the charleston travelogue

(warning: lost post ahead!)

How was our anniversary? Absolutely perfect. The weather was wonderful - 75 degrees and sunny the entire time. Our hotel was in a great location, the food was awesome and we packed a TON of activities into three days! I think the best thing about the trip was that we were able to do it without thinking about all the things that have plagued us for the last few weeks. We saved and saved so that we could really enjoy it while we were there. It was so worth it to get away and relax and take a mental vacation!

Day 1:
We left just before 9am on Saturday morning, grabbed lunch on the road and made it into town about 2pm. We made great time. We checked in, put our bags away and then set out to explore. We spent hours wandering around the local neighborhoods, admiring the houses and peeking into the beautiful gardens. We decided to walk back toward the hotel to find somewhere to eat dinner, and ended up at AW Shucks. I got a tshirt to honor the meal where I had the most amazing crab legs I've ever tasted :)

The Vendue Inn

Day 2
Breakfast was included at our hotel, so we got up early Sunday morning (our anniversary!) to eat before the walking tour we had scheduled. I loved the room where we had breakfast - the white tablecloths, yellow walls, daisies and natural light made it such a happy room! And we were able to eat at the window that looked out over the street. We met our tour guide and found out that we were the only two for the tour. It was a great way to see the town. Because it was Sunday and most everyone was checking out, the only people out were the locals on their way to church.

After the tour, we grabbed quick lunch and walked to the waterfront park near our hotel. We spent about an hour on a bench, looking at the boats on the water and people-watching. It was so relaxing to sit in the sun and enjoy the view! We headed back to the hotel in time to watch the Carolina-Duke game (GO HEELS!) and then we got ready for dinner. We had an amazing meal at High Cotton to celebrate a great year, then we spent a few hours walking along the water before we could barely keep our eyes open and decided to turn in for the night!

Our breakfast nook

Scenes from our tour...

On the battery

Day 3
We got up early on Monday, packed up and headed to breakfast. The plan was the check out and leave our bags at the hotel until we were ready to leave town. We spent a little while at the waterfront park and then we walked around some of the neighborhoods in search of a home to tour. We found the Calhoun Mansion (24,000 square feet!) just in time for the next scheduled tour. It was beautiful! It's so amazing how detailed the architecture is of these houses.

After that tour, we had lunch outside at a restaurant that sits on the water. We even saw dolphins! I tried to get a picture, but my camera wasn't fast enough. After resting at lunch, we got the car to pick up our bags and hit the road. We decided to go out of the way a little and try to find an old plantation to tour on the way back to the interstate. We ended up at Drayton Hall, where I quickly became obsessed with the view of the grounds. It was breathtaking. We wandered around there for a few hours and the began to make the trek back to North Carolina.

The fountain at the waterfront park

Calhoun Mansion

Drayton Hall

Turtles!

I still can't believe how much fun we had. What a wonderful anniversary gift! And we hope you enjoyed the pictures - we enjoyed being there to take them :)