Charleston, SC

It's very tempting not to start this post with a "How y'all doin?"

After spending just a few days in the South, I so want to add a little twang to my speech! A little trip to Charleston, South Carolina was one of a few reasons I've been away from my blog for so long! Did you think I'd forgotten about y'all?

Hub had a work thing going on in Charleston and I had the good fortune to be able to go along. I don't think I've ever flown in the Fall before and it was so lovely, viewing all the changing colors of the trees from above. I was mesmerized and inspired! I've also never been to the East Coast, other than for brief layovers which really doesn't count.

The photo above shows a view from our hotel room. We stayed in the French Quarter, right near The Market where every single morning I watched people setting up their little spot with all their wares for sale. In the background of this photo, do you see the big, gray ship? Also every morning we'd wake to look out there and see a new ship docked there at the port. This one I believe was called the "Michigan Highway". Hub would look them up on his laptop to see where they originated from...Japan, Sweden, etc...I'm not sure what I expected Charleston to be like but I found it to be a pretty, charming old city for the most part...reminding me a bit of Paris (minus the palm trees) with all the historic buildings crammed together, pretty courtyards and tiny cemetaries tucked in between. There was also an abundance of restaurants and cafes every which way you looked. And we pretty much ate and walked our way all over downtown Charleston! One evening we ate at Hyman's Seafood with Hub's group where the most adventurous thing I had was fried tilapia and hush puppies. I know... I'm not very brave when it comes to seafood. They were trying to get me to eat a mussel, and I came close, but in the end there just wasn't enough garlic in the world to get me to do it! We came upon the bakery "Baked" on the day we arrived which I'd first read about here but had no idea they had a sister location in Charleston.

We went to peak inside and I was charmed...

...so I went back the next day for lunch! I will take quiche over mussels any day!

I also enjoyed my fair share of shopping on King Street while Hub was away...

Urban Outfitters was in this gorgeous, old theatre building chock full of pretty chandeliers and painted pink ceilings.

While walking through The Market, I chatted with a nice gal (also an Etsy-lover) who worked at this spot selling amazingly, beautiful framed butterflies.

One afternoon, we took a boatride over to Fort Sumter, where as the brochure says "where the Civil War began".

From the boat we had a better view of the stunning bridge that we could also glimpse from our hotel room window.

And on the way back, we floated right on by this enormous ship stacked high with containers. Hub and I were in awe...and we thought we'd seen large ships here on our little Lake Superior. Ha!

When Hub was finished with all his work stuff, we got out of downtown and drove over to Folly Beach. We love the beach and while others in Hub's group were off doing Plantation tours and spooking themselves by touring old jails, we headed straight for the beach! It was a hazy, gray afternoon and we enjoyed a peaceful, windblown time walking along the beach, digging our toes in the sand and feeling the warm, salty sea air on our skin. On our last full day there, we drove over that huge bridge to spend some time on Sullivan's Island and Isle of Palms.

We ate lunch out in the blazing hot afternoon sun at a little restaurant called "Poe's Tavern". (Edgar Allen Poe was supposedly stationed at the Fort on the end of Sullivan's Island.) We realized it was Halloween and sort of a creepy coincidence. I distinctly remember reading "The Tell-Tale Heart" in my English Lit class...not so much the story itself, but the creepy feeling you had while reading it! And just to add to the drama at Poe's Tavern, big black birds (not Ravens though!) were sitting overhead on the umbrellas and in the trees, flying back and forth, and I never felt very comfortable while we were there!

Afterwards we drove over to Isle of Palms to walk the stretching 6 miles of white sandy beach. I decided it was too, too hot to carry my camera while out on the beach so I have no photos to show for it. (I get a bit cranky when I'm really hot so I guess its a good thing I live in Duluth!) My arms were sunburned and we were wishing we'd brought swimsuits and towels to spend our last afternoon lounging on the beach. We walked barefoot in the water and watched wistfully as others were playing in the waves. Perhaps another time...we may just have to go back. But it's always so good to get back home, back into a routine, and sleep in our own bed! Even though our hotel had the most comfortable bed I've ever slept in while traveling, there's just nothing like your own bed!

More soon, y'all! ;)