After seven months spent exploring the western part of the United States, I was ready to head back east and most importantly, back to the coast.
It was only right that I add a stop to a sister city of the first city on my travels. One that kicked off my travel journey and really ignited the adventure within my travel spirit. I was headed to Charleston, South Carolina.
More importantly, back to the Lowcountry.
I couldn’t have been more excited!
Charleston turned out to be pretty much everything that I expected it to be! A historic downtown, restaurants plentiful with fresh seafood and a handful of beautiful beaches to spend lazy Sunday afternoons enjoying.
After a cross country drive, I found myself in a port city during the spring and early summer months. When I arrived in April, the weather was in the mid 70s and mostly beautiful. By the time that I was leaving at the end of June, the high heat and humidity that the South is known all too well for was settling into the city. When I was packing up my car it was 96 degrees and 75% humidity, talk about hot and humid.
This heat was greatly appreciated when it came to enjoying the beach and swimming in the ocean. When I arrived in Charleston the Atlantic was refreshing, not as cold as the waters of Lake Michigan but still a bit chilly. My last month in the city I was able to swim in waters that matched the evening air temperatures, topping out at 82 degrees by the time that I was leaving.
It was perfect.
Public transit in the Charleston area is something that I did not get to experience. There were no light rail systems as I had been used to with my last few cities. There was however a bus system called the CARTA or Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority that serviced East Cooper to West Ashley and North Charleston to South of Broad. Coving the vast majority of Charleston and surrounding areas. A regular one way route ticket was $2.00 per ride and a day pass was $7. Pretty cost effective when you factor in driving time and paying to park especially if you are headed to the historic district.
Charleston itself sits on a peninsula and most of the housing in this area is quite expensive. Most residents choose to live on either side of the peninsula in either Mount Pleasant or James Island, myself included. I stayed in Mount Pleasant and had the pleasure of driving over the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge every time I headed downtown. A 2.7 mile cable-stay bridge that is situated over the Cooper River that could hold eight lanes of traffic at a time. Outside of rush hour, the traffic both on the bridge and within the city itself were normal.
I experienced the most traffic when heading to the beach on the weekend after 11:00 am or when crossing over from let’s say Mount Pleasant to James Island on the other side of the Charleston. As to be expected but it wasn’t anything that was unbearable.
While Charleston and the surrounding area was great on its own, I found it to be pretty centrally located to a lot of other popular areas for day trips or weekend trips if you are into that. I took full advantage as I love a good day trip! I enjoyed the short drives to Edisto Island, Savannah and Myrtle Beach.
I had an idea as to what type of cuisine I would be getting while visiting Charleston, both fresh seafood and more traditional southern cuisine. Both of which were not lacking! Again, I was not disappointed but pleasantly surprised with the options and level of culinary expertise that was in the city.
It is almost guaranteed that on every menu you will have your choice of seafood. One of my new found favorite foods is fresh oysters! A food I wouldn’t dare touch with a ten foot pole before I now went out of my way to find a happy hour with them for a $1 a piece! Charleston also has numerous James Beard award winning chefs. From hole in the wall finds (some of my favorites) to five star cuisine, there is a little bit of everything for everyone!
Downtown Charleston is well known for the shopping, dining and nightlife on King Street. Where the infamous street is lined with a plethora of boutiques, restaurants and bars to choose from. This area is incredibly busy and it is a popular area for bachelorette parties, rightfully so. It is very fun!
I had the opportunity of exploring many of the local eateries, and more importantly, drinkeries. Some of my favorites being Gingerline, The Gin Joint, Cocktail Club and Citrus Club!
One thing that I loved about Charleston were the amount of really great restaurants and bars located within the upscale hotels in the downtown area. The Spectator located near the market had an incredible bar with some of the best cocktails that I had in the city! Be sure to not miss it the next time you are in need of a fancy cocktail.
Much like Phoenix, this was another very social stop. This was my first stop along my travels in which I was able to connect with a friend that I had made during my stay in Savannah! We have remained close friends over the course of the last year and it was wonderful visiting her in a city I love and sharing new experiences with her in a city I was unfamiliar with.
Southern hospitality was displayed again by the warm and friendly attitudes of most people that I encountered while exploring the city. I do have to say that I was fairly intimidated by the amount of wealth that this city both has and draws. But, that is neither here nor there.
During my conversations with people that I met out and about, I got the feeling that Charleston was largely a transplant city. There were not many people that I ran into that were born and raised in the city. A lot of them had a similar story of visiting the city, falling in love with it and making the move to Charleston. Which I feel is a common theme that I am seeing in the vast majority of these larger metropolitan areas.
Now, it would be a disservice to talk about the people in this area without touching on the Gullah Geechee people that reside in the area. The descendants of the West and Central Africans who were enslaved and brought to the area to work on plantations harvesting coastal rice, cotton and indigo. The imprint of the Gullah Geechee people can be seen deep within the culture in Charleston, from the soulful flavors in the lowcountry cuisine to the artistry woven into each of the handcrafted sweetgrass baskets.
Much like the last 6 months, I spend the majority of my time outdoors. This time however, instead of climbing up mountains I was walking many miles along the shoreline looking for shells and shark tooth hunting.
The Lowcountry was an area that I knew next to nothing about prior to my stay in Savannah 18 months ago, but it is a place that I cannot get enough of and allowed me the space to feel the best I have, really ever.
It’s been really real Chucktown, hope to sea you again soon?