Sesame Burgers and Beer, located near North Charleston’s Old Village, serves up fresh–ground, hormone-free gourmet burgers. Sesame offers toppings to suit any taste. You can get your burger with everything from fried egg to peanut butter and banana slices.

Sesame Burgers and Beer is a located in the heart of North Charleston’s Park Circle Neighborhood. The restaurant serves up some of the best hand-made burgers around.

North Charleston’s Old Village is home to a variety of shops and restaurants that have revitalized the area’s historic district. The mainly two-story masonry buildings line the area’s traditional main street.

Cork is one of several popular restaurants located on the main street in Old Village. Almost everything in the restaurant, which has a changing menu based on local, in-season foods, has been reclaimed, refurbished and repurposed.

Cypress Gardens has played host to more than 16 major movies and television series. Scenes from The Patriot were shot near this bridge.

A Swallowtail butterfly perches on a plant inside the Butterfly House at Cypress Gardens.

A family of alligators bask in the sun in a secure area outside the Swamparium at Cypress Gardens. Depending on when you visit, you also might see alligators in the wild on the grounds.

The roots that extend out of the swamp at Cypress Gardens are called cypress knees. The root system anchors the trees and provides oxygen.

Cypress Gardens includes about 80 acres of open swamp. The black water swamp provides beautiful reflections of the towering Cypress trees.

North Charleston’s Riverfront Park sits along the banks of the Cooper River and provides stunning views. Visitors can sit under the shade of large oak trees and enjoy the peaceful scenery.

Cargo ships are seen here in the distance. Visitors to Riverfront Park can also enjoy the boat traffic of the Cooper River.

A boardwalks winds through the Naval Base Memorial at North Charleston’s Riverfront Park. The park also offers a fishing pier seen here in the distance.

This statue is one of several located on the grounds of the Naval Base Memorial at Riverfront Park that honors families and the Naval men and women who once served at the base.

Riverfront Park in North Charleston is home to the Greater Charleston Naval Base Memorial. The outdoor exhibit honors the men and women who served when the Naval Base was operational.

This contemporary art sculpture is one of several you’ll find on the grounds of Riverfront Park. Each year, the park hosts the North Charleston Outdoor Sculpture Competition and Exhibition. The artwork remains on display throughout the year.

Archeologists call Colonial-era African American pottery Colonoware. Slaves brought their pottery-making tradition from Africa using the rich sources of clay found along the lowcountry’s rivers and streams. Pieces of excavated pottery from the site of Dean Hall Plantation are on display at the Cypress Garden Heritage Room.

Cypress Gardens' newest exhibit is the Heritage Room. The facility contains historical and interactive displays that provide insight into the lives of enslaved men and women who worked the Dean Hall Plantation site.

Elloree’s main street is home to a number of specialty shops, businesses and restaurants. The revitalized area is a big draw for visitors.

Elloree is regarded as an antique-shopping destination. A number of antique shops can be found on Main Street.

The Elloree Heritage Museum and Cultural Center is a first-class facility that offers nearly two dozen exhibits that highlight Elloree’s rural past.

One of several exhibits at the Elloree Heritage Museum, this farm display highlights the life of the tenant farmer in rural Elloree many years ago.

Visitors to the Elloree Heritage Museum and Cultural Center can’t miss Ruby Doo. The farm mule display provides an overview of the role mules played in the 1800s and early 1900s.

Elloree has a lot of quaint spots in its downtown area. Prayer Alley is one of them. The area is tucked away off the town’s main street and offers locals and visitors a nice place to sit, reflect or simply rest.

Amporn’s is an unexpected culinary delight in Elloree. The restaurant offers a variety of delicious Thai cuisine.

Lake Marion provides a great backdrop for fishing and boating in Eutawville.

Eutawville is home to a number of antique and specialty shops.

The last battle of the Revolutionary War was fought in Eutawville. Visitors can learn more about that history at the Eutaw Springs Battle Ground Memorial Park, located just off Highway 6 in the town.

A visitor has a face-to-face encounter with Coretta, a Loggerhead sea turtle who has lived in the Great Ocean Tank since 2001.

A Loggerhead sea turtle swims to the surface of the Sea Turtle Hospital, which cares for injured sea turtles. After being nursed back to health, the turtles are released back into the wild.

A Sand Tiger shark swims in the Great Ocean Tank, which contains more than 750 animals consisting of 50 species.  The tank holds 385,000 gallons of sea water and the clear acrylic walls are 18 inches thick. The tank is 42 feet deep, the deepest aquarium in North America.

Visitors enjoy one of the special exhibits at the aquarium.

The S.C. Aquarium is the perfect place to get close to and experience South Carolina's sea creatures.

The S.C. Aquarium sits on Charleston harbor.

Shrimp boats line Jeremy Creek, which also is the site of Carolina Seafood Company. Officials estimate they harvest more than 20,000 bushels of oysters and 1 million pounds of shrimp each season from local waters.

The Deerhead Oak tree, located in the heart of McClellanville, is one of the town’s most photographed attractions. The ancient tree is believed to be more than 1,000 years old. It stands 67 feet high and is about 30 feet wide. The tree’s name is based on its shape.

McClellanville has a lovely waterfront, where shrimp and other seafood boats bring in the harvest.

This odd-shaped tree is a Native American trail tree. Native Americans made trail trees by bending saplings. As the saplings grew, they pointed to specific and important locations along specified routes. This tree, believed to be more than 200 years old, is located off Highway 28 just outside Oconee State Park.

Isaqueena Falls is a 200-foot cascade located at Stumphouse Tunnel Park in Oconee County. Native Americans considered the falls to be sacred ground.

Keowee Town, currently submerged under Lake Keowee, was once the main town of the lower Cherokee settlements. During the 18th century, there were more than two dozen Cherokee Lower Towns in present-day Oconee, Greenville, Anderson and Pickens counties. The Lower Town settlements served as the center of Cherokee country in South Carolina.

Nancy Basket, an artist and educator whose work has been featured in major motion pictures such as Last of the Mohicans, sells and displays her kudzu folk art at Kudzu Kabin Designs in Walhalla. The front porch of her gallery is covered in her main art material -- kudzu.

Folk Artist Nancy Basket uses kudzu vine to make interesting pieces of artwork like this Thunderbird. According to Native American oral tradition, the Thunderbird is a gigantic bird with a wing span up to 20 feet long.

Nancy Basket, whose grandmother was a Cherokee woman, has a room full of Native American artifacts at her art gallery in Walhalla

Artist Nancy Basket has been working with Kudzu since 1989. She makes everything from baskets to paper at her studio in Walhalla.

Orangeburg’s Edisto Memorial Gardens are aglow with thousands of holiday lights. The Children’s Garden Christmas and Kid’s Walk runs for six weeks after Thanksgiving.

A festive riverboat rolls down the Edisto at the Children’s Garden Christmas at Orangeburg’s Memorial Gardens.

The driving tour at Edisto Memorial Gardens in Orangeburg features dozens of light displays.

Edgefield’s Wild Turkey Center and Winchester Museum houses dozens of interactive displays and exhibits that explore the North American wild turkey, turkey hunting and conservation.

Main Street Market in Bamberg is a cooperative of small businesses that provides a range of hand-made speciality items.

Mules Pete and Jake greet visitors at Freewoods Farm in the Myrtle Beach community of Burgess. Freewoods is a living history farm museum dedicated to showcasing and preserving the legacy of African American farmers.

Syrup is made the old fashioned way at Freewoods Farm, located near Myrtle Beach. After being ground in a cane mill, sugar cane is made into syrup that is cooked in an open kettle. Freewoods Farm provides visitors with a variety of displays and living history exhibits that showcase early African American farm life.

Established in 1887 by the Methodist Church, the Boylan Haven-Mather Academy site in Camden became one of the nation’s most reputable private schools for African Americans. The Kershaw County Clean Community Commission helped to established the interpretive memorial site to preserve the legacy of the school.

A new display honoring six of Boylan Haven-Mather Academy’s most well-known alumni was recently added to the school’s memorial site in Camden. Mather Academy was a progressive private school for African Americans and was considered ahead of its time in terms of racial integration. The school built a reputation of excellence for its rigorous academic curriculum and emphasis on Christian values and character building.

Topiary artist Pearl Fryar has turned the grounds of his Bishopville home into a three-acre topiary garden. Fryar is world renowned for his stunning artwork.

Alpacas, close cousins of the llama, are raised at Emmett Acres Alpaca Farm in Bishopville. The animals produce a cashmere-like fleece that is used for clothing and other items.

The National Council of Negro Women of Lee County maintains the 9-acre Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Park in Mayesville. Bethune was an influential African American educator who founded Bethune-Cookman College in Florida.

The West Farm Corn Maze is located in Moncks Corner. The 6-acre maze was cut using GPS technology. Photo courtesy West Farm.

The late NASA Astronaut Ronald E. McNair was a Lake City native. A memorial stands in his honor on Lake City’s East Main Street.

The Good Samaritan-Waverly Hospital served Columbia’s African American community for more than 30 years during a time when racial discrimination kept most away from mainstream medical facilities. The building is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Jim Harrison is a nationally renowned artist who was awarded the Order of the Palmetto by the state of South Carolina in 2008. His gallery is in Denmark.

The Jim Harrison Gallery displays bronzes, etchings, limited and unlimited edition reproductions of Harrison’s work. Harrison specializes in rural landscapes.

The state’s official railroad museum offers passenger train rides along 11 miles of restored railroad track.

Winnsboro's S.C. Railroad Museum will host Steam Train Days during late October.

Alice Flagg, the daughter of a wealthy 19th century planter family, is
believed to have died of a broken heart after being kept
from her one true love. Her gravesite is simply marked
‘’Alice’’. Legend has it that Alice roams the cemetery looking for her
lost engagement ring.

Wisteria Cottage is a two-bedroom, one-bath bed and breakfast run by Alvin and Lill Stoltzfus, a Mennonite family in Blackville. The cottage is located about three miles North of Blackville off Highway 3.

Miller’s Bread Basket is a popular Blackville restaurant that specializes in Amish-Mennonite cooking.

The Healing Springs, located about three miles outside of Blackville, date back to the 1700s when Native Americans used water from the site to heal the sick and wounded. Today, many people still believe in the water’s curative power.

Redcliffe Plantation, located in Beech Island, was built in 1859. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Redcliffe Plantation holds special programs throughout the year recognizing the contributions of African Americans. The plantation was home to generations of African Americans who lived in cabins like this on the plantation as slaves, free men and women and later as paid employees.

The inside of this circa 1857 slave cabin is one of two that remain at the Redcliffe Plantation State Historic Site in Aiken County. The story of African American life at Redcliffe is highlighted in a series of programs called The African American Experience.

Campbell Chapel AME Church was purchased by former slaves in 1874 from the Bluffton Methodist Church.

McCormick celebrates its gold history each year during the Gold Rush Festival. The festival is in its 33rd year.

Split Creek Farm has about 350 goats. The herd, which is mostly Nubian, competes nationally in the show ring.

Split Creek founder and co-owner Evin Evans poses with Pete, one of the farm’s herding dogs. Split Creek Farm won first place in the 2010
World Championship Cheese Contest for its Feta goat cheese. Evans is holding the gold medal.

Split Creek co-owners Evin Evans and Patricia Bell at their farm in Anderson.

The Saluda Theatre first opened in 1936. The building is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is used for community celebrations and performing arts.

The Bonham House is the Saluda County birthplace of James Butler Bonham -- a man considered by many to be an Alamo hero. The log and clapboard house was built about 1769.

Three Pines View is an eco-friendly bed and breakfast located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The lodge has five rooms that feature long-range mountain views, hardwood floors, fireplaces, flat-screen televisions and private porches.

A cute one-room cottage is located on the grounds of Three Pines View, a boutique mountain lodge in Salem. Guests can use the cottage for reading, prayer, meditation or simply for quiet time.

The Walkabout is one of five impeccably decorated rooms at the Three Pines View. Each room comes with a private balcony that provides spectacular views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The sun rises over the Blue Ridge mountain range in Oconee County. Spectacular mountain views can be seen from each room of the Three Pines View Lodge.

Stumphouse Tunnel is an abandoned railroad tunnel located in Oconee County about seven miles outside of Walhalla. The temperature in the tunnel remains at about 50 degrees year-round making it a nice place to visit during the summer months.

A family takes a stroll through Stumphouse Tunnel in Oconee County. Clemson University used the abandoned railroad tunnel in 1951 to cure blue cheese.

Barnwell lays claim to South Carolina’s oldest original Catholic church. Saint Andrew’s Chapel was built in 1831.

The sundial in Barnwell has been keeping local residents on time for the past 150 years. The vertical structure was given to Barnwell in 1858 by Joseph D. Allen, a former state senator.

For the past two years, the Friends of Hunting Island group has hosted a sand sculpture contest. The competition is held in front of the Hunting Island Lighthouse -- South Carolina’s only publicly accessible historic lighthouse.

Mitchelville Beach is on the Port Royal Sound. The less traveled beach is a good place to fish and shell. Visitors should be aware that this area of the Port Royal Sound is a popular breeding ground for certain species of sharks. Because of that, swimming is not recommended

The boardwalk at Mitchelville Beach Park crosses the marsh that leads to Barker Field Park. There's an observation deck there where visitors can see Parris, Fripp and other sea islands.

Portions of about five chimneys are what's left of slave cabins at what was once the site of Drayton Plantation on Hilton Head Island. The chimneys are made of tabby, a burnt oyster shell mixture used to produce lime and water. The tabby ruins are located off of Bay Gall Road in the Mitchelville section of the island.

Mitchelville was organized in 1862 as the first freedman village in the United States. Established by Maj. Gen. Ormsby M. Mitchel, residents at Mitchellville elected their own officials and passed laws.

The Tuskegee Airmen Memorial located at the Walterboro Army Airfield Memorial Park commemorates and honors the bravery and dedication of America's first African American Airmen unit, the Tuskegee Airmen. More than 500 African American pilots from Alabama's prestigious Tuskeegee Institute trained at the Walterboro Army Airfield. 

In 1945, the Army deeded the Walterboro Army Airfield and surplus equipment to the city of Walterboro and Colleton County. The Beacon, used a guiding light for aircraft flying over Walterboro during World War II, was left as part of the surplus equipment. The beacon now sits atop a pedestal that was built by local students at the Thunderbolt Career and Technology Center.

Westminster Presbyterian Church is the oldest standing church in Westminster. The church is located in Westminster's historic district.

Westminster has more than 100 homes that feature turn-of-the-century architecture dating back to the late 1800s.

The Westminster Passenger Train Depot originally opened in 1911. The site is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Some hydrangeas have different-colored blooms growing on the same bush.

The Cowpens Depot Museum and Civic Center displays World War II naval history relics. The museum is open by appointment and during special events and holidays.

Walhalla's Civic Auditorium is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Artist Nancy Basket has been working with Kudzu since 1989. She makes everything from baskets to paper at her studio in Walhalla.

Photo by Devon Harris.

Memorial Waterfront Park in Mount Pleasant offers stunning views of the Charleston Harbor, especially at sunset.

Memorial Waterfront's 1,250 foot fishing pier extends out across the Cooper River. The pier is one of the longest in the Lowcountry.

The Great Branch Teacherage, a cottage that housed educators who were committed to teaching African American students, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

Built in 1924-25, the Great Branch Teacherage was restored in 2009. The cottage, located in Orangeburg County, provided living quarters for teachers who lived too far away to commute to the school on a daily basis.

Juniper, located in downtown Ridge Spring, opened in 2005. The restaurant, owned by Brandon and Jeanne Velie, provides upscale dishes in a relaxed, laid-back atmosphere.

The Nut House in Ridge Spring offers a variety of gourmet pecans.

Eric Lavender and his companion Captain Bob, a rescued Macaw, provide one-of-a-kind walking tours through historic Charleston.
*Pirate Tour photo provided by Charleston Pirate Tours.

Hagood Mill,located in Pickens, is one of the oldest known gristmills still producing grain products. Visitors can get freshly ground cornmeal and grits at the mill the third Saturday of each month.

*Hagood Mill photo provided by Pickens County Museum of Art & History.

Hagood Mill, located in Pickens, is one of the oldest known gristmills still producing grain products. Visitors can get freshly ground cornmeal and grits at the mill the third Saturday of each month.

Hagood Mill, located in Pickens, is one of the oldest known gristmills still producing grain products. Lots of history is on hand to enjoy, including several examples of old millstones.

Live Maine Lobsters are lined up and ready to compete in the annual Aiken Lobster Race.

Bettis Academy is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Edgefield County school provided a spiritual-based curriculum that included literacy, occupational and teacher training for young African American students who didn’t have access to traditional public schools.

Cypress Gardens paddle

Cypress Turtle

Cypress Swamp

Charleston Tea Plantation

Charleston Tea Plantation

Peaches

Strawberries

History and Healing Along the Heritage Corridor

History and Healing Along the Heritage Corridor tight shot

History and Healing Along the Heritage Corridor sign

History and Healing Along the Heritage Corridor creek

History and Healing Along the Heritage Corridor woman

The African Passages museum exhibit at the Fort Moultrie Visitor Center on Sullivan's Island explores the island's role in the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The Visitor Center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily except for winter holidays.

This is the first “Bench by the Road” to be placed by Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison in memory of the thousands of slaves who were brought through Sullivan’s Island – the entry point for nearly half of all captive Africans shipped to North America. The bench is located on the grounds of the Fort Moultrie Visitor Center.

This plaque provides information for visitors at the site of the Bench by the Road on Sullivan's Island. Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison spearheaded the erection of the bench in memory of the thousands of slaves who were brought through Sullivan’s Island – the entry point for nearly half of all captive Africans shipped to North America.