Charleston Girls Weekend

Two weeks ago I snuck out of town with these fun girls for a quick little trip to Charleston, South Carolina! I can definitely understand why Charleston is often touted as one of the best cities for girlfriend getaways - the food, the beach, the shopping and of course, the Southern charm! 

We flew in Friday afternoon and after checking in and freshening up we headed out for dinner.

Our first stop was 72 Queen Street - Poogan's Porch. This restaurant is in an adorable historic home that was built in 1888. The home was turned into a restaurant in 1976 and it was named after a little pooch that was always hanging around the house - the owners adopted him and he became the "greeter" for the restaurant.  In addition to all of the amazing low country food, there are also stories of actual ghost sighings in the restaurant. And I love a good ghost story!

 We were seated at a round table in the upstairs living room. We were giddy - who doesn't love a round table? It's the small things.
We started with fried green tomatoes, pimento cheese fritters, cornmeal fried pickled okra & the mac and cheese. It was amazing! And so glad we front-loaded with apps because there was about a 1.5 delay between courses. We ended up ordering four main dishes and sharing them so that we could try a little bit of everything. It was a great idea - we also learned that Charleston shrimp and grits is a little different than we expected - it has sausage, onions and bell peppers. 

Posing for pics while we wait....good thing we didn't run out of wine!

Showing off our tassel earrings.

After dinner we found ourselves walking to the Harris Teeter (grocery store) to stock up on water, la croix (thanks nat!) and wine. #priorities 

The next morning a few of us headed down to the waterfront. The original plan was to hit the farmers market but apparently we were there during one of the only months that it wasn't running. 

Shannon and I packed out running shoes so we headed out for a little run down to Battery Park and back. It was delightful. 

Clearly...I had just woken up. 

Our lunch reservations were at noon so we took our time getting ready and headed over to S.N.O.B.  The menu looked amazing but all the heavy food was intense, so I opted for the salmon salad - it did not disappoint. Our afternoon was open so we hit up Kings street for some shopping! 

Waking around...asking strangers to take our picture.

Around 3pm we needed a caffeine fix so we headed to Starbucks. I know. So typical. We should have searched for a little local shop. Oops. Anyhoo, with a little pep in our step, we made our way to The Watch - a rooftop bar  and eatery at the top of the Restoration Hotel. 

Just a little elevator pic

After a few drinks and snacks we headed back to the hotel to freshen up and then basically walked across the street for our Haunted Carriage Ride.  As I mentioned before,  I love ghost stories, so I was pretty excited about this! Lindsey booked us with Old South Carriage Tours and we were set. 

Our tour guide was great and we heard great ghost stories of  Duelers Alley, Poogan's Porch and more!

Hanging with Tom after our Haunted Carriage Ride. 

What a good looking horse.

After the tour we made our way to Husk. We had such a fun dinner - so many giggles and a little bit of shushing from the older ladies near us. #yeswewerethosegirls #maybeitwasjustme

After dinner we decided to take the Philadelphia Alley aka 'Duelers Alley' challenge. Well, Shannon did. You walk from one end of the alley to the other _ I"m not sure what is suppose to happen. I think maybe you might see a ghost? Anyhow, no ghost reports. 

 

Although I see a male figure in the picture above. I know it's a mix of shadows and Lindsey walking, but I still see a ghost. 

On Sunday morning we brunched at High Cotton.  I don't have many pictures from the first half of the day but it was lovely. After brunch we had a historic walking tour with Palmer at Oyster Bay Walking Tours. She was incredibly knowledgable, enthusiastic and articulate.  #girlcrush 

This was one of the oldest houses in Charleston, I believe it is on the market if anyone is interested! 

After the tour we uber'ed out to Sullivan's Island for afternoon snacks and drinks at Poe's Tavern.

Ruffles!

We walked down to the beach...

credit: LJ

All of our galavanting around and busy evenings had us pretty tired, but we rallied and headed out for dinner at Fleet Landing. So happy we did as we were pleasantly surprised! The restaurant itself and the food were definitely not what we were expecting based on the outside. #neverjudgeabookbyitscover #orarestaurant

We sat outside with a glass of Frogs Leap (one of our favorite stops in Napa five years ago) while we waited for our table. 

After dinner we hung out at the hotel courtyard. Half of us stayed up while the other half fizzled.  The next morning the rested half got up early and headed out to Boone Plantation. Nat, Shannon and I slept in. It was amazing. #noregrets

We had lunch at 5Church. The interior was beautiful and the food was also pretty delish - the service was a tad lacking (especially considering it wasn't crowded).  

We enjoyed our lunch and then headed to the airport.

Although Charleston is small it really has so much to offer. I can't wait to go back - there are still so many places that I would love to check out. Until next time...