Day Trip: Charleston, Part I

A mini vacation! I desperately needed some time to myself and decided to splurge and go on a one-day excursion. Originally, I was going to head up to Charlotte but those plans changed and I figured it was just as far to Charleston as it was to Charlotte. SOLD! Many, many people have expressed love about Charleston so I took Friday off from work and headed out to the coast early to get a start on the day.

I researched a lot of the biggest things I needed to see when I was there. I looked up authentic "low country" restaurants and many of the "can't miss" attractions (thank you Trip Advisor & Yelp). Thankfully, you can pretty much park and walk everywhere and I definitely got my workout for the day.

First I hit up the Charleston Museum. I am not as proficient with my Southern history so going to the museums down here is always enlightening (there are no covered wagons and very few Native Americans!). There were exhibits about plantations, cotton, the slave trade, wars and artillery, and some random stuffed animals that creeped me the heck out.

 Walking around, there was definitely a lot of tourist sites but also just so much culture and history. Seeing churches, cemeteries, and streets that were over 200 years old was just overwhelming at times. For some reason, I am always incredibly interested in walking or being somewhere that we have read about in history books.

 And some food! I was too busy walking and taking 146 pictures to really care about eating but I did make sure to indulge here and there. 

I felt awkward taking pictures but here is my review of Poogan's Porch from Trip Advisor  "I decided to splurge on myself today for lunch and came upon Poogan's Porch. It had a very relaxed vibe and warm interior with dark woods. Immediately, I had the most amazing, warm flaky biscuits and fresh butter brought to my table. I had to stop myself at one to save room for lunch but you bet that I took that second biscuit home with me. The meal itself was a generous portion of two fillets of fried fish, lightly battered, topped with stewed tomatoes and okra. The veggies provided the perfect acid for the fish and helped to lighten up the grits. The grits were incredibly indulgent and well seasoned. I savored each bite and enjoyed watching the waiters cater to a huge party upstairs. The service was great, quick and non-intrusive, and I didn't feel rushed even during lunch time."


Moon Pie General Store. Can you believe I have never had a Moon Pie? I didn't even really know what they were besides a treat wrapped in cellophane that probably isn't health. Here in the general store, they had all sorts of SC and Moon Pie paraphernalia you could ever want AND a bunch of different flavors. It was overwhelming! I went low-key and just grabbed a single decker vanilla pie which I ate on the way out of town while sitting in traffic. It was tasty! And....apparently it is a "Southern Thing" to drink it with an RC cola.

Last little indulgence was to grab a piece of Jestine's Coca-Cola cake to go. In addition to the restaurant, there is a little bakery just around the corner where you can grab so many freakin' amazing things but this one little piece of cake has a reputation. (Food Network) (Travel Channel)

Truly, Charleston is GORGEOUS and AMAZING. I didn't want to leave. I could have stayed there a good week. I will have to do separate post for all the churches and cemeteries that I saw. Yes, I may have gotten a little carried away...