My brother decided to spend Christmas with us despite the COVID crisis. He bought the ticket back in October and doesn’t want to spend Christmas alone. This was also his first East Coast visit so we wanted to make it special. We suggested to visit Charleston, South Carolina to enjoy the Southern hospitality. Since my sister is also here and haven’t visited the place, everyone agreed.
So off we go on a road trip on this sunny Monday morning. We packed some sandwiches and snacks to eat for this 5 hour drive. We stopped for gas at Fort Mill, SC and another stop at the tourist information center in downtown Charleston. We had lunch at Hyman’s Seafood which was yummy as I remembered it then went for a walk at the Charleston City Market where my husband bought a bag of coffee. We went further and had some photos taken at the Pineapple Fountain. From there, we walked further and she had her photos taken at the Rainbow Row. From Rainbow Row, we walked around the French Quarter and ended up buying some cookies at Byrd’s Famous Cookies. We then walked back to where we parked the car and drove to the hotel to check-in.
For dinner, we decided to try some southern fried chicken at Leon’s. The food was ok but it was a bit pricey. We feel that it wasn’t worth the money we paid for. After Leon’s, we decided to have ice cream at Jeni’s. I like the scoop I got but my brother’s scoop tasted like the eraser on top of the pencil. After the dessert flop, we headed back to the hotel to rest.
On Day 2 in Charleston, we had breakfast to go from Callie’s Hot Little Biscuits along King’s St. My brother enjoyed the biscuits and would like to eat some more. My husband ordered the patty cake and it was delicious. We ordered half dozen mixed biscuits and it was a hit and miss. After breakfast, we headed to Boone Plantation, where we recreated my husband’s proposal. Now, my sister’s the one directing. We also enjoyed the truck tour around the plantation. We also took turn becoming my sister’s instagram photographers. After Boone, we had a quick Vietnamese lunch which was unremarkable. We headed back to downtown Charleston to have some ice cream at Republic Ice Cream. The ice cream here are more traditional in flavors. We then went back to the hotel to have a quick rest then headed to Bowen Island Restaurant for dinner. If you’re in Charleston, I would suggest coming to Bowen Island Restaurant to shuck your own oysters. It was the tastiest oysters I’ve ever had and the 2 dozens oysters we ordered is more than enough for the four of us.
On Day 3 in Charleston, we had breakfast at Glazed Doughnuts. The doughnuts were quite big and filling. It was good but not as great as the ones in Portland. After our doughnut breakfast, we visited Fort Sumter National Historic Park to had some photos taken. It was quite windy and cold. Afterwards, we walked at the Boardwalk south of Broad St. As we worked up an appetite, we decided to have barbecue at Poogan’s Smokehouse before our long drive back home.
That’s it in Charleston! Must eat would be Bowen’s Island Restaurant. Must see places would be Rainbow Row, French Quarter, Pineapple Fountain, Historic City Market, Boone Plantation, Fort Sumter National Park.
See you in our future travels!
Claudine on the Go 