Charleston is so beautiful.

I have a handful of random pictures from Charleston that didn't fit in any of my other posts, so I'll make a home for them in this one. Even though I've been home for over a week, I'm still marveling at how lovely that city is.

I'm in love with Charleston, part four

The last full day of our trip, July 1st, was a scorcher like the day before. It was so humid by the time we went to breakfast that we opted to eat inside the bed & breakfast instead of on the porch. No sense in sweating all over your church dress before it's absolutely necessary!

One of the things we both really wanted to do while we were in Charleston was attend a church service. We decided on St. Michael's Episcopal Church. Even though neither of us is Episcopal, we very much enjoyed going to church there.

This church is so beautiful. The pews inside are the fabulous old box pews that you only see in very old churches. Pew #43 (the Governor's Pew) has played host to the hineys of both George Washington and Robert E. Lee. Those are some pretty impressive hineys! I so enjoyed all of the gorgeous details and history in the church. 

There was a blurb in the bulletin advertising a tour of the building after the service. Kate and I can't get enough of building tours, so you better believe we were there :) We ended up being the only tour-takers, and got to spend over an hour with our precious WWII veteran, 50-year choir member, Citadel professor tour guide. We talked about the church, of course, but also about love, learning, war, Jesus, torpedoes, and music. He was truly a delight and I'm so glad we got to spend some time with him.

We left the church in time to make our lunch reservation at Husk. There's a lot of buzz about this restaurant these days, and we couldn't wait to see what all the hype was about. We were almost dismayed to learn that Husk serves brunch instead of lunch. Neither of us was in the mood for breakfast food at 1:15 in the afternoon, so we were relieved to find out that the menu looked more like lunch than breakfast. Husk is a farm-to-table concept restaurant, and they are very proud of that. I can't say enough positive things about the service. Our waiter was phenomenal and the managers were very visible, out cleaning tables and delivering meals. Very cool. I had a pulled pork/fried egg Monte Cristo with a potato/sausage hash. Very simple and SO good. Oh my gosh. So good. I absolutely recommend Husk next time you're in Charleston. You won't be sorry!

Our next stop was the Calhoun Mansion, which was nearly indescribable. 

Fun fact: the interior of this house was the interior of Allie's parents' house in The Notebook. The house itself is phenomenal. My favorite was the woodwork inside, which is absolutely exquisite. There was so much attention to detail when the house was being built, and given how much of the house is still original, was built very well.

Since we weren't allowed to take pictures inside, I'll have to do my best to describe it. Really, though, you just need to see it to believe it! The man who currently owns it bought it several years ago. He is an international litigation lawyer, who apparently makes $698 kajillion a year. Or something like that. One of his hobbies is collecting priceless antiques. When I say priceless antiques, I mean a solid gold, two-headed eagle lamp once owned by the Romanov family...a whole room of furniture owned by Napoleon Bonaparte...custom-made lamps crafted by Mr. Tiffany himself. And the craziest part? All of this stuff is just sitting out, all over the house. Kate described it as "Hoarders: Filthy Stinkin' Rich", and that's so accurate. The house is absolutely covered in this stuff! I have never in my whole life been so afraid of breaking something. I just imagined my purse knocking over a vase and the guide saying, "Fantastic! That vase costs $40 million. Will that be cash, check, credit, or first-born child?"

I managed to pull my jaw up off the ground enough to leave the Calhoun Mansion while we spent our last afternoon wandering around. Our very last meal out in Charleston was at Poogan's Porch, and it was perfection. I had a chicken breast stuffed with gouda and collard greens and topped with a pepper jelly sauce, with green beans and mashed potatoes. Bliss.

We capped off our last night by touring the best parts of the city one more time. I loved every, single second of our Charleston getaway and would go back in a heartbeat. Loved it. If' you've never been to Charleston, you need to start planning your trip right now!

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I'm only going to do one more Charleston post...I promise! I have a few random pictures that didn't fit in any other post but are just begging to be shared. In the meantime, I'm fulfilling my civic responsibility by doing jury duty this week. Today was actually much more interesting than I anticipated, but I'm still hoping my jury duty adventure will be over sooner rather than later :)

I'm in love with Charleston, part three

On the third day of our trip, June 30th, we walked out of the carriage house headed to breakfast. Ick. It felt like we'd walked into the steam room at the gym. The last two days of our journey had been hot, pretty significantly hot, but it was nothing we weren't used to. This day, though, was different. When the temperature is already 90 degrees by 7:30 AM, you're in for it.

We walked to the weekly Charleston Farmers Market to see what we could see. It was the biggest and most varied farmers market I've ever been to. I absolutely loved it.

After wandering around for over an hour, we purchased beautiful pottery from Kate's favorite pottery guy (River Road Pottery) and gorgeous vintage necklaces from Scarlet Poppy. I adore my new necklace!

I also sweated more than I ever remember sweating...ever. We were literally dripping, along with everyone around us. When the Scarlet Poppy lady was helping me try on my necklace, she was sweating all over me and I was sweating right back on her. Disgusting. While it did get to be about 105 degrees this day, the humidity was what was so awful. It literally felt like we were swimming, with all our clothes on. Our sunglasses fogged up every time we went outside. Our clothes stuck to us. Our skin was clammy. Our curly hair grew bigger by the minute. Our makeup melted away. My camera lens quickly covered in condensation every time I took my lens cap off.

{Hello, condensation. Thanks for ruining my shot.}

After leaving the market, we made our way to the Aiken-Rhett House. Kate worked there while in grad school, and I was excited to see the house that I'd heard so many stories about.

{Gorgeousness!}

After visiting with one of Kate's old coworkers, she led me on a wonderful private tour of the (un-air conditioned) home. I absolutely loved touring these old homes. It made me a bit sad that pictures weren't allowed inside any of them, but I completely understand why.

We made our way back into the heat and slogged about a mile in the other direction to go eat lunch. Kate really wanted to eat at Jestine's Kitchen, and I'm so glad she made that call. The restaurant is very cute and "down-home", the service was wonderful, and the food was spectacular. I had meatloaf, macaroni & cheese, red rice (yall seriously have to eat you some of this...it's amazing), and banana pudding. So, so good. This was a way more substantial lunch than I'm used to eating, but after looking back on what came next, I'm glad I had some sustenance.

We continued walking/dripping down Meeting Street to make our way to the Nathaniel Russell House. 

This house is one that has been completely restored, and it looks as if Mr. Russell himself is fixing to come home for supper. Such a beautifully restored home, and I very much enjoyed our visit there.

At this point, we found ourselves with a wide-open afternoon. Kate's friend Jossy had very (VERY) generously allowed us to have access to her employee discount pass, so we went through the list looking for something that appealed to us. We decided on a ferry ride and tour at Fort Sumter.

What was not completely apparent to me at the time was that the ferry landing was nearly two miles away, and we decided to trek on foot. We also had less than an hour before the ferry departed, so there was no time to waste. The temperature at this point was 1,452 degrees, it was 1:00 PM, and it seemed that there was no shade on either side of the street. Awesome. We walked the whole way in near silence because it seemed that talking would take too much effort, and both of us needed to focus all of our attention on staying alive. It was a struggle. By the time we arrived at the port, we were both completely drenched, red-faced, and greatly in need of rehydration. We showed the nice ticket man our pass and headed to the bathroom to survey the damage. I had to laugh when I saw my reflection in the mirror...I was a shell of my former self. Know who wasn't laughing? The Pretty, Pretty Princess washing her hands beside me. She had clearly just emerged from an air-conditioned car and must have lacked sweat glands. And a sense of humor.

You know what seats were left by the time we got on the ferry? The ones in the sun. We reluctantly accepted our fate and sat down. The ride over was actually quite pleasant, despite the fierce sunshine.

{the ruins of Castle Pinckney in Charleston Harbor}

{the site of the first shots of the Civil War...that big black thing in the middle was built in 1898 and I think it's absolutely hideous...just my two cents :)} 

Fun fact: Fort Sumter is built on a natural sandbar, but the sandbar wasn't large enough for a structure this size (the fort used to be three stories tall). There also weren't enough rocks available in the South to supplement the sandbar. So, rocks from the Northeast (Maine, I think) were brought in, plopped on the sandbar, and Fort Sumter was built on top of them. Very technically, this point of Confederate pride is built on Yankee soil. I got the biggest kick out of that.

Kate and I made it back onto the ferry in enough time to nab two shady seats. We quite enjoyed the breeze...and the shade...on the ride back! We hiked the two miles back to our bed & breakfast because we both refused to go out to eat in the shape we were in. After shower #2 for the day, we drove out to Folly Beach to meet Jossy and new friend Becca at Taco Boy. We had tons of fun enjoying the laidback, beachy atmosphere and great food. I had Carnitas Nachos and highly recommend them. We capped off the night by going to the beach, wading out in the water, and enjoying the reflection of the nearly full moon on the ocean. An absolute perfect ending to an exhausting, but wonderful, day!

I'm in love with Charleston, part two

We started our second day, June 29th, with breakfast on the back porch of our bed & breakfast. The Barksdale House Inn cooked up a lovely breakfast every day we were there, and we came to look forward to our early morning meals on the porch.

When we were planning our trip, I told Kate that one thing I really wanted to see was a plantation house somewhere out in the country. I also wanted it to have one of those really impressive drives with a "tree tunnel" dripping with Spanish moss. Drayton Hall proved to be just the place.

Kate's friend Trish works at Drayton Hall and treated us to a private tour. The interesting thing about Drayton Hall is that it's preserved, not restored. I'd never seen a home like this. The preservation team makes sure the home is structurally sound and not falling apart, but they have no plans to "gussy it up". Very cool to see. This is surely one of the most beautiful buildings I've ever seen.

{a signing uncovered on the fireplace surround...the date is July 4, 1824} 

 {all hand-carved}

{hand-carved mahogany swags} 

{Drayton family growth chart...even though the Draytons no longer own the home, they are still able to come in and mark the height of their little Draytons on this chart}

{not sure why this one appeals to me so much, but I absolutely love it}

{In my highly self-critical opinion, this is one of the best pictures I've ever taken. In love.}

 {I was excited to take a picture of this real, Lowcountry swamp. As I turned to walk away, I stepped on what I thought was solid ground...}

{...which led to this...which led to a pit stop at the bathroom where I, while wearing a dress, had to wash my foot in a sink. My middle name should be Grace.}

To escape the 417 degree temperatures for a bit, we ate a wonderful lunch at the Sunflower Cafe. We then drove out to the Angel Oak on Johns Island, another of my "must-sees". I have always wanted to see one of those towering, Southern live oak trees with the branches that seem to go on for miles. Enter, the Angel Oak:

 {the only picture Kate and I took together the entire trip...I need to get WAY better about stepping out from behind the camera and getting in front of it!}

Absolutely spectacular. If you're ever in the Charleston area, you must go see this tree. I promise, it's worth it!

Kate and I drove back to Charleston and met her friends Jossy, Trish, and Amelia for happy hour at Fleet Landing, right on the harbor. I enjoyed getting to spend time with Kate's grad school friends. I'd heard so much about them over the last few years that I felt like I already knew them!

After two pomegranate martinis and nearly three hours of nonstop chatter, we were in need of some food. Jossy, Kate, and I had supper on the porch at Cru Cafe. My goat cheese salad and fried brie with fig compote was ridiculously good. Like, I had to just stop talking for a few minutes to become one with my food...that good.

Since the temperature had dropped 200 degrees after the sun went away, Kate and I opted to walk back to our bed & breakfast. She took me through some of the more quiet residential streets in Charleston, and I was still in awe of the beauty all around me. Simply gorgeous.

Good thing we got plenty of sleep this night, because the next day brought more activity than we had ever envisioned!

I'm in love with Charleston, part one

I returned yesterday from a glorious, much-anticipated trip to Charleston, South Carolina with my dear friend Kate. She lived there for two years while in grad school, but I was making my very first trip. It's official...I have fallen in love. With a city, that is. I loved every second of our trip and already can't wait to go back!

We headed out the morning of the 28th at 6:00 AM. Gotta get an early start when you've got an 8-hour drive (and a time zone change) in front of you! The drive actually seemed to go by surprisingly quickly. We checked into our lovely bed & breakfast (the Barksdale House Inn) and headed out to do some exploring.

{the carriage house at our bed & breakfast...the bottom left windows were ours} 

{our pretty room} 

 {Randolph Hall on the College of Charleston campus...scenes from "The Patriot" were filmed here}

{You know what's awesome? Spanish moss is awesome.} 

{gatehouse...scenes from "The Notebook" were filmed here}

{a Unitarian cemetery we stumbled upon}

{loved this shot}

After taking these, I was walking around completely stunned at the sheer beauty of this city. Our next stop was the Battery. I had told Kate that one of my "must sees" was the legendary houses that sit right beside Charleston Harbor. Words can't even describe the size and grandeur and extravagance of these homes. Holy moly.

It still boggles my mind that people actually live in these houses. Like, this is their home. When they invite people over, this is where they invite them to. Insane!

We ended our tour here when Kate's friend Jossy picked us up to go eat. Jossy was working every day we were there, but she met us every night to hang out. She's absolutely precious and I feel like I can call her a friend now.

We ate at Virginia's, which was a perfect introduction to Charleston cuisine. I had a veggie plate with red rice (which I had never had before but was a HUGE fan), mac & cheese, squash casserole, broccoli, and sliced tomatoes. Since I'm starting my Whole30 on July 5th, I told myself I could "go out with a bang" in Charleston. I sure did, and I am certainly ready to start eating something a little lighter :) 

After that, we headed across the street to O-ku for drinks. I had a coconut lime martini, which was absolutely delightful.   

I only thought I had fallen in love with Charleston at this point. It got better and better each day, and I can't wait to share it here!