Charleston, SC

 

The beginning of the week was pretty uneventful. Due to a busy work schedule and a lot of rain, we didn’t venture out. On Friday, we moved to the Charleston KOA in Mt. Pleasant, just outside of Charleston, SC. It was Brett’s birthday, so we went out to dinner at Burtons Grill. They are fantastic with allergy issues and the food was wonderful—things we can’t normally find, like fried calamari with jalapenos, firecracker shrimp, and focaccia bread.

Pineapple fountain on the waterfront

Rainbow Row

On Saturday, we headed into Charleston and walked downtown to check out the area. It has a lot of similarities to Savannah, but much cleaner. We stopped to share a crepe at Breizh Pan Crepes and oh my word, it was delicious (homemade lemon curd). I’ve never made crepes, but will definitely be trying that soon.

On our way home, we stopped at Vicious Biscuit for an early dinner. It was a busy spot, but we weren’t impressed. Their regular biscuits are probably amazing, but the gluten-free wasn’t worth the stop in our opinion. 

The campground is part of a plantation that has been owned by a single family for over 150 years. Twice a week they offer a tour of the plantation to those staying at the KOA, so when we got back, we took that tour.

House and driveway of the KOA plantation

Sunday, we headed back to Charleston and took a carriage ride. Our guide was very knowledgeable, and we learned a lot about the architecture of the area. It was interesting to learn that the city only allows 20 carriages out at any given time, so if there are already 20 out, they can’t leave until another one returns. There are also multiple routes and the route you get is determined by a bingo ball system. There are different color balls and the color ball that comes up when your carriage goes to leave, is the route the guide must take. One downside to that you don’t know what tour you are going to get. And if you’ve already taken a tour before, you could get the same route again.

After the carriage ride, we walked the town some more (it was HOT and HUMID) and grabbed a deli sandwich at Caviar and Bananas. When we were sufficiently worn out, we headed to the waterfront to take a boat ride to Fort Sumter where the first shot of the Civil War was fired by the Confederacy on the US garrison of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861.

Boat ride to Fort Sumter

Monday was July 4th, and we started the day by going to Boone Hall Plantation. While there, we attended a presentation of the Gullah Culture which was by far the highlight. We would recommend checking out Boone Hall Plantation just to see that presentation. 

Boone Hall Plantation - loving that live oak driveway

                                                            

This is a very short clip, but man I would love to just sit and visit with her and have her share her knowledge of the history and culture of The Gullah. 

That evening, we enjoyed the festivities and fireworks show put on by the KOA. This was a great campground, especially for families with young kids. They had so many things to do for the kiddos—coloring contest, watermelon seed spitting contest, bike parade, family dance, hula hoop contest, sack races, etc. Just good old fashioned family fun.

Kudos to the KOA for a fun-filled family friendly 4th.