Thursday, Apr. 10, 2008

Trips by category

Art

View the best of Southern art, new and old, at the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston’s Historic District. It is at 135 Meeting St. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Closed Mondays. Call (843) 722-2706 or go to www.gibbesmuseum.org.

For 10 years, the Columbia Museum of Art has been a resident of Main Street in Columbia. The regular museum collection includes art by Monet, Botticelli, Tiffany, Canaletto, Remington and Chihuly. It is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday (until 9 p.m. Friday), 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Free on Saturdays. At Hampton and Main streets. Call (803) 799-2810 or go to www.columbiamuseum.org.

Get artsy at the Greenville County Museum of Art, which has featured major exhibitions of nationally known artists such as S.C. native Jasper Johns. Also enjoy the museum’s collection of paintings by Andrew Wyeth. The museum is at 420 College St. Call (864) 271-7570 or go to www.greenvillemuseum.org.

No one who lives here should miss the Spoleto Festival USA, an international arts festival in Charleston for three weeks beginning each Memorial Day weekend. Go to spoletousa.org or call (843) 579-3100 for details on the upcoming festival.

Art and nature blend beautifully at Brookgreen Gardens on the coast, south of Myrtle Beach. Created in 1931 by Archer and Anna Huntington, the former plantation has about 900 sculptures scattered among azaleas and oaks as well as in a gallery. Among the artists represented are Elie Nadelman, Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Paul Manship.

Brookgreen is on U.S. 17 between Litchfield Beach and Murrells Inlet, open 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Call (800) 849-1931 or go to brookgreen.org.

Family attractions

Visit the State Museum and EdVenture children’s museum. One of the best ways to learn about the cultural and natural history of South Carolina is to spend a day at the State Museum in Columbia. Even if you think you know state history, you’ll learn something. And the changing exhibits take you other places.

Just across the parking lot is EdVenture, the South’s largest children’s museum. The colorful facility aims to entertain and inform youngsters up to about age 12. In the interactive exhibits, children can crawl around inside a 40-foot-tall boy named Eddie, play at grocery shopping in a mini-store or become a television weather person. For information: www.museum.state.sc.us, (803) 898-4921; www.edventure.org, (803) 779-3100.

Creatures from the lakes, rivers and seas are the focus at the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston. It’s open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Adults, $16; seniors, $14; children 2-11, $8; infants, free. 100 Aquarium Wharf, Charleston. Call (843) 720-1990 or go to www.scaquarium.org.

Cool off with a thrill on the slides at Whirlin’ Waters Adventure Waterpark in North Charleston. The park will turn on the water in mid-May, and the hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Whirlin’ Waters is at Hwy. 78 University Blvd., North Charleston. Call (843) 572-7275.

Spend a summer day at Carowinds, either screaming while on one of the 10 exciting roller-coaster rides, taking in a live show or enjoying numerous water attractions. To get the full Carowinds experience, slap on the flip-flops and the sunscreen on a summer day. When the black asphalt surface starts to burn your feet through the flip-flops, head to the water park to cool off. For more information, go to www.carowinds.com or call (800) 888-4386.

Marvel at the animals at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden. You can get amazingly close to watch the koalas and gorillas. Programs teach you about the lives of sea lions and elephants. You even can feed the giraffes. And across the pedestrian bridge over the river, you can bask in the color of the botanical garden and walk through a trail in the forest. Visit www.riverbanks.org or call (803) 779-8717.

The new Hard Rock Park is a 55-acre facility off U.S. 501 in Myrtle Beach that bills itself as the world’s first rock ‘n’ roll theme park. A soft opening is set for April 15, and the amps will be turned up to “11” by May 8. A grand opening celebration June 2-3 will feature concerts in the 10,000-seat amphitheater by the Eagles and The Moody Blues. Concerts begin May 13 with Kid Rock.

Among the park highlights are Led Zeppelin: The Ride, a 155-foot-tall roller coaster that runs to “Whole Lotta Love” a 2,000-foot coaster that runs to the Eagles’ “Life in the Fast Lane” Reggae River Falls, a Jamaican-themed water park; and Midnight Rider, a coaster that runs through an adandoned lumber mill. Regular ticket price will be $46. Grand opening celebration tickets are $250. Find out more at www.hardrockpark.com.

Historical sites

Visit the Charleston Tea Plantation on Maybank Highway near Kiawah. This is a one-of-a-kind experience in the United States, the only tea garden in operation. Purchased in 2003 by the Bigelow Co., the 127-acre tea farm wasn’t a traditional plantation. Its plants originated from a tea plantation in Summerville. Tours are available year-round, Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. For more information, go to bigelowtea.com or call (843) 559-0383.

The Citadel’s picturesque campus sits on the banks of the Ashley River in Charleston and is open to visitors year round. Visitors can watch uniformed cadets in the private military college march each Friday during the academic year in the Citadel parade. Other campus attractions include the Summerall Chapel and the Citadel Museum. The school is at 171 Moultrie St., Charleston. Call (843) 225-3294 or go to www.citadel.edu.

Fort Sumter, the target for the first shots of the Civil War, now is one of the top tourism destinations in South Carolina. The National Park Service tells the story of the fort and the war that split the young country with exhibits at its mainland visitors center in Charleston and at the fort. For some children, the best part about visiting Fort Sumter is the boat ride to the fort.

And while you’re in the military history mood, drive across the Ravenel Bridge to Sullivan’s Island and visit Fort Moultrie, site of the first major battle of the Revolutionary War in South Carolina. Call (843) 883-3123 or go to www.nps.gov/fosu.

Founded in 1970, the Oyotunji African Village in Sheldon started as a way to celebrate and educate others in a traditional African culture, Yoruba, and its religion. Visitors are invited to festivals held throughout the year. The events feature rituals, dancing, music and dress. The village is at 56 Bryant Lane. Call (843) 846-8900 or go to www.oyotunjiafricanvillage.org.

Shopping

For 220 years, the Old City Market in Charleston has served as this city’s center of commerce. In four buildings from Meeting Street to East Bay Street, hundreds of vendors sell everything from souvenirs and jewelry to sweetgrass woven baskets, pieces of art all their own. Also check out the historic main building, Market Hall, built in 1841, now housing artifacts collected by the Daughters of the Confederacy. The market is open dawn to dusk year round.

You can find flea markets in nearly every town in the state, large or small. But for sheer volume, you can’t go wrong along a stretch of U.S. 1 in Lexington County. Within a mile or so, you’ll find the U.S. 1 Flea Market and the Barnyard Flea Market.

Regulars claim the same high-profile tables each week to sell everything from local produce to baseball cards. But some of the best deals can be found at the outer tables, where people clearing out their attics offer useless junk — or priceless vases they think are useless junk. For U.S. 1 Flea Market, call (803) 796-9294; for Barnyard Flea Market, call (803) 957-6570.

Columbia has two main historic shopping districts: Five Points and the Vista. For funky, try Five Points, with its mix of clothing stores, gift shops and dining. Also check out the Vista’s array of fine dining and shopping, housed in a former warehouse district that’s undergone a wonderful transformation. Go to www.fivepointscolumbia.com or www.vistacolumbia.com.

Charleston’s historic district is brimming with dozens of stores — from quaint antique shops to national chain stores — and an array of some of the finest dining in the South. Shop along King Street and Meeting Street, and take a break on the newly revitalized upper King Street, where hip clubs and bars are housed in former empty storefronts. www.charlestoncvb.com

Recreation

The Grand Strand is a golfer’s dream, with more than 100 courses and lots of great deals. There are dozens of packages listed online. Some involve multiple courses, some link courses and hotels, and some even throw in restaurant discounts. Some courses close for renovations in the winter, and prices slip a little during the colder months, but Myrtle Beach has become a year-round golf destination. One good starting point online is the Myrtle Beach Golf Association Web site: www.mbga.com.

Each Saturday and Sunday, volunteer experts lead guided hikes in Congaree National Park, the largest old-growth bottomland hardwood forest in the country. The 24,500-acre park in southeastern Richland County is home to numerous state and national record trees. The guided hikes, like almost everything at the park, are free. If you prefer to set out on your own, the park has dozens of miles of well-marked trails. Go to www.nps.gov/cosw or call (803) 776-4396.

Hunting Island State Park, with its beautiful beach, lagoons and maritime forest, ranks as one of the most popular in the state. While you’ll want to explore all of the natural treats, the trip isn’t complete unless you walk up the 167 steps of the only former lighthouse in the state open to the public. There’s a $4 fee to enter the park, and it’s $2 more to enter the lighthouse. But the view from the top is priceless. Go to www.southcarolinaparks.com or call (843) 838-2011.

Watch a sunrise from an oceanfront fishing pier. Piers jut out from dunes all along the state’s coast, and they provide venues for more than just fishing. They’re great places to watch the sun peek above the horizon in the morning or slip below it later in the day. One of the best piers for sunrises is the Edwin Taylor Pier at Folly Beach. It’s free to walk on the county-owned structure, and its positioning allows a view of the sun coming up over the waves without massive hotels in the foreground. For more information, go to www.follyfishingpier.com or call (843) 795-4386.

Biking enthusiasts have built and helped maintain dozens of miles of mountain biking trails on state park and national forest property in the mostly rural McCormick and Edgefield counties along the Savannah River. The Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association Web site has maps of spots such as the Fork Area Trail System, Horn Creek, Wine Creek, Baker Creek, Turkey Creek and Modoc. You can drive over for a day or stay at Hickory Knob State Resort Park and make it a weekend. Hickory Knob has motel-like rooms or cabins. Visit www.sorba.org or www.southcarolinaparks.com.

Take a guided rafting trip on the Chattooga River. The federal government designates the waterway forming the upper border of South Carolina and Georgia as “wild and scenic,” and there’s no better way to experience both of those attributes than on a raft trip. The U.S. Forest Service allows only three rafting services on the river and limits the number of daily trips. Contact Nantahalla Outdoor Center at (888) 905-7238, Southeastern Expeditions at (800) 868-7238 or Wildwater Ltd. at (800) 451-9972.

Hike a mountain trail. The toehold of the Appalachian chain in the Upstate has some spectacular trails. Rugged hikers can try the 7.2-mile round trip to the top of Table Rock. The view from the top toward Greenville is incredible. For a less strenuous hike, try the Raven Cliff Falls trail at Caesars Head State Park. It’s about a 4-mile round trip, with a view across a valley at the waterfall as a payoff at the midpoint. For more information, visit www.southcarolinaparks.com or www.sctrails.net.

Paddle the black water of the Edisto River. The Edisto River winds like a black ribbon through the Lowcountry. While the sections above I-95 are navigable in a canoe or kayak, beginners should head for the sections south of I-95. Several outfitters rent canoes and kayaks along the river. Carolina Heritage Outfitters, just across river from Colleton State Park, is the most convenient. Call (843) 563-5051.

Visit the formal gardens near Charleston. The section of S.C. 61 between Charleston and Summerville is home to some of the most beautiful gardens in the world. Former plantation land has been transformed into botanical wonderlands at Magnolia, (800) 367-3517; Middleton Place, (800) 782-3608; and Drayton Hall, (843) 769-2600. The buildings are pretty spectacular, too.

The colors are most grand in the spring, but these places are special year-round. The guided tours help you understand the history and the natural wonders. For more information, visit www.middletonplace.org, www.magnoliaplantation.com or www.draytonhall.org.

The fishing is great on many of South Carolina’s man-made lakes. Record-breaking catfish are taken from the Santee Cooper lakes — Moultrie and Marion. Striped bass are the stars at lakes Murray, Thurmond and Russell. You can toss out a line from public parks along the shores, but most folks opt to head out on the water in boats. If you don’t have a boat, guide services can be found at each lake. Don’t forget, you need a license to fish inland waters. For information, visit www.dnr.sc.gov.

Hike or bike a portion of the Palmetto Trail. The Palmetto Conservation Foundation is coordinating construction of a 425-mile trail from the coast near Awendaw to the mountains at Oconee State Park. If you like maritime forests, the Awendaw Passage loops through saw palmettos and sea oats. If you prefer mountains, the Jocassee Gorges Passage has stunning boulders and expansive vistas. Visit www.palmettoconservation.org or call (803) 771-0870.

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