Yeah, I’m one of those graveyard people.  Whenever we travel, I always schedule a stop at a graveyard (or two) along the way so we can take a tour.  It’s always amazing to me how beautiful they are, how peaceful and how different each region is.  No matter where you go, there are always fresh flowers on many of the graves, and most are well tended.  The mix of old and new fascinates, as does the rich history of the people buried there.  We like to pay our respects to the ones who came before us, and I thought I’d share some pictures of two of my favorites from trips to South Carolina and Georgia.

Bonaventure Cemetery, outside of Savannah, GA

Set on over 160 acres, located on the site of a plantation formerly owned by John Mullryne.  In 1846 he sold it to Peter Wiltberger, who formed the Evergreen Cemetery Co.  It was then purchased by the city of Savannah in 1907, and the name was changed to Bonaventure Cemetery.

I especially loved this statue.  The day we visited someone had scattered fresh red roses throughout the cemetery, across many of the graves and on the statuary, but this particular one was simply beautiful:

Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, SC- covering 130 acres, the cemetery was dedicated  in 1850 and is still in use today.  This cemetery wound through a park-like setting, with ponds and a small river.

Magnolia was in need of some serious TLC, but we got some great shots the day we visited. it had just stopped raining, and the atmosphere was a little on the hazy side, giving everything a darker look and feel.  I’ve pulled these pictures out many time and written a couple of pages,just remembering how I felt walking through here that day.

Hopefully this year we’ll have time to revisit Bonaventure when we are in Charleston.   It’s a serene, peaceful place, and I thought alot about how lucky all of these souls were to slumber along the river.