anniversary trip to charleston

Jason and I celebrated 10 years of marriage on August 2.  With a honeymoon to the Atlantis in the Bahamas and a 5 year anniversary/babymoon (not sure that term existed when we went) trip to Bermuda, we knew we wanted something just as exciting for our 10 year celebration.  We had originally wanted to go to San Fransisco and Napa, but we didn't really want to go that far and leave the kids for as long as that trip would be.  And lets face it, now that we're on one salary, it wouldn't have been that feasible.  So we settled on Charleston and it could not have been more perfect!!

 

We knew we didn't want to go to Charleston in August because it would be too hot.  We chose October because we were hoping it would be cooler and Jason is back on his every other Friday off schedule and it was easier to plan around that.  Having spent an entire week leading up to the trip with cold, rainy weather, it was the perfect time to go south.  We could not have asked for better weather.  The mornings and evenings were cool and the days were warm, but not hot or humid. 

 

We wanted to stay in a bed and breakfast type place rather than a hotel.  We had gotten many suggestions from friends, but the choice was overwhelming.  We did a search for bed and breakfasts in Charleston and pulled up google earth to make our decision.  We tried to get something that was central to shopping, dining, and the water.  We were so pleased with our choice, The Meeting Street Inn.  It was the perfect location.  When we checked in, we were delighted when they said our room was "the big one in the front".  Those three windows were our room with our own balcony overlooking the courtyard where we had breakfast and wine and cheese each day.

 

 

We arrived Friday afternoon around 3:30.  After checking in, unloading our bags, and parking the car, we went for a walk to check out the area before heading back to the hotel for our afternoon wine and cheese reception.  After that we got ready for dinner and headed to Husk in hopes of getting a table after so many friends had recommended it.  We only ended up waiting about 15 minutes and we sat on a fun porch swing while we waited.  Jason and I love food and we love to eat, but we apparently aren't all that adventurous when trying new foods.  I would have to say, Husk was a little out of our league.  We couldn't pronounce half the items on the menu and there weren't many things that interested us.  Jason ended up getting duck, which he enjoyed and I got a salad.  We got dessert too, but I still was not overly impressed.  The atmosphere, however, was wonderful.  We sat outside on the upstairs balcony.  We headed back to the hotel after dinner and went to bed early because we were tired from such a long travel day. 

 

On Saturday morning, we got up and went to the Farmer's Market at Marion Square.  Then we headed down King Street and stopped at Cupcake for a couple of treats.  We walked some more and then stopped at Kitchen 208 for some drinks and I enjoyed my pumpkin cupcake. 

 

Next we headed down to Waterfront Park.  We were lucky enough to snag a seat on the covered swing on the pier.  After our swing and walk on the pier, we walked through the park and then sat on a park bench and just relaxed and enjoyed the view of the water while we waited for our lunch reservation at Fleet Landing.  Our lunch was delicious and we were lucky enough to sit outside overlooking the water. 

 

We had hoped to do a boat tour and visit Fort Sumter, but it was closed due to the government shutdown so we decided not to even go out on the water.  Instead, we drove over to Mt. Pleasant and then over to Sullivan's Island to check out the homes and beach.  It was nice putting my toes in the water in October!

 

We decided to skip dinner that night since we were so full from lunch and just had wine and cheese at the hotel and then we went out for dessert.  Some friends of ours had told us to go to Kaminsky's for dessert.  This was such a great recommendation.  There were so many fun drinks and desserts to choose from that we were a little overwhelmed.  We started off with dessert martinis while we decided on dessert.  I ended up getting the Toll House pie with ice cream and Jason got smores cheesecake.  We finished dessert with a few more yummy drinks and then did a little shopping before heading back to the hotel.  I had fun consulting Pinterest while packing for this trip since most vacations these days consist of bathing suits and t-shirts for the beach!

 

Sunday morning we had reservations for a carriage ride.  It was a cool quiet morning, perfect for a ride through the city.  We had breakfast at our hotel before, but were a little hungry afterwards so we headed to a gourmet doughnut shop, Glazed, Jason had seen the day before.  Jason was in heaven!  We shopped some on King Street where I found these two shirts at Willy Jay's and then we had lunch at King Street Grille.  We got an eggroll sampler and they were the best things I've ever eaten (macaroni and cheese, loaded baked potato, southwestern, philly cheese steak).  We were so full from lunch so we headed back to the hotel to relax.  Later we took our leftover cupcakes and doughnuts down to the water and enjoyed a snack in the park and watched as a Carnival cruise ship departed. 

 

We headed back to the hotel to get ready for our afternoon wine and cheese and then our dinner reservation at 82 Queen.  We had lots of people recommend 82 Queen and we're so glad we went.  We enjoyed dinner and drinks on the garden patio.  I got a porkchop with baked beans and fried macaroni and cheese.  It was SO good.  Jason had She Crab soup and fried oysters.  After dinner we headed to Kilwins for ice cream and then shopped Market Street one last time before heading back to the hotel.

 

On Monday morning we had breakfast at Hominy Grill on the way out of town.  I was excited to finally get some shrimp and grits, but I wished I hadn't waited until the last day to get them because they were just ok.  They weren't bad, but I expected more for such a popular Charleston dish.  Jason's "Big Nasty Biscuit" was delicious!

 

We had a wonderful trip!  I did the best I could to photo document our trip with my phone since I didn't bring a camera (oops). If you've never been to Charleston, I would highly recommend it.  Our stay was the perfect length of time, it was the perfect time of year, and our experience was just fabulous.  It was the perfect celebration for 10 years of wedded bliss!  We're so thankful to our parents who took such great care of the kids while we were gone.  It was nice to be able to relax and not worry about the kids while we were away.