Springfield Canal

Friday 2nd June
We were sad to wave goodbye to Middleton Place, it was a very relaxing place that was also educational about the history of the plantation and slavery. Quite shocking what was considered acceptable and normal in times gone by.

Since we have had the Mustang the rear passenger tyre slowly deflates over 2 days to around 14lb when it should be 31lb. We have been managing it by pumping it up but today it went down in a day so we may be changing it tomorrow – don’t want to be stuck with a flat on the way to the airport and miss our flight!!

On the way out of Charleston we stopped at the only American Tea Plantation and had a tour of the plantation and the factory. It was very like those we have seen in Africa and Sri Lanka but more mechanised and cleaner. After tasting some tea we bought a few tins for home then carried on our journey to Savannah.

Arriving at Savannah around 5pm on a Friday night our first priority was to find a room for the night. We stopped at the visitor information, but the only deal they had was on a hotel 20 miles outside town. We wanted to be closer than that so looked up a few local motels and set off to take a look. The first one, De-Luxe Inns, looked a bit basic from the outside but we stopped and I went to ask about availability. I was a bit put off by the handwritten notices stuck on windows in reception and the counter glass saying that under no circumstances would any refunds be given, very unfriendly. The reception was a shabby place which stank of curry. The counter had a ceiling to counter glass partition with a little hole, like at a bank, into which you could put money or whatever to pass to the person behind the counter. The room wasn’t expensive so I asked to see a room, the Asian man behind the counter said the only vacancy had a broken door lock but they could get it fixed. The room we were shown had ceiling to floor mirrors on 3 walls with a big king sized bed with dark brown covers, it was dark and pokey and stank of smoke. I felt deeply disturbed and uneasy about the whole set up and returning it to the man at the counter said we would think about it. We looked at a Quality Inn next, which was much better but in the end settled for a Best Western with laundry facilities and breakfast included. We like Best Western, having used them many times before. It feels much safer and a million miles away from the weird set up at the De-Luxe Inns.Read more