The picture above is of a live oak tree near Myrtle Beach, SC. I thought it was interesting that the tree looks very old and is growing along the ground as if it is crawling. It's dripping with grey Spanish Moss.

Another place of interest was out in a deserted place, deep in the woods near the Wacamaw River. We had to take a jeep over rough terrain to get there. It was the old rice plantation site where Gov. Joseph Alston and his wife Theodosia Burr lived. She was the only daughter of Aaron Burr, vice president of the USA.

The family cemetery was still on the property, in remarkable good shape. It was surrounded by a brick wall and black iron gate , built by the slaves. Gov. Alston and his eleven year old son are buried there with several other family members. Towering, Live Oaks Trees, surround the site.

Our guide related the sad story about the Alston family. Theodosia and Joseph had only one son. When he was eleven years old he took sick and died with swamp fever, known now as Malaria fever. They were grief stricken and Theodosia wanted to go grieve with her father in New York. Joseph figured the ocean would give her the safest passage since a war was going ,on land.

Sadly her ship was lost at sea. They never knew what happened to Theodosia or the ship. Strangely, a hand painted color portrait of Theodosia washed up on the beach of Nags Head, SC. Where it came from, no one knows. Joseph died four years later in Charleston, SC. , they say of a broken heart. 

Someone wrote her biography.  I read it and it is a very interesting read.  You can purchase it online.