Charleston-anigans

Wow. I have been so busy with traveling, eating, sightseeing and a million other things that I've been a very bad girl. Charleston was just so beautiful that I didn't have time to write a blog. I did keep notes on my phone, and take a bunch of awesome (if I do say so myself) pictures, so I wouldn't forget what I wanted to tell everybody.

We did so much that I'm going to break Charleston up into 2 posts. We're already in Savannah, but that is a story for yet another day. ( I wrote that line when we were in Savannah but our stupid hotel's internet wouldn't let me save or post anything on here!!!!! Now we're in Jacksonville . . .)

To back it up a bit - here is our day of driving from Durham, NC to Charleston, SC (Thursday) summed up in a few pictures:

There were billboard signs for a while advertising South of the Border where you can buy really important things like fireworks (the good kind). Also, a quick stop at Pedro's for gas was super entertaining. If I ever need camping supplies with my milk, this will be my first stop.

The drive wasn't that far, but definitely far enough that we were happy to get where we were going. Matt had made a reservation at an adorable little Bed and Breakfast in downtown Charleston. It was a carriage house converted into a tiny apartment with two floors. You walked through a hidden little garden and through your own private entrance. 

The downstairs had a kitchenette, sitting area, tv, and dining table.

Upstairs was the bedroom and bathroom. 

It was perfect. We were there for two nights and it was so comfortable. From that stop we walked everywhere.

After arriving on Thursday we unpacked and got comfortable, then got ready to hit the town. There are so many amazing restaurants and bars we had to narrow it down to the ones we really wanted to try. Husk was on our list as a definite, but they were completely full for dinner so we decided to go there first and just grab a drink. Their bar is actually in a little brick building next door to the actual restaurant. They have a very condensed bar menu with just a few snacks, and a drink list with things that looked incredibly creative. Matt got the first thing on the list, the Spicy Catfish-n-onion chips. For the first thing he ate in Charleston, he said it was delicious. The drinks, however, were boring. Real pretty, but kinda mediocre. I don't know why - the ingredients were great and interesting with nice liquors but in the few we tried there wasn't enough flavor.

Next we hit up Cypress for one more drink and snack. It's a downtown restaurant and bar that Matt used to go to when he was living here during college. I got oyster and tuna sashimi (tasty, pretty, lots of wasabi) and Matt got chargrilled pork belly with fritters and salsa.

Then we had dinner at McCrady's which is supposed to be one of the top restaurants in the country. In the 2012 Opinionated About Dining survey it is ranked #10 in the US. While the service was stellar, and the location unique and beautiful, I would never go there again. Expensive, boring, overcooked, with an uninspired wine list. I think from now on I'm going to ignore the ratings because every place I've ever loved to eat were things I found myself or had recommended to me by a local. Matt got their tasting menu which turned out to be 4 courses of blah on a plate. Who wants boiled peanuts with overcooked sirloin?

Regardless of the food we had a lovely time together walking through the city at night. It was warm and like nowhere I'd ever been before. We got just a little silly . . .

And that was our first night. I LOVE Charleston.