Okay, so this blog post took a little while to get out (like 9 months, haha!). I kept forgetting about it, but then every time I went through our photos from Charleston, SC, I was like "Okay, I HAVE to share these!" So here we are :)
May 20th, 2017 was mine and Leo's wedding. If you want to read all about that, just go to the previous post because I wrote about it there. However, the day after our wedding we headed south to Charleston. And THAT's what this post is all about!
This blog post will focus a lot on food, because I'm pretty sure that's an extra love language of mine, and also I'm gluten free, so hitting up good spots in big cities is so exciting.
We also took a LOT of photos using our Polaroid camera, and I can't say enough about that little thing. Obviously it lacks quality, but there's something so cool about the pictures they produce. There so instant, candid, in the moment, raw, etc. It will also take me about 100 years to print these photos (and our phone photos), so having those in our hands is pretty neat.
FOLLY BEACH/BEACHSIDE BOUTIQUE INN
We booked a little cabana right on Folly Beach, which is about 25 minutes outside of Charleston. We debated between spending the money on an all-inclusive place or something unique, and we ended up deciding to go with the funky little bed and breakfast. It allowed flexibility and privacy, and I loove staying at and near places that are unique, fun, and different, so this was PERFECT for us.
More about the place we stayed at, because it was such a huge part of our trip. It was called Beachside Boutique Inn (http://beachsideboutiqueinn.com/), and was super cool because every room/cabin was completely different. We booked later than we should have, so we didn't get to stay in the King's Tower Suite (doesn't that tub look dreamy?!), but we ended up splitting our stay between the Costa Rican Bungalow and the Seacret Cottage and Leo and I were both super happy with the cabins we got. The grounds that the entire place was on was super cool too. It was all closed in with a high fence (it's in the center of this little beach town), but it still had lots of trees, hammocks, and a fire pit. They also had bikes to use, boogie boards to borrow, basically anything you could need in this little area. So cool!
The Costa Rican bungalow had a little pond outside, and we literally heard frogs croaking all night, making it feel like an actual bungalow. Leo loved the front porch.
The Seacret Cottage felt like a treehouse, because it was higher up and surrounded by trees and the actual bed was a loft. It was definitely more polished than the bungalow, but I actually preferred the bungalow.
Both offered free breakfast inside the main house (which has more rooms), and it was cool chatting with the other people staying there. Everyone was SO helpful, nice and laid back.
Apparently I didn't take a whole lot of photos of this little place (on my DSLR), but their website actually has a lot of really cool photos so if you're looking for an awesome place to stay, definitely check them out! And book early, they were booked months in advance.
The cool part of being on Folly Beach was that it was so tiny we could walk to nearly everything. There was a little coffee shop two blocks from our cabin called Center Street Coffee that had actual espresso (sorry, hotel coffee is almost always awful). We loved waking up and walking there, and then sipping coffee on the little chairs out front, and basically either started our days here or grabbing coffee somewhere on the go.
As far as the rest of Folly Beach goes, we honestly didn't spend much time in this town. It took us one hour to go into all of the little shops (which were basically what you'd expect in a little beach town), and we ate in this spot a few times. The one day we rode our bikes to the beach here it was cloudy!
However, here are my two recommendations for places to eat here:
Taco Boy - shoutout to the waitress who let us in right before closing, I'm sorry but I was starving and your tacos were delicious. They had plenty of gluten free options for me, and was actually super affordable!
Bert's Market - This place was an unexpected gem on this little island. They had a TON of local offerings, and it was like a small fresh market. They made wraps & sandwiches, so we grabbed two to go. Definitely get the pickles they have there. I can't say enough about this place, it just felt so authentic & old school, but still had gluten free options and a variety of stuff!
Overall Folly Beach was great. We were able to stay away from the busy city, but it only took a short drive to get everything we needed. Not only that, but the island has SUCH a laid back, funky vibe to it. It is completely different than Charleston (or any of the surrounding areas).
Okay, let's talk about Charleston.
DOWNTOWN CHARLESTON
Some of these photos were taken from the car, because parking was quite a pain in different areas, and other times it was pouring. At Rainbow Row, Leo dropped me off on the side of the street and did a lap around the block so I could photograph the buildings. The rain made it quite difficult though.
“Come quickly, have found heaven.”
We went at the end of May, which is HOT. It was around 85 degrees pretty much the whole time we were there. That being said, it also rained a decent amount. The inn provided cool clear umbrellas though that we borrowed the whole time, so honestly the off and on rain didn't bother us at all!
The rain here is so weird. It will rain INTENSELY (and I mean intensely, like it will drench you in seconds) for an hour, and the whole city becomes flooded. Then the sun comes out and everyone pops their heads out from all of the little shops and cafes and continues about their business.
So basically if you plan to go to Charleston, at least plan to get wet. Wear flip flops instead of nice shoes! We walked through about a foot of water at the downtown market place!
Here's White Point Garden after an afternoon of rain. I actually ran through here barefoot because at this point my shoes and feet were soaked. It was soo pretty!
The photographer in me was just dyyyying for a gorgeously dressed couple to photograph in this park, it would have been epic. My husband substituted quite well :D
I feel like we could have spent an entire week solely in Charleston itself. I LOVED the architecture and Rainbow Row is just as pretty as you expect it (although really frustrating to get a photo of). If you find parking (we parked at the visitor center which was a long walk from downtown), you can pretty much walk to everything in the downtown area. There's also busses and such running constantly. And obviously Uber.
There are so many tours offered here, ranging from food tours to historic housing tours and everything in between and I think they would have been really neat to check out. Walking on foot just gave us flexibility though, and was a whole lot cheaper!
The Historic Charleston City Market was open when we were there, and was super cool to walk around in. I bought soap and a bath bomb from a company selling there called the Old Whaling Company, and ooooh my word it is delicious. They sell online, so check them out and if you're disappointed with the products just send them my way ;) https://www.oldwhalingcompany.com/
My food recommendations for downtown Charleston:
BROWN DOG DELI - OH MY GOODNESS! I would go back to Charleston just for their food. Soooo good!! They had gluten free sandwiches, and a whole bunch of southernish options, as well as salads & wraps. They also had vegan and vegetarian. I got the PBR sandwich and Leo got the Big "Mac" (he loves mac & cheese, bacon & pulled pork).
Kaminsky's - We stepped in here during the rain, and also because I read on Yelp that they had GF bakery ;) It was super cute and we got espresso drinks and some sort of chocolate cake with ice cream. SOOO many options, especially if you're not gluten free. The cafe smelled delicious.
Below are some photographs of the Macaroon Boutique and Paolo's Italian Gelato.
I'm going to be honest, I'm officially not a macaroon person. I had NEVER TRIED ONE before this point, so I made sure we tried some of these fancy little cookies because they were soo trendy this year. They were cute, expensive, and the chocolate ones were good with coffee. However, I just felt a little unimpressed with the whole thing. I'll stick to the gelato :D
Here's me carrying my GF chocolate cupcake. Yes, we also hit up another cupcakery. LOL I confess, I spent a LOT of money and time checking out GF bakeries and goodies ;) money well spent.
“Walking the streets of Charleston in the late afternoons of August was like walking through gauze or inhaling damaged silk.”
The photos all taken throughout the cities were taken on multiple days. One day we spent part of an afternoon looking at books through a bookstore, followed by cupcakes and then dinner outside of Charleston. The days that I brought my DLSR (not all days I had it with me) I found myself photographing ALLL the buildings. Thankful my husband took most of our personal photos on his phone or our trusty little Polaroid.
Stinking love him. He always was picking out super cool photo locations and then doing light tests so he could take photographs of me.
WHY AM I SUCH AN AWKWARD LARRY.
MAGNOLIA GARDENS
We split up our days in Charleston with adventures to the surrounding areas. One of the must-dos was a visit to one of the local "plantations," so we chose Magnolia Gardens mainly because it looked so pretty online, haha! The cost to visit each plantation is around $25 a person I believe, so to do several would be pretty expensive. They all have different feels and attractions, so make sure you read up on them before you go.
Magnolia Gardens is the place for you if you like LOTS OF NATURE. That's pretty much all we did, was walk through the large park and pet the animals (the little deer follow you around, which was so cool). There were tours of slave quarters and stuff like that, but everything cost extra. If we went back I would definitely check out a different plantation for more of the historical and education stuff. Magnolia Gardens was sooooo pretty though!
Bring water, a camera, good shoes, and clothes that won't make you too hot. I was cooking and wasn't wearing a whole lot.
The photo of me sitting on the tree/bench is neat because that spot was the same exact spot the plantation owner actually sat upon. There's photos of him there which is pretty crazy. The whole place had an ethereal feel to it, and I felt like I was back in time in some of the spots. It is so well maintained yet wild that it just makes it feel OLD, which was so cool.
That last photo of the bird was so cool because when Leo and I were standing on the bridge, this bird flew about five feet away from us, and it was MASSIVE. I managed to just whip my camera around just in time.
ANGEL OAK TREE
Another place I wanted to check out was the Angel Oak tree. This tree is estimated to be 400-500 years old, and it's free to visit. It was rainy the day we went, but that just meant we had the place pretty much to ourselves. There was one other couple there (a young photographer couple, which was pretty cool), and that was it.
I tried to show Leo how to create motion blur in-camera, intentionally. Lol, again, why am I so awkwarddd.
BTW, just a clarifier, I did not wear the same outfit every day haha! The days where I brought my camera we tended to take a lot of photos to make up for the other days.
SULLIVAN'S ISLAND
One night before we went to Sullivan's Island for dinner, we visited the Mount Pleasant Pier to read books and hang out in the sun. We happened to be there for a glamorous outdoor wedding, so that was pretty neat to watch. The pier is free and the grounds are well kept. They also have a playground for kids and a gift shop!
On our way over to Sullivan's Island, which can take 20 minutes from downtown Charleston, depending on traffic, Leo wanted to stop at a local bookstore. So we stopped at Trade-A-Book, a random little used bookery. HIGHLY RECOMMEND. They had a great selection and was super cheap. They also happened to be next door to Cooper River Coffee Roasters, which had the best coffee I had had since being down south.
We spent several evenings on Sullivan's Island and the first night we ate dinner at a place called the Obstinate's Daughter. This experience was memorable to say the least. Let's just start by saying we were SEVERELY underdressed. We didn't make reservations, and when we asked the hostess if we could still stay for dinner she was like "Well I suppose you could." Let me say that I had my bikini on under my clothes, and Leo was wearing a casual button up. This place had gorgeous interior design, with all tiffany blue and crystal decor, and most of the guests were wearing formal apparel. This is the south after all ;)
We ended up staying, and smirking throughout the dinner because we felt so out of place. But the smoked salmon appetizer was AMAAAAZING and was worth it all. They had gluten free, which was awesome, and we splurged on the entire meal, finishing with creme brulee.
Shem Creek is a cool little water front area that is near Sullivan's Island, and we ate at a place called Red's Ice House. It was loud and packed, but the food was good and it was fun watching boats on the water (there were sooo many boats parked in the "creek").
KIAWAH ISLAND/ISLE OF PALMS
The other two places we visited, which we both highly recommend, were Isle of Palms and Kiawah Island. Both are outside of Charleston, and would be perfect for staying on if you wanted to stay outside of the city.
Kiawah Island is actually privately owned, and the Kiawah Resort & Spa owns most of the property on this ginormous area of land. HOWEVER, if you stay to the right of the island, there is public access and it is every bit worth the drive. The island was like out of a dream. There was plenty of wild area (think big trees and lots of exploring potential), but the beach was completely deserted. My goal is to go back someday and stay at the Kiawah Resort. It's spendy but I have a feeling it'd be worth the money. The shopping center/town located right before the island is ritzy, well-manicured and fairly expensive.
Isle of Palms is more family friendly, but still has a more polished vibe than Folly Beach. If I were just beaching it for a day, I would do it here. The beach is clean, has amenities, lots to do, and the little town has a lot of shops and stuff to look around in.
That's pretty much it for our Charleston vacay! I hope I at least inspired a few people to head to this gorgeous city. If anyone ever asks me and Leo for places to visit, we both look at each other and are like "CHARLESTON" almost instantly (and he's been around the world). There's soo much to do, so many ways to do everything, and so many options as far as different budgets go.
P.s. The spas, bakeries, shopping, and other stuff would make it an amazing girl's trip.
P.s.s. The fishing, boating, southern food, etc. won the approval of my husband.
If you have any questions about the area, let me know! Anything we missed that you recommend? Send it my way, we will definitely be back :)
“There is no city on Earth quite like Charleston. From the time I first came there in 1961, it’s held me in its enchanter’s power, the wordless articulation of its singularity, its withheld and magical beauty. Wandering through its streets can be dreamlike and otherworldly, its alleyways and shortcuts both fragrant and mysterious, yet as haunted as time turned in on itself.”