because we had so much fun this day exploring this beautiful garden and zoo.  

Because I have so many pictures to share, I'm going to divide this day into two separate posts.  This week I'll cover the botanical gardens and next week I'll cover the zoo.  On week three of this travel series I will then begin our Savannah experience.

First of all,  after coming from freezing cold temperatures and a snow covered state, I can't even begin to tell you how starved I was for greenery.  So if I sound excited in this post, it's because I was.  We didn't see any greenery on our road trip till we hit Indiana.  Then I noticed 

the grass was starting to green and some trees were in bud.  Tennessee was even better showing off their white  flowering trees.  By the time I hit North Carolina I started to see rhododendrons in bloom  and flowering crabs everywhere;  but South Carolina...they had it all! Flowers, warm 

weather, every tree leafed out, and palm trees!  I always get so excited when I see the first palm tree of a long road trip.

So when we arrived at the Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Gardens and my husband asked me where I wanted to go first, well of course I said the gardens!  To get to the gardens you have to enter through the zoo grounds and then you cross this beautiful bridge with gorgeous river views.

When I entered the botanical gardens, I felt I was in paradise!  Flowers, flowers, flowers everywhere!   Oh what a sight for these spring starved eyes!

The botanical gardens were small, but boy did they pack a punch!  It was a beautiful mix of fountains, brick paths and walls, florals, and greenery.

The design of the gardens was very European to me.  I loved these stone fences.

The brick walls and paths with the stone fences provided a beautiful background for all the flowers.  I loved those purple hedges growing against the brick wall.  And look at those charming light posts!

The main garden had a beautiful water feature in the center.  There were fountains on either end with a river running right down the middle.

There was so much interest other than flowers.  Just look at how much green is in the picture below, yet the different textures with the palm plant in the left foreground and the pine type tree right behind me along with those purple hedges provide so much contrast.  I love the silver foliage in the bed by my feet too!

Here is a view of the fountain with the "river" in the foreground.  I love the smaller water fountains in the river.  And aren't those tall cobalt blue pots simply striking?

Look at the vibrant color in the photo below.  Isn't that amazing?  And these photos are not edited.  I just love the purple/yellow/red combo against all the shades of green with the silver foliage in the forefront.

Here is a view of the "river" with the second fountain in this garden.

I LOVE these snapdragons!  I need to plant these in my own garden.  Aren't they beautiful?

This photo is magazine worthy.  Don't you just want to sit on the bench for hours?  I do!

Here is a far-away shot of the "river".  It's the central focal point of the garden with flower beds and paths on either side all surrounded by a beautiful brick wall.

And this view is taken from the opposite end of the "river"  showing the second fountain in the foreground.  I Love the palm trees.  They add so much to a garden.  I wish they would grow in Wisconsin!  haha!

This crazy but beautiful garden art sculpture was outside the garden facility building.  I just love cobalt blue pots and garden art.  They add so much color to a garden, especially since not a lot of flowers are blue.  It provides a nice contrast.

This is the garden directly in front of the garden facilities building.  I could not stop smelling these heavenly white roses!

Here is a side view of the second fountain.  It was walled in on three sides by the stone fence.

This large long bed of delphiniums was perhaps one of my favorite spots in the garden.  I love delphinium.  I use to have so much of it in my own garden, but sadly it all died away.  It's one of those plants that although it's considered a perennial, in colder zones you really need to re-plant every year.  Perhaps this year I will plant more!

All the trees were wrapped in lights.  I'm sure it's breath-taking after dark!  I liked the square little gardens planted around each tree.

"Look, it's a bird, a plane, no it's....a jasmine covered arch!"  Jasmine is everywhere in the south.  It's wonderful to walk the neighborhoods and whiff in this beautiful sweet  scent!  Oh, how I wish this were a perennial vine in Wisconsin too!  I'd have it growing everywhere!

A beautiful garden gate.  Love the ivy covered brick with the black wrought iron gate.

It was so fitting to spend the very first day of our vacation  touring this beautiful garden.  I was so depressed prior to our trip because we had suffered the coldest April on record and two major blizzards in Wisconsin.  I felt spring would never come!  It was so rejuvenating to my spirit to walk through this garden and see life once again.

Next week, Riverbanks Zoo!

Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

A Stroll Through Charleston

This is the final post off a Travel Series of my vacation to Myrtle Beach.  To start at the beginning go HERE.  The rest of the posts,, in chronological order are  HERE,   HERE ,  HERE,  HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

On the very last day of our vacation, we visited Charleston, South Carolina.  We arrived bright and early in the morning and went straight to the Visitor's Center.  It was a piece of cake to find, right off the freeway.  There we bought our tickets to the Carriage Ride and we received advice to just leave our car parked at the center and take free public bus transportation from there.  It cost $12.00 to park at the Visitor Center for the day, but a word of advice:  get there early if you want to do the same because the parking lot fills up fast!

The Visitor Center is absolutely gorgeous in and of itself, and I could have spent hours there just reading all their displays and pamphlets.  But we only had a few hours to spend in Charleston, so I could not.  The Visitor Center is housed inside an old railway building constructed between 1840 to 1846.  There is a 36 minute you can watch that gives a history of Charleston and suggestions of the sights to see.

Following the bus route was super easy, and we arrived at our carriage ride with no problems.  (If you missed my post on "A Carriage Ride Through Charleston" you can catch up by clicking on the last link above.)  After our carriage ride we decided to walk through The Historic Charleston City Market, which was right across the street from Old South Carriage Ride.

The City Market is a Historic Market Complex that spans four city blocks in downtown Charleston.  It's one of the oldest market places in the nation and is listed on The National Register of Historic Places as "Market Hall and Sheds".   It was initially known as a Beef Market but it burnt to the ground in 1796.  Market Hall (pictured above) was added in 1840 as a place for farmers to sell beef and produce.  Today it is used for vendors to sell souvenirs.  The Charleston Confederate Museum is housed above.

Charleston is know for it's gorgeous, hand-weaved baskets.  It was so fascinating watching the locals weave them.  Our carriage ride guide recommended that we buy one as a true souvenir of Charleston, but they were way too expensive for me.  One basket costs around $500.00

I did buy a hand-made ring for $15.00 however!  The artist takes local pearls from the ocean and wires them into these pretty rings.  The rose-gold color of the pearl sold me!  I love it so much, I've worn it every day since I came home!

After touring The City Market we then headed to the main shopping area to find a place to eat.   I wanted to try some local cuisine and found out that Charleston is known for it's great seafood and barbecue.  I love a barbecue sandwich, so off we went.  There were many barbecue restaurants to choose from.  We picked a restaurant off the main drag and down a side street that seemed a little less expensive (you know me, always the budget tourist!).

The restaurant had a nice sports bar atmosphere that offered both booths, high tables, and a bar.  We chose to eat at one of the high tables and ordered a platter which included the barbecue, baked beans, potato salad, and a slice of bread with a pickle.

The barbecue and potato salad were delicious, however I was stunned with the single bread slice.  I've never ordered a barbecue before that didn't include a bun and I wasn't sure if this was the norm for a Charleston barbecue or if it was just how this restaurant did it.  Readers?  Any idea?

We also ordered Sweet Tea, and it was the best Sweet Tea I've ever had in my life.  It was so good that I had to ask the waiter what was in it.  He seemed surprised and said "Just Sugar".  I must have seemed like an alien from another planet who never had sweet tea before.  But I really was perplexed as to why this Charleston Sweet Tea was so good.  So I texted Jeannie from A Pocketful of Polka Dots (who is from North Carolina) and I asked her how much sugar she puts in her Sweet Tea.  She said a cup and half!  No wonder that tea taste so good!  Here in the north, we don't put that much sugar in our tea.  Maybe a teaspoon in a tall glass or none at all.

After lunch, my husband asked me what I wanted to see now and I said that I wanted to go back to the area where all the magnificent houses were because I wanted to look at them more closely.  He was surprised that I didn't want to see something different, but I loved those homes so much plus I wanted to check out all their gardens and the side streets.  To get back to that district, we first had to walk through the main shopping district.  We didn't go inside any of the stores, but just enjoyed all the architecture as we walked by.

 On our way back to the ocean front homes, we saw many other amazing buildings like churches and public and private buildings.

Charleston is filled with so many old churches, some were open for the public too.  

This church had an old cemetery behind it.  I love exploring old cemeteries.  So many of the tombstones however were so worn that you couldn't read them.

 If you love museums, you will love Charleston because it is filled with them!  This is "The Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon".  It was built in 1767-1771 and has served a variety of civic institutional functions including a Prisoner of War facility.  It is now a museum operated by the Daughters of the American Revolution.

The construction of the United States Custom House began in 1853.  What a magnificent building.  The people sitting on the top step really give you some perspective of the size of this building.

And this cute little building is the oldest known liquor store in the country.  It's called "The Tavern at Rainbow Row".

After walking through the main shopping district and businesses, we were finally back in the residential area by Battery Park.  It was quite a hike from where we started.  We could have taken the free bus, but it was nice to see it on foot and get more detail.

Every single home in Charleston was gorgeous, we took hundreds of photos, but here are some of my favorites.

I loved all the houses, and even the little tiny ones, like this pretty pink one, were as charming and jaw-dropping as the mansions.

This mansion had the most interesting fence.  The top of it looked downright dangerous.  I had never seen anything like this before.

This row of brick homes definitely looked very New Englandish!

But the most impressive houses are located across the street from Battery Park or the Ocean front.

All these homes have amazing ocean views.

Across from these homes is a walking path along the ocean.

Battery Park has several monuments and war memorabilia to learn more about the defense history of Charleston.

And finally, the gardens.  Charleston is known for it's small city gardens.  The homes in Charleston do not have big yards and so most of the gardens are small.  But I think because they are so small, that's what makes them so interesting.  It seemed the homeowners tried to carve out small gardens in whatever space they had to work with, which most often is just a little walk-way between buildings.  

All the gardens were enclosed by some kind of iron gate, so I couldn't enter any of them.  But I managed to take a peek at most of them!

I loved this rose covered iron fence.  I've never been good at growing roses, so I really appreciate other gardeners ability to grow them.

Here's an example of a beautiful garden courtyard created between two buildings.

This garden belonged to a church, so I was able to meander along it's path and explore it.

A formal garden with carefully trimmed hedges and amaryllis.  That's a flower we can only grow in a pot at Christmas time here in Wisconsin.

Architecture plays a very important part in Charleston gardens.  Iron and brick are predominately used.

After walking all day, we were exhausted.  Thank goodness we got a hotel only about 45 minutes from Charleston.  We were able to check in, soak in the pool a bit, and then get a nice dinner before heading out the next morning for the long walk home.

And that concludes my Myrtle Beach Vacation series.  I will now return to sharing places we have visited locally or near by until my next big adventure this fall!

Have a Great Day!  Amy

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