thervdreamlife

We’ve all experienced “the best laid plans” gone awry, and such was the case in mid-January when Bill had arranged for three days in Charleston to celebrate my birthday. But when two dear friends passed away and Murrells Inlet received 5 inches of snow, our adventure was postponed until this past week.

As they say, “everything happens for a reason,” and I’m convinced that is true. It is so nice that we can travel less than 2 hours from our home and immediately feel as if we are much farther away than that. We arrived in Charleston in the late afternoon and checked in to the Meeting Street Inn. Filled with a history of its own, we were offered breakfast every morning, wine and cheese each afternoon from 5-6 p.m. and then warm cookies at 8:00 each evening!

Our first stop was right down the street at Hyman’s, one of the oldest traditional seafood restaurants in the city. We had what we call “linner” – a late lunch or early dinner! Our meals were absolutely delicious and we not only met Victor Hyman – fifth generation, but also sat at a table where celebrities had eaten -James Brown and Vanilla Ice!

The Meeting Street Inn was in a perfect location as once we parked the car, it didn’t move for three days! Tuesday evening we walked to the Gaillard Center to see a performance of the Alvin Ailey Dance Company! Sitting in the second row of this beautiful performance venue, we were able to see these talented dancers sweat and hear them breathe. To me, there is nothing better than that!

Wednesday morning we geared up for our French Quarter Food Tour, which Bill had also arranged. Having experienced a food tour in Paris through the same company, we were assured it would be great, and it did not disappoint! We met our guide, Sydney, at the Port of Call restaurant and then, with 8 other people, began our 3-plus hour discovery of history, food, and drink in historic Charleston.

At the Port of Call, we sampled chicken bog, which was actually developed closer to where we live, along with a pineapple flavored beer. Chicken bog is Carolina rice, chicken, andouille sausage, and broth, originally enjoyed in the Lowcountry as a hearty meal for farm workers. There is even a Chicken Bog Festival annually in Loris, SC.

Our second stop was a walk through the City Market and a stop at the Southern Sisters Bakery. Benne (the Bantu word for “sesame”) was brought to the South by African slaves, dating back hundreds of years. The benne wafer is a thin cookie made from toasted sesame. It was thought that eating these wafers brought good luck, so we jumped right in, sampling 6 different flavors! Bill and I returned to the Market later in the day and brought original and key lime benne wafers home with us!

The Oyster House was next on our list, where we received a sampler platter including she-crab soup, shrimp and grits, hush puppies with pecan butter, and the ever popular pimento cheese. Surprisingly, Bill and I were the only people who had opted for the drink package too, but hey, why not? At The Oyster House we had a refreshing cocktail that tasted just like peach ice tea, but boy, was it potent!

At our various stops, we got to know our fellow tourists, who hailed from Michigan, Texas, Ohio and Florida. Our guide, Sydney, led us through several areas of the city on foot as she shared the rich and sometimes unusual history of Charleston. Philadelphia Alley was interesting, especially having lived so close to that city for many years. The bricks that form the alley are unique, as they are imprinted with hand and foot prints of the slaves who made them, and the buildings on either side of Philadelphia Alley are equipped with earthquake detectors!

Next up was a sampling at Well Hung, a restaurant that also has their own vineyard. Here, we tasted cola-braised short ribs served over mashed potatoes. At one point in time, there was a large Jewish population in Charleston, and short ribs is a traditional Eastern European Jewish dish. The only wine served at Well Hung is their own, so Bill and I each received a flight – 2 whites and 2 reds! I wanted to buy a bottle just for the logo, which I will leave to your imagination!

The final stop on our food tour was at Off Track, an ice cream parlor creating all their own traditional and vegan flavors, using real, clean and local ingredients. What a wonderful ending to an amazing food tour!

Since we had been immersed into Charleston history, we thought we would continue the trend with one of the carriage tours – Palmetto Carriage Tours to be exact. Our human guide, Dusty, along with our equine guide, Duece, provided us with a very interesting hour of more background and tales of Charleston. We learned the difference between a “graveyard” and a “cemetery” and viewed several beautiful churches and homes throughout the historic district.

We didn’t want to leave Charleston without seeing the waterfront, so following our carriage tour we walked down to Fleet Landing, a seafood restaurant housed in a 1940’s retired navel building. It was after lunch but not quite dinner, so we were able to grab a cocktail and sit outside as the sun began its descent.

Since we had basically ate and drank our way through the day, we didn’t need much in the evening. We did, however, wander down Meeting Street to Henry’s, the longest continuously operating restaurant in Charleston and South Carolina, which coincidentally opened the day Johnny Cash was born in 1932! We shared shrimp and each had a cup of soup. We topped off our very full day with Henry’s bourbon bread pudding – to die for!

Sometimes you don’t have to be far from home to feel far from home, and as we left Charleston on Thursday morning, that feeling pervaded and we knew we’d be back! I thank Bill for arranging this adventure, as yes, I turned a year older, but my birthday “re-do” helped make it seem less painful!

Stay Calm and Travel On…