Charleston Part 1: Stay and Do

When we were in Charleston we were told left and right that it's known as the Holy City (fact of the day for those of you who didn't know that-you can sleep better at night now...) I, however, would like to rename it to Holy Humidity City. I have never experienced humidity quite like it in my life...it was SOMETHING ELSE!

Have no fear, the humidity didn't really stop us from doing anything and you could catch a good breeze/shade in some areas, it just sort of destroyed any chance I had with having a good hair day. Those days were definitely non-existent, which is why you see many pictures of Billy and not a lot of pictures of myself. He's better looking anyways.

Let's get into the specifics...where we stayed...what we did...where we ate (more like where DIDN'T we eat). You know, all the good stuff that make up travel posts. Let's all just mentally take a trip to Charleston for the next 5 minutes or so during my post and pretend we're there..

STAY

In the heart of downtown, at Kings Courtyard Inn. You know what they say...location, location, location. Kings Courtyard is a historic bed and breakfast in the center of everything downtown. It's literally on Kings Street (all the shopping you'd ever want), next to all the great restaurants (Husk, 82 Queen, Poogan's Porch, Toast...to name a few) and City Market, and has beautiful rooms and amenities.

We absolutely loved staying here (Rocky included-it's pet friendly!) as we could literally walk anywhere in a short amount of time.

*Kings Courtyard also offers a complimentary breakfast and a wine/cheese tasting everyday from 5-6! Double bonus.

 so charming, isn't it?

 I wonder how many times I'll use that word in this recap...

our beautiful room

 

dress from here

#rockyapproved

We would go back to stay here in a heartbeat and highly recommend it to all of you!

THINGS TO DO

There's a large number of things to do in Charleston...the options are literally endless! We stayed for 4.5 days (3 full days with no traveling) and felt the 3 days was a good amount of time to see everything the city had to offer. Of course you could extend your stay and find plenty to do, but if you are looking for a long weekend type of trip like we were, this amount of time was perfect!

This list could get lengthy so I'm just going to list our favorites and most importantly, share all the gorgeous pictures!

+Take a carriage ride 
.....$20/person. A guide will give you the history of the city and it's a great way to get out of the heat for a bit or take a break from walking)

+Walk to see Rainbow Row and The Battery
....you know, where all those charming million dollar estates are that you can drool over. We loved getting up in the mornings and taking a long walk in this area. It's on the harbor and is so pretty! You can also tour some of the estates (for a fee) so look into that if you're interested.

+Explore Charleston's City Market 
....where vendors set up and sell different goods! There are shops and restaurants on both sides of the market to see as well. We spent a lot of time in this area because it was right around the corner from our inn, so it was just a short walk away.

+Relax and get some sun at Folly Beach or Isle of the Palms! (Also visit Sullivan's Island while you're at it!)
....we actually liked the Isle of the Palms beach much more than Folly Beach. IOP had a bigger area to walk around and some really gorgeous homes on the water and to drive by. Folly Beach we weren't that impressed with, but I mean it's a beach so it's better than most things. :) 

his "what is this wave going to do me" face...

 

{one of the only pics I took at Folly Beach}

+Take a ghost tour!

 ....$20/person, but if you check Groupon they have deals! I got ours for half price. We took one on our first night there and it was actually really cool! They have tours during the day but we didn't think they would be as good, so I'd definitely recommend the night ones.

+Eat many pounds of salt water taffy from Charleston's Candy Kitchen almost every night

(oh wait, that was just me but this place was candy heaven...so says the pregnant chick)

+Walk around downtown and explore! 
...you don't need a set plan, just start walking around and you'll find plenty to do from breweries, touring the Old Exchange and Dungeon (pictured below with Billy standing in front of it), looking at all the charming (second time now) homes, go sit by the water, and of course go stand on George Washington's carriage stoop in front of the house where he once lived!

Note: East Bay St was one of our favorite streets to walk on and explore.

the neapolitan houses (cute, right?)

+Visit Boone Plantation! 
....about a 15-20 min drive from downtown Charleston, highly recommend doing this if you like history and you know, want to see where some of The Notebook was filmed ;) the grounds are stunning and you could easily spend half a day here (I recommend going when they open in the morning for less of a crowd!)

+Shop on King St!
...from high end stores to boutiques they've got you pretty much covered.

+Go to the rooftop of the Market Pavillion Hotel for drinks and great views of the city!
...They have an awesome bar up here and since I'm on the topic, this trip was really the first time this entire pregnancy that I've missed being able to have a drink. I was really wanting to have a nice glass of wine or a cold beer on some of the days and just seeing Billy being able to was a little torturous (just being honest...)

If you want to get out of downtown, Mt. Pleasant is a great area to spend a day (or half a day) at. Lots of restaurants in a marina area and you can kayak, paddle board, etc!

I'm sure I'm missing many things to do, but these are just what we did and really enjoyed.

I bet you're wondering WHERE in the world are all the food pictures and restaurant info?! Charleston's food scene deserves a post on it's own, so come back tomorrow for that goodness. Literally. You'll want to. :)