Charleston, SC

Cobblestone streets, window boxes overflowing with vibrant colors, houses in a myriad of pastels, parks for leisurely strolls and ocean waves. What is not to like about that?

Our “to do” list included; riding in a horse drawn carriage, walking through the scenic neighborhoods, and seeing the fountains and parks.

The first thing we did in Charleston was to sign up to take a tour with the horse-drawn wagons. You can find these wagons at the historic Charleston City Market. We felt that riding first would help us get a better idea of the lay of the land, and it did. We passed by streets that we knew we wanted to come back to on foot. It also gave us a better sense of what to look for; the antebellum rough iron work, the side patios of the homes, the museums, the restaurants and parks.

After the ride we started walking down Meeting Street which is lined by the quintessential homes of Charleston.

The rough iron work was truly stunning and even the myriad of pictures I took of it (or tried to take of it) doesn’t do it justice!

Flowers everywhere! Against the backdrop of the pastel colored homes it was a stunning display! The fountains and waterfront didn’t disappoint either!

We stayed in a hotel in Mt. Pleasant, which is just across the Cooper River from Charleston. It was a great location with very easy access to Charleston, about a 15 minute drive.

The tour of Fort Sumter which took half a day and cost $23 for adult, and $15 for children 4-11 was truly insightful and gave us a greater appreciation for our country.

That same day we also toured the USS Yorktown. This is located in the same area, Patriots Point, where you purchase tickets for the ferry to Fort Sumter. The cost to tour the Yorktown is Adults $42, Seniors $36 and children $26. This was a very interesting tour which took us close to 3 hours. Touring both Sumter and Yorktown was pretty exhausting and very hot. If you don’t have good stamina don’t attempt them both. There are a lot of stairs and closed in places.

One of the locals turned us onto a great area to eat, its called Shem Creek. We dined there three nights right on the waterfront and watched the dolphins play in the water. The prices were a bit high but the food was great!

The last amazing place we toured was Boone Hall Plantation. It was a truly wonderful experience that took about 3 hours to go through. The cost, Adults $47 Children $30, was well worth the education we received! We especially loved the two women who told about the slave quarters and the Gullah culture! Wow! Searching for the finger prints of the slaves who formed the cast off bricks of the slave quarters was very touching.

And last but not least are the beaches of SC. Our favorite beach was Isle of Palms. It wasn’t crowded and we found it easy to find a parking spot. We toured in the mornings and spent the afternoons on the beach and then hit the pool at the hotel. We spent 5 days in Mt. Pleasant touring Charleston, Patriots Point and Boone Hall. It was a truly wonderful vacation!