www.ExploreCharleston.net

This was the first trip where I took notes, so this entry is very detailed and long!

This trips photographs are available here in the photo gallery.

Day 1 - Wednesday
We left for Charleston at 7:00am and arrived in Mount Pleasant at 11:30. We decided to go straight to lunch at Melvins. I had my favorite, the Big Joe BBQ pulled pork sandwich and fried ocre.

Afterwards we drove onto Sullivan's Island and Fort Moultrie observation deck. The tide was very high along the beach, so we just drove around the neighborhoods to see the nice homes and the lighthouse.

We checked into our hotel, the Red Roof in of Mount Pleasant. It really is the best value for our money. It's central to a number of beaches, islands, and only a 12 minute drive to downtown Charleston.

The next stop was along the Battery and Whitepoint Garden. This has become our favorite first stop in the city. The sound of breaking waves along the wall relaxes me almost immediately. We strolled along East Bay Street, Stohl's Ally and Water streets. We really took our first good look at the ally. Church street is its ever beautiful site as we made our way past the Calhoun Mansion and the 2 Meeting Street Inn. We gathered a number of good photos to add to the web site.

We made our way to The Market and decided to have dinner at the Charleston Crab House. This has become one of Stevens favorites. We started with the fried green tomatoes and I had the Charleston Grouper, which was fried nicely, moist and very well seasoned.

It was also convenient to Bulldog Tours, where we would be checking in for the Haunted Jail Tour afterwards. We walked to the jail, which took about 12 minutes. Along the way we saw the front of the Unitarian Church for the first time. We realized we had only ever seen it from within the cemetery.

The tour guide was great, because she really drew the crowd into her stories of torture and torment. The things that happened in this jail were truly a horror.

We walked back to Waterfront park, but decided to stop into Starbucks on King street for a little while. The Barista was extremely nice and we chatter with her for a while. We spent about half an hour, unwinding for the day at Waterfront Park. The swings and the cool breeze that comes off of the bay has to be one of the most relaxing things to do in Charleston.

Day 2 - Thursday
I know most people might laugh, but we usually stop at Chick-fil-A for breakfast, because it's portable, quick, and easy. We drove out to Isle of Palms, where we spent an hour enjoying the sand, surf, and sun, before making our way to Just Fresh in the Seaside Farms shopping center. Just Fresh is one of the best lite, healthy places to eat. We ate our usual, splitting a chicken Caesar salad and artichoke Parmesan pizza.

We really walked off that meal in Patriots Point where we toured the USS Yorktown. We had visited here a couple years before and felt it was time to see it again. It's an amazing aircraft carrier, but consider yourself forewarned. You will find yourself walking a couple dozen stairwells and
countless passageways. I love the view from the bridge and flight deck. The Coast Guard vessel Ingham was impressive too. We didn't have time to see during the previous visit.

We decided to take a quick drive to find the Boone Hall Plantation and Jack's Cosmic Dogs along highway 17 North. Alton Brown featured Jack's on his Food Network show, Feasting on Asphalt.

We had dinner in Charleston at Tommy Condon's. I had the low country chicken. It was moist and somewhat good, but not memorable. The plate was swimming in cheese grits. I think they should replace the grits with a salad. Steven's steak was under-flavored and disappointing. I doubt we will be returning.

We then found our way down Church street and along Tradd, Chalmers, and Broad streets with a diversion down Unity Alley where Mccrady's restaurant is located. George Washington ate here while he was in the city.

We drove back to Vendue street, because it was late enough that parking would not be a problem. We returned to the swings or Waterfront Park for another unwinding from the days activities.

Day 3 - Friday
We once again began the day with Chick-fil-A, before driving out to Folly Beach, which is on the far side of Charleston. It's not that difficult to make it there, but we will be adding a resource area for navigating throughout the area in the future.

A cold front blew in temperatures in the mid-50's, but we were easily prepared! We made a small detour to find Sunrise Park on James Island. It's down within a residential area, which again is not too difficult to find, but you will need directions. It offers a very nice view that stretched from The Battery, across the bay and the Ravenel bridge and out towards Fort Sumter and Fort Johnson, which is not open for visits. The winds where very strong, causing the surf to crash against the shoreline. The temperature was biting too, however, the view was worth it!

Making our way from Sunrise Park, we then headed out to Folly Beach for a view of the Morris Island Lighthouse, which is undergoing stabilization. The ocean has reclaimed the island where the lighthouse rests, but a large-scale project is underway to help save it. As with Sunrise Park, the wind was stiff and cold. Waves crashed against an area of rocky outcroppings. All of these elements made for a nice setting for photograph taking. Unfortunately, the Folly Pier is undergoing renovations at this time, so were unable to visit it. Instead, we found one of several public parking areas and walked along the beach for a while. It was a very good day for seashelling.

As we returned to Charleston, we stopped at Melvins' BBQ. it is extremely convenient to eat lunch here after visiting Folly Beach. I decided to try what Emeril Lagasse calls the best hamburger in the world. I got it with baked beans and a small helping of pickled vegetables from the condiments area. I think Emeril over embellished the burger a bit, but it was still pretty good!

After returning to Charleston, we finally stopped at the Visitor's Center for a bit, before returning to the Battery and walking along East Bay and Church streets. I still think that Church street is your best bet for house spotting.

Next, we spontaneously made a quick drive to the Pitt Street bridge for a sunset. We missed part of it, but the view was still very nice and highly recommended.

We decided to take it easy for supper by picking up a large artichoke Parmesan pizza at Just Fresh and return to the hotel to relax for a change.

Day 4 - Saturday
The trip was unfortunately winding down at this point, but there was still time to take in a number of free attractions.

During the summer months, Marian Square hosts a farmers market on Saturday mornings. You can a variety of food and art to purchase here. I picked up some banana nut bread and found my favorite photographer- Bowman. I purchased a three small lighthouse and sunset photographs to add to my collection.

We parked near the corner of King and Queen streets. This is extremely convenient to dining at Poogan's Porch, another of our favorite restaurants. Poogan's Porch is named after a dog who once lived at the address. Poogan passed away in 1979, but the restaurant is his memorial, as the saying goes.

I had the spicy sausage omelet with cheese grits. I have add that I have eaten more grits on this trip than the the last ten years! The omelet was more than filling and very good. The sweet tea is also very good.

We made stop in at the Preservation Society of Charleston for the first time. If you're like me, I like to purchase from stores that help support an area and that is the underlying principle for this and the Historic Charleston Foundation Store.

We made our way through the Market at Market Street for a while, before making a mad dash to the East Bay Garden Gallery. Fortunately for us, as he was closing, he decided to reopen at 2pm! I love this small gallery. The artist and owner is an extremely nice gentleman and offers a very unique medium: roof tiles from the Rainbow Row homes. It is literally a piece of history from the early 1700's and Wales England. I purchased 2 pieces, one for myself and one for my mother. They are lovely and I hope to purchase more on our next trip.

We then turned along Queen street to the car on King Street and decided to stay a little bit longer. We dined at Vickery's, along Shem Creek, which is one of the most picturesque spots in the area at sunset. We started with our favorite fried green tomato tower. I had the loaded chicken breast, which was very moist. The pimento cheese was unusually different, but good too. I was a little disappointed with the under-steamed vegetables, but not overly put off by it.

It was now time to head back home at 7:00pm. It was a very long drive, but all in all, I enjoyed leaving the area at this time of day on a Saturday evening. Another great time is in the history books!