Serendipity Dream Comes True!

After seeing the Magnolia Plantation in the morning I was thinking about my favorite plantation of all time.  I wondered where North and South was filmed and where that plantation was.  We discussed it and neither of us knew so we of course Googled it.

Now of course I do believe in serendipity and divine intervention and this was simply spectacular.  The Lord blesses us with tender mercies just tailored to us many times and sometimes they are not about earth shattering things.  Occasionally it is just something He knows we would love because he knows and loves us personally.  The very place where the mini-series was filmed was just down the road, not ten miles from our hotel and in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina!

We were planning to get up early the next morning and go downtown and take some better photos and then head down to Savannah.  But...course correction on the spot!  We planned an excursion to the Plantation.  It is called Boone Hall.  I cannot imagine why...this place will always be Mont Royal to me.  I always called it Mount Royal but all the references say Mont, so Mont it is.   I could hardly sleep, I was that excited about the coming day.

There are fabulous vacation day and then there are really fabulous vacations days.  This time we spent in the south and east had several over the top days.  The one I am going to write about today was one magnificent day for us! 

First a little background on what made it so incredible!  If you know me at all you know I love movies.  They have to be good movies, ones that uplift and teach and warm the heart.  I love the romantic, the historical, the enlightening.  And I adore character development.  I have many favorites.  However, North and South, the mini-series with Patrick Swayze and Leslie Ann Downs is way up top on my list of elevating stories.  There are dozens of top names in this film.  I highly recommend it without reservation.

This moment below may come to mind for those fans reading this post.  These star-crossed lovers have a real wild ride through this series.  Expect emotions to be all over the place as you watch it.  I  know a lot about Patrick Swayze and this is who I think he really was.  This nice, sweet gentle man.  A man of honor, kindness and principle.  And a man willing to sacrifice all for his woman, his family and his home.  This is the role I will always remember best of his and I have seen a lot of his work.  What a tragedy for him to die so young.  He was a man of many talents and sorely missed by many.

Orry Main played by Patrick Swayze 

and Madelaine played by Leslie Anne Downs!

These two were electrifying

Oh my heck!

As beautiful as their love story was it was secondary to me to the love between Orry and George as they remained friends through thick and thin during the Civil War.  Classmates at Westpoint they fought on opposing sides a few years later during the war.  I cannot tell you how many times I have watched this series.  I saw an interview with James Read who played George Hazzard and he had white hair and was all the more handsome even as he aged.  He said that to this day he will walk down a street and someone will holler out..."Hey George!"  With that gorgeous smile of his he conceded that he thought that was about the greatest thing he could have happen.

Orry and George

So the scenery is gorgeous, the fashions of the day...stunning, and the scenes in Charleston made me want to visit there some time in my life.   All of that was realized on this trip plus actually getting to go and see the plantation with my own two eyes.  I told Jim if we only got to see the part of the plantation where Orry rides up to the house on his stallion, I would have realized a dream I never even thought of as a possibility.  So with that in mind, I'll close this post and begin another immediately telling you about the most wonderful Plantation of all.

FOR A SNEAK PEEK AT WHEN ORRY 

MEETS MADELAINE FOR THE FIRST TIME

CLICK HERE  

Disclaimer# 1:  You won't be able to resist watching the whole  series!

Disclaimer #2  My only complaint with it is that there are three books to this story by John Jakes and it should have ended after book 2.  The last book almost seems like it was written by another person or just tagged on to perhaps, at some point,  extend the story in a different direction.  I always stop watching at the end of book 2 where there is a natural ending. 

I ran across the soundtrack to the series and if you loved it like I did the memories will flow like a rushing waterfall over your soul.  You can find it here.   Sound Track to North and South!  Or here if you are a subscriber  http://youtu.be/TA3NHC3c8ik  Marie, this one is for you!  Sometimes I like to open a second browser and listen to music while blogging.  That is exactly what I did while preparing this post for you.