Charleston
…Continued
from Part 1
Day
3
– Since Chad and I are both runners, Chris recommended that we run over the
Arthur Ravenal Jr. Bridge. Saturday morning we drove over the bridge, parked,
ran 2.5 miles down one side, and then ran another 2.5 miles back. The bridge
has a concrete wall separating runners and bikers from vehicles.
views on, of, and from the bridge
I
wanted to see one plantation while we were in Charleston. Since Blake Lively
and Ryan Reynolds recently got married at the Boone Hall Plantation and part of the movie The Notebook was filmed there, it was my first choice! On the way to the plantation, we had to stop and get Chad a "Saban Cake" (oatmeal pie) for his Alabama Game Day Tradition. We couldn't take a chance on Alabama losing due to him not eating an oatmeal pie.
Boone Hall Plantation
Once inside the plantation entrance, Chad and I stopped to take a picture on the Avenue of the Oaks. This is the road from The Notebook that (in the movie) leads to the old house Noah refinished for Allie.
The page of People Magazine showing how Blake and Ryan had the plantation decorated for their Wedding Day.
The Plantation House
Blake and Ryan's Reception Site -- I can definitely see why they wanted to use this venue. Too bad I wasn't invited.
We
had a late lunch at Red’s Ice House
in Mount Pleasant. This is a great, casual spot for an outside meal and/or place to
watch football. We watched part of the Alabama game during lunch and then drove
through Isle of the Palms. I enjoyed seeing some of the massive beach houses. I think this one was my favorite.
The back of Red’s
Ice House
After
taking a small break, we went into some of the local boutiques on King Street and
then got ready for our last dinner in Charleston.
some
of the King Street Shops
We
were still stuffed from lunch and decided on sushi at O-Ku for dinner. We sat
at the sushi bar, had Japanese beer, edamame and both smoked and Scottish salmon sashimi. The smoked was my top pick.
Our
waitress gave us some recommendations on places nearby to grab a drink. We
walked to a bar called Closed for Business. I loved the name and it was a small
bar with a relaxed atmosphere but do not attempt to order a girlie drink there.
The bar has lots of unique beers on tap and I actually ordered whisky! I tried some fireball whisky and oddly enough, I enjoyed it.
Day
4
– We woke up our last morning to run back through The Battery and along the
coast. It was the same run from our first morning but I wanted pictures. It
took everything in me to wake up that early, but I promise it was worth it!
The
Battery
The sunrise on the coast
Rainbow Row
Five
Unique and Random Things I Learned in Charleston:
1.
The difference between a graveyard and
a cemetery. If it’s part of a church, then it is a graveyard; if it is out on
its own, it is considered a cemetery.
2.
In Charleston, real estate located
slightly north of Broad Street is referred to as SNOB and real estate south of
broad is referred to as SOB. I believe this makes you a SNOB or a SOB. The
houses slightly north of Broad are the houses towards The Battery and on the
coast. They are all stunning!!
3.
The front doors on the houses don’t
actually open to the inside of the houses. I didn’t even notice until one of our tour guides
pointed this out, but the front doors actually open to the porches.
4.
The houses are narrow because the
British were used to paying property taxes based on the amount of width their
houses took up on the roads. When the British came to Charleston, they built
their houses narrow even though they were not being taxed the same way.
5.
Houses built before a certain year
cannot be altered without receiving a permit. It takes a long time to receive
permission to make any changes and certain things such as the color of the
house cannot be altered. You can add on to houses, but you cannot tear down any
part of the home.
In
Summary:
Our trip was amazing! If you have never been to Charleston then I highly
recommend adding it to your list and going with a full appetite.