Wednesday, February 1, 2023

A Day in Charleston



I think I have 100 pictures of docks.
Everywhere you drove they were all around you.
It never got old seeing them.
I felt like a kid, pointing it out while driving...
Look! more docks! (like, look a tractor!)




We went to Vicious Biscuit in Mount Pleasant for breakfast.
I think this was a top meal for us.
Just look at the choices of butters and jams!
Adult version of kids in a candy store!



No, this isn't even our meal!




Good eating right there. 




Driving over the Arthur Ravenel Bridge to get into Charleston. 



We took a carriage tour, which was the smartest thing we did.
It gave us a good knowledge and layout of the area.
It helped us decide what to walk back to and explore more of later on. 







Our trusty driver!




Residents were complaining that the carriages were clogging the streets
and wanted to ban them.
They are a big money maker, and part of a tourist city, so they compromised 
with a new plan. 
To avoid  overcrowding of certain areas, the City awards one of four routes to each carriage
 operating in the historic district.
How do they pick the route?

Bingo style!
We stopped at this booth where a City member turned the wheel, pulled out balls with numbers
on them, and plugged it into a system that spits out the route you take.
Seemed interesting, but I guess it works!




Our driver said we got the best one with good views of the garbage system 
and prison, ha!
He was joking, of course. 


Lots of cobble stone streets. 




We went down South of Broad Street, a neighborhood where
the wealthy built fine antebellum Federal period houses. 
The unique thing about these houses are that the fronts are
 built vertically, with the sides facing the streets.

 It helped cool down the inside since the main windows and doors are facing
the ocean. The breeze would flow in and act as their air conditioning. 




Nathaniel Russell House.
He was a wealthy merchant and slave trader. 
He was one of Charleston's more prominent citizens, which meant
he needed a house the size of his big head:)

It is now a historical landmark and restored into a museum to showcase what an early
 19th century home was like back then. 




A bad view of the "front".
So weird seeing houses turned the opposite way. 




The Battery seawall 





St. Phillips Church






We got off our carriage ride and headed to the outdoor market!
It is one of the oldest in the United States dating back almost 100 years. 



lots of different type of vendors inside. 



Many of them being sweetgrass baskets, handmade on site.
I wanted one, I thought they were cute and would be a fun reminder of our trip in our home. 
I turned one over to see the price, yowza!
I'll keep walking. 

I should take up basket making!




Byrd's makes most of the cookies for Disneyland!
No wonder they looked familiar. 



The number #1 hot spot for biscuits. 




I loved walking by all of the picturesque alleyways!






Rainbow Row!
13 colorful historic houses, painted in pastels, present the longest row of
 Georgian houses in the United States. 
Some theories vary from simple aesthetics to coping with the summer heat to helping
drunks find their way home at night. 
Whatever the reason they sure attract lots of people!
Lots of influencers in the wild at this stop! 



Rawr:)




We walked along the Battery seawall. 
It goes down the whole way to White Point Garden.
It was once used as an artillery for the Civil War.
They still have canons there!




Look, a dock! hehehe




The famous Pineapple fountain in Waterfront Park!



We had seen pretty much everything.
Time for some reality tv star stalking! I have no shame.  
Casey absolutely loves when I put him on a wild goose chase for celebrity homes.

We found it! 
What's up, Patricia!

I love the show Southern Charm. 
( I actually gave it up, I needed to weed some garbage out of my life). 

Not sure how this old lady made it on the show with a bunch of immature "adults"
still trying to figure their crap out.  
She definitely doesn't need it financially. 


She hosts some pretty elaborate parties at her mansion.
And wastes oodles of money on pointless things, like a full blown wedding... for her dog!
She has a butler named Michael, never drives herself anywhere,
 and seems to lead a pathetically boring, lonely life with her child.
He is 50, but I will call him a child because he still needs his mommy. 

Not a bad crib!




We made it to the Angel Oak tree before it closed!
It is the largest live oak tree east of the Mississippi
estimating to be 300-400 years old. 





Dinner was lip smacking, finger licking de-licious!!
Mmm, seriously. Our commentary while downing this 
sheet pan of meat was hysterical. 





We headed back to our home-tel.
A better view of the Boardwalk Inn.




Loooove the light blue ceiling paint. 



Out our window looking at the Sweetgrass Inn.
You could see a storm rolling in. 




It was a big one.
Even taking the power out of the whole area for a few hours!
A minute later and all you could see was pitch black. 



It actually was nice falling asleep with the windows open, breeze blowing in and sounds of
the rain. Kind of like how they did back in they day!






 

South Carolina!




Casey and I were able to sneak away on a trip with just ourselves,
 my favorite thing in the world!
He always lets me do the picking of the destination. 
Charleston has been top on my list for quite some time.
Plus with it being in the middle of August and lots of beach towns in the area
it seemed fitting! 

We flew in late in the afternoon. 
Grabbed our rental car and do what we always do first on a trip.
Find a place to eat!
The restaurant had a bit of a wait, which turned out fine because
it was right behind the historic King Street.
AKA the best shopping in town!

This street is the epitome of Southern charm. 
It has a variety of high-end specialty shops, boutiques and restaurants. 
Can we say boujee?!







The fanciest Target I ever did see!




Time to eat!

Poogan's Porch!
An old Victorian house turned restaurant. 
Could it be any cuter?!
A perfect place to get Lowcountry cuisine to kickstart our trip.



Even the plants were unique and charming.




Fried chicken, collared greens, shrimp and grits and of course biscuits. 
We ate lots and lots of biscuits that week!




I couldn't have been happier to find a Kilwins!
I love their ice cream so much. 




I had a tough decision to make when planning this trip.
There are so many amazing beach towns in South Carolina!
All were fantastic in their own different ways.

I originally was thinking Hilton Head or Kiawah Island. 
If Hilton Head wasn't 2 hours away from Charleston we would have stayed there in a heart beat.
I also heard it is its own trip in itself.
Kind of like going to Newport or Oceanside. 
It would have been too much driving back and forth to the city and airport
for the amount of time we would be there. 

Kiawah is swanky and unique in the sense that you can only get on the island
if you are staying there. It is super small and also out of the way.
But beyond gorgeous beaches.
Not finding any accommodations helped weed out that option. 

There are a handful of beach towns 20 minutes outside of Charleston.
I researched and found one that seemed like a winner.
Even though honestly, you can't go wrong.

Isle of Palms, here we come!
We ended up at the Wild Dunes resort.
There were tons of house and condo rentals,
but when it's just the 2 of us I prefer the resort amenities:)

We rented bikes and rode around to kick off our morning!










I couldn't believe how many massive beach front houses there were!
So different than California. 
No boardwalk or crowds.
You have space and sand all to yourselves!






We made it to the golf resort in search for some breakfast.
I came out of the bathroom where Casey pointed to the window.
It was pouring rain!

We waited it out like an old couple on their porch rocking chairs. 






We diverted down some neighborhood streets to check out the houses. 
The trees were ginormous!
And honestly, were a lot more mossy than the trees in New Orleans. 







I kind of wanted to see a gator, but kind of not, lol!



We grabbed some lunch then headed to the beach!

Wild Dunes resort is huge!
They have 2 different "hotel" type of buildings.
Sweetgrass Inn is behind the Boardwalk Inn.
Both have their own pool areas, but anyone staying there can access both.
We stayed in the Boardwalk Inn because it was closest to the beach, only 150 yards away. 
Around the Inns are condos and homes by Wild Dunes. 



Walking down the boardwalk to get to the beach.
These are condos on both sides. 





It was an overcast day, so not as many people were out.






We had to collect our sea shells to bring home!




We drove around the Island to see more of it and check out other beaches in the area. 




More beautiful homes. 







We went into Sullivan's Island for dinner!
It is tiny. 
You blink and you will miss it!
It reminded me a little bit of Leipers Fork in Nashville.
Basically a long road with shops and restaurants on both sides.

Famous people come here just to eat, so you better believe that is what we did!


Taco time.



Street corn queso, easy yes. 



Tacos were yummy, too!




Homemade ice cream across the street hit the spot!




We went up to Sweetgrass to go hot tubing.



Our quaint room.