Oh man bare with me – there is so much to tell. I’ll try and organize best I can! But this was the main reason for the trip – to visit our two friends Jen and Anibal… and man did we have SO much fun with them. It’s seriously so nice to have friends that even if you don’t talk all the time, are always there for you. These two are straight gems (and soon to be the newest members of the parental club!). So thank you for you hospitality – letting us crash at your place and choosing places for us to eat since we’re super indecisive when it comes to dinner.
Day 1
We got to Charleston on Sunday and Jen was taking finals for grad schools so we wanted to give her time to finish and not be all up in their grill right away so we decided to do Cypress Gardens that day.
On our way from Columbia however we were so hungry so we stopped at Five Loaves Cafe – word to the wise – Sunday Brunch is a thing down here. It was a 45 minutes wait and we didn’t know we would even NEED reservations but that’s a thing. We called other places, everywhere had a wait. So we waited and just eventually decided to sit at the bar. The food was amazing though. All really fresh and healthy and that was our goal – light and healthy for having to eat out at every meal.
Cypress Gardens
Oh Em Gee. First of all this places was only $10/person and you got to do the boat ride (self guided) included in the price!!!
This is where Noah and Aly from The Notebook were in their canoe and other movies were filmed here too but that’s the one I knew… hahaha.
I was also told that it had been closed for a while because of one of the hurricanes so it was open this year for the first time in a few years!
You can see alligators and huge bugs everywhere. We didn’t see any alligators while in the boat but when we walked the perimeter we did.
Day 2
Fort Sumter
If you’re a history buff and like learning about our history this was pretty neat. It has Civil War Era ties.
You do need to take a boat to get there – we went from Mount Pleasant (which had a ton of aircrafts and other war stuff we could have bought tickets for but didn’t) and so even though it is a NPS park the tickets are through another company. We bought tickets that morning for the first boat tour and really it seemed like you could have bought them there, I just like doing things online to make sure. Hate to get somewhere and it be sold out.
TIP – Go first thing in the morning – you are on an island with little to no shade, so first thing is way better. And bring a water bottle!
Also there is a museum we didn’t realize had more artifacts and stuff inside and it was air conditioned! I wish we had gone in there sooner to look around.
Sullivan’s Island
After Fort Sumter we went and ate at Vickery’s in Shem Creek. It was super cute and had an outdoor patio and there’s a walkway to the bay there but we didn’t go.
We were so hot and tired just from traveling so far we went to Sullivan’s Island. Jen’s sister Julie told me it’s all road parking so she said to look for Station 22 and park around there. We ended up parking a few streets back by the cemetery and walking to the beach.
Sand was beautiful – water was SO WARM. We brought our beach chair and towels and took a nap on the beach. It was amazing. It didn’t seem too crowded – there were definitely a lot of people but the beach is so huge everyone really does get their own spot.
(After going to Kiawah Island though I will say I liked that the other place had an area to wash the sand off and changing rooms, this one is completely free but none of that existed)
Hometeam BBQ
Charleston is known for BBQ and Anibal told us he thinks there is some of THE best of anywhere.
They took us to Hometeam BBQ for dinner back in Sullivan’s island. They all got the wings (because wouldn’t you know it they were out of pulled pork) but I got the pulled chicken sandwich. It was really good and Ricky said the wings were literally some of the best he’s had. So that was fun to go to if you’re looking for a local BBQ place.
Day 3
Magnolia Plantation
This was number one on my list for places to see… okay maybe it all was.. hehehe but I’ve had pictures saved for a very long time from this place.
We went early and I would even suggest going earlier if you can! Like right when they open if you plan to go during the summer months!
Tip – Look on their website for discounts! They had one for the month of July which got us an admission free with one purchase!
So admission is $20/person and then each tour is another $8. We did the from Slavery to Freedom tour and the Nature Boat tour.
So the house you can’t go inside (it’s a tour) but it didn’t seem all that impressive inside so I’m glad we skipped that tour (we peaked in the windows) BUT the gardens were so beautiful and there were huge Live Oak Trees everywhere. Those trees were Ricky’s favorite part of the whole trip (just in general of Charleston, not necessarily here). He made me look up if we could plant them back in Ohio (the answer is no).
So many pretty bridges
Freedom to Slavery Tour – it would be ignorant to pass over the truth of how these plantations operated back in their hayday. We did this tour and it was hard to listen to because it was real. But it is sooo important to hear the truth and see where slaves lived and what a day would have looked like and what they did with the rice plantations. I HIGHLY recommend this tour. It’s important to remember history so you don’t repeat it. That’s all I’ll say for that because you need to hear the rest from the tour guide.
Nature Boat Tour– Because this was a rice plantation – there was an area on the property where they had a pontoon boat that goes through what use to be the rice plantations. They explained how they got the fresh water in and kept the salt water out (had to do with tides and fresh water being lighter, but also had to do with a slave testing the water for salt every minute). We wanted to learn more about how they actually grew the rice but this seemed to be more of a nature tour to see the animals and birds and less to do with how they made rice – so we were a little disappointed and wished we had done the tram tour instead. So that’s my tip – the tram tour I think would tell you more about the operations of the plantation which was what we were curious about – not what bird was flying past us.
Angel Oak Tree
We went to Angel Oak Tree next which is totally a must! You won’t spend more than may 30 minutes here (or less) but you HAVE to see this tree. They say it’s between 400-500 years old and I just can’t wrap my mind around that. The arms come down to the ground and they have supports to keep it from breaking but it’s a FREE park to go to. And it’s FREE which I love free!
Kiawah Island
Anibal suggested we go here. We were going to go to Folly Beach but they said it’s more of a surfer and a younger vibe with the water being a bit cloudier (it was all kind of cloudy) so he said we should go here because the area is really pretty!
We parked at Kiawah Beachwalker Park and it cost $10. We were a little pff at that BUTTTT it ended up being worth it. They had changing rooms, bathrooms and even little showers to wash the salt off of you after! AMAZING. That was great because the previous day I just felt so sticky from the salt and had makeup all over my face, we rushed back to shower and we could have just stayed in Sullivan’s island for dinner! So that was a great plus!
The beach itself was white sand and beautiful. Again there were people but it didn’t feel super packed because the beach was so huge.
We took a walk down to the far end and there was NOBODY in site and it was just nice to do that. We liked it being quiet and again the water was really nice.
TIP – the tides are a thing! HAHA we went later in the day both times to the beach and almost every hour we had to pull our stuff back further and further. We saw other people’s stuff get soaked while they slept or even while they were in the water! So be aware! Especially around 3/6pm
Evening Dinner
That night we went back to Jen and Anibal’s place and they made us dinner and we had a lovely quiet night in just talking and hanging out ♥
Day 4
Boone Hall Plantation
Jen told us this was her favorite and she takes everyone here. She said admission includes everything so you can do any tour you just buy an admission ticket! We bought ours there in person and again we went right when they opened – highly recommend for summer!
I have to agree – I think this one was beautiful for totally different reasons than Magnolia. I feel like I learned more history of this plantation here but Magnolia’s had a pretty garden display.
First of all – the drive in – breathe-taking. Live Oak Trees on either side all the way down the mile long driveway (or almost mile long)
This plantation is actually still the oldest running plantation in America! They still grow and sell crops and have a story that they sell it from.
House Tour – AMAZING. The gentleman we had was funny and cheeky and I was entertained – Ricky might have thought it was too much but I loved it. The family that owns it STILL LIVES THERE. You’re only allowed on the first floor. I thought that was crazy.
Slave History Presentation – The row of slave houses each has their own story to tell on the inside so we walked through those and listened and learned a little more – A lady gave a short overview and then you got to walk it at your own speed – the most gripping part for me was seeing children’s finger prints in the brick since the slave children helped make the bricks. Ugh I couldn’t stand seeing that.
Exploring the Gullah Culture- Again I just want to say how HOT it was this day – almost 100 degrees. We went to listen to this presentation outside but there was no breeze, the bugs were eating me alive and I couldn’t handle how hot I was. I felt bad but we left about halfway through because I couldn’t handle sitting with no breeze anymore. But from what I gathered it was a presentation on the culture of the African American’s. All the people who came over as slaves were from different areas and so they all came and created their own culture and it’s a demonstration of songs and drums and stories from that.
Tractor Tour – this takes you around the planation to show you what is currently going on at the plantation – where they are growing food currently. Again – we were hoping for more historical context than current – I can tell it was growing food but what about back in the day? And the tour guide was a bit over the top. I enjoy an enthusiastic guide but Ricky felt it was a little too much – I could barely tell what he was saying the whole time.
Downtown Charleston
Boone hall was close to Jen and Anibal so we came home after and Ricky napped and I hung out with Jen. Once Anibal got home and we were all ready we went to get dinner at Page’s Okra Grill. Ricky and I were SUPER indecisive about dinner so this is where we ended up and I thought it was good! That’s all I got for that though – it was food and I made a safe choice of chicken.
After diner we drove into the downtown area and let me just say it does not look like a city or really a downtown in any way. There is an ordinance that buildings can’t be built above church steeples so there are no skyscrapers and I absolutely loved that. It was so quaint.
We drove around battery park and looked at the mansion homes (and then looked on realtor.com to see costs…woah) and then we drove to rainbow row (btw it’s totally all walkable but we all had to pee really bad so we drove). Rainbow row, Jen told us, use to be merchant homes for fishermen back in the day but a lady after that ear purchased the block of homes and painted them all bright colors and now they’re super expensive to live in. HAHA how crazy!?
We walked to the pineapple fountain and there were some other fountains kids were swimming in and through and then we walked the strip and went to get ice cream at Kilwin’s. The service there was par none the best we had, had anywhere SOOO ice and the ice cream was good too! Totally recommend. It’s right down from baskin and robbins and why ever go to a chain when you can go local!
There are definitely a ton of places to eat in the downtown area but I’ll be honest it was all quiet above what we were willing to spend. If we were only in town a few days and it was a shorter trip – maybe we would have tried Magnolia’s or Husk but we just couldn’t spend $100 at dinner in one night on an 11 day trip – so that’s got to be a personal decision for you! But I do hear those places book up so make a reservation!
Day 5
We woke up Thursday – packed and say see ya sooner than later! And then we started our 7.5 hour drive to Fairfax.
We drove through Francis Marion National Forest (the Swamp Fox, think the movie the Patriot) and if I had known we were going to do that I could have looked stuff up because again – no cell service there. But there was a visitor center off 17 called Seewee we could have stopped at had I been planning for this.
Ricky loves history and this guy basically created guerrilla warfare and helped with the Revolutionary war with a militia of men from South Carolina who would hide in the swamps and attack and the red coats could never find them.
Ricky said the movie The Patriot was LOOSELY based off Francis Marion.
Overview
Again – we really loved getting to spend time with friends and exploring Charleston – it is seriously so cute – there are a million places to go – even for just a beach trip. And do Boone Hall just to see the trees! I lovveeed it. (minus the heat).