We left after work on Friday. I napped, PJ drove, and there was some Podcast listening. And, a Five Guys stop. What can I say, I like my routine! Charleston is pretty close to us - a two hour drive - and I am very thankful for that because it means that we can go back without too much issue!
We arrived at our hotel, the Francis Marion, which was in a pretty central spot. Our room was quite small (it's a very old hotel!) but we were out exploring most of the time anyways. There was a Starbucks on the ground floor so I could run down and get a coffee first thing (and some ice for PJ's diet Pepsi....it was his birthday weekend after all!) I was a little creeped out by the hotel, it kind of reminded me of the hotel from the Shining:
To the north of our hotel were lots of restaurants and bars while to the south were shops. So after we checked in, we quickly headed out and headed north! PJ wanted to check out what the bars looked like for the following night and I wanted ice cream (from a shop that I spotted when PJ almost killed us by driving the wrong way on a one-way street - just kidding, we weren't in any danger but I was sufficiently spooked). PJ found a bar/lounge that he wouldn't mind going to the following night so we headed to Jeni's Ice Cream. The decor was reminiscent of Rain or Shine in Vancouver but the ice cream was not as good. There is nothing that can beat the salted caramel from Rain or Shine!
We started out Saturday morning with a trip to Fort Sumter. We walked down to the docks and took a boat to the fort. It was pretty neat to see - it was an American fort when South Carolina seceded from the union at the start of the war. The South Carolinians wanted to to be handed over to them but the union refused. This went on for a number of months during which time South Carolina ended up joining the confederacy. Finally, South Carolina got fed up and fired on Fort Sumter which were the first shots of the Civil War. While it was interesting to see, there is SO much to see in Charleston that I don't know if I would've done it if I had the choice again (unless we were there for a longer period of time).
We made it to our tour on time. It was given by Free Tours by Foot (you name your price of what you think it was worth after) and our guide, Scott, was fantastic! I have loved walking tours since I took one in Berlin and this one didn't disappoint. Charleston is so beautiful on its own but it was very interesting to be able to hear some of the history that we wouldn't have known without the tour. This tour was a Civil War tour and we learned so much. Charleston was one of the wealthiest cities at the time the Civil War broke out. Scott told us that some of the wealthiest people could own 3,000 slaves and, in today's dollar, each slave cost anywhere from $30,000 to $50,000. So the people of Charleston had a vested interest in not allowing slavery to be abolished. It made me feel sick to my stomach to see such beautiful surroundings and know the awful history behind it. So much of Charleston was built on the backs of slaves. I've read some fictional books on slavery over the years (The Invention if Wings and The Book of Negroes to name some more recent ones) and it was surreal to be standing in a place where slavery not just occurred but was one of the major contributors to it. Scott showed us where the slave boats would land, where the slaves would live (while getting plumped up and made to be more desirable), and finally where they were auctioned off. And now, that same spot is just a parking lot. Unreal. The tour was fascinating and I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting Charleston. We logged about 20,000 steps that day (number courtesy of PJ's Microsoft band) so the walking tour are probably only good for those who are okay with lots of walking. When we go back, I really want to see the Old Slave Mart Museum (and yes, that is a Masonic symbol on the firehall next door):
After the tour, we headed back to our hotel room and had a nap before going out for PJ's birthday dinner. PJ loves a good steak so I normally try and take him out for a nice steak dinner on his birthday. The best rated restaurant in Charleston on TripAdvisor was a steakhouse so I figured that was our spot! I booked the reservation back in October (always a planner) because I was worried that it might fill up. I told PJ where we were going a few weeks ago and he kept looking at it. He said that he had never seen a place rated as high as this restaurant, Halls Chophouse. We were pretty excited and it did not disappoint. When we got there, they asked if we were celebrating anything special so I said that it was PJ's birthday. They sent over some champagne for us and it was delicious (this coming from someone who has often said that she hates champagne). Every person came over to wish PJ a happy birthday. We both started the meal with a wedge salad and it was unbelievably good. It was a buttermilk peppercorn dressing and had the best piece of bacon on it. For dinner, I got an 8 ounce filet mignon with black truffle butter on top and PJ got the 12 ounce with bernaise. I was hesitant about ordering the truffle butter as it was $11 (for butter?!) but I figured it was a special event (thanks for being born PJ!) so I went for it. And Oh. My. Gosh. Was it ever worth it. It was a huge scoop! And was delicious! I gave PJ half because he liked it so much and I had so much of it. The steak just melted in my mouth it was so good. We ordered the asparagus for our vegetable and the mac and cheese for our other side. I have never tasted anything quite as good. I used some leftover truffle butter for the asparagus. PJ even noted that he had never tasted asparagus quite that good. I was stuffed. I had to do a back arch to stretch my tummy out and take some pressure off. But of course we had to get dessert! We compromised and only had one: a 14-layer caramel cake with bananas foster on top. Everything about the meal was beyond delicious. I have been wanting to go back ever since! We will have to to again before leaving SC. They were so kind and gave both of us hugs as we left.
We headed to a bar called the Belmont for PJ to grab a quick drink before heading back to the hotel. A very cool vibe but I was beyond full!
We started the next day by going for brunch at Poogan's Porch. They had delicious biscuits! PJ wanted to go to Husk but unfortunately they were closed that day to give their hard-working staff some time off. Husk wasn't in our cards for this past trip but hopefully next time.
After brunch, we headed out for a Historic Charleston tour with Scott. It was just as, if not more, wonderful than the day before. During the tour I took of Berlin years ago, it struck me that you could still see all the bricks that had bullet holes from WW2. On this tour, Scott pointed out the slave-made bricks and how you could feel the slave finger prints and hand marks in them. We got to see what a city slave quarters would look like:
It was the bank slave quarters for the slaves who 'worked' for bank employees. They would make them hot lunches during the day.Charleston has some pretty picturesque churches as well:
The city was pretty empty when we went to Poogan's Porch on Sunday - most people are at church and the city feels like it shuts down during that time.
Scott showed us the oldest house in Charleston, it was selling for $800,000 but you are restricted from changing certain things inside so the washroom and kitchen situation was a little tricky, I don't think you were allowed to put a washroom in as it would take away from the historical integrity of the house:
We ended the tour by seeing Rainbow Row - a spot where the gentrification of Charleston first started in the 1920's:
After the tour, we hightailed it back to the hotel to get our things to leave. It was, after all, Super Bowl Sunday so we had some important things to do back home. It mostly involved PJ looking like this:
All in all, Charleston was fantastic. I could have spent a week exploring. We will go back and have a few things on our list: the USS Yorktown, the Old Slave Mart, the Old Slave Mart Museum, Husk, Halls, etc.
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