So here’s the thing about summing up our trip to Charleston: I’m not sure what approach to take. At first I thought I’d share all my food photos in one post and talk about the restaurants and bars we visited. But. There are so many and that post would be so long. Then I thought, well, I could divide up the restaurants and talk about a couple at a time. But. Talking about basically the same thing over and over again might get dull for all y’all. I’m still not certain of how I will share the entire vacation but for today, at least, I’m just going to tell you about our first day there.

This was Sunday.

We had a pretty early flight so we were up before 4am to be ready for our pick up at 5am. There was no traffic and we were at the airport in plenty of time. Security was easy despite our concerns about high volume during school vacation week and we were at the gate with plenty of time to spare. Our flight was uneventful and we landed in Charleston before 10:30, got our rental car and hit the highway. Our only problem? We couldn’t check in to our air bnb until 2 and we didn’t have any specific plans. We decided to drive to the air bnb and check out the area. We found it quickly and decided from the outside it looked great so we took a drive down King Street to see what we could see. There were people everywhere! It was Easter Sunday and church had just let out and the crowds and the traffic – oh boy.

And this is where the research I did before our trip came in super handy because I said to Dale, drive back to the house. We’ll leave the car and walk to Leon’s for some lunch. I knew Leon’s was right around the corner and I was pretty sure it would be good and I was almost right. It was better than good, it was fantastic!

There were a few families and people scattered about but it wasn’t crowded (yet) and we got seats at the bar and ordered beer. Holy City Pluff Mud Porter for me, I can’t remember what Dale had. The bartender was super friendly and welcoming, answering lots of questions about the area and things to do, beaches to go to and more.

We had oysters, of course. The ones on the right were from Virginia and were very similar to the ones we get here in MA. The ones on the left were from South Carolina and they were different – less briny and plump, but very delicious.

We also had, on the bartender’s recommendation, fried chicken and Brussels sprouts. That chicken was bomb, I can tell you that. Super crispy and a little spicy and just delicious.

By the time we’d finished lunch it was almost 2 so we walked back and unloaded the car and checked into our place. Here’s the listing for the place we rented – it was fantastic! Newly renovated and beautiful, full of amenities and a great location, too. We got settled and it was still only 3pm so we decided to procure supplies for the week – cheese and crackers, coffee & beer were at the top of our list – and then take a drive out to Folly Beach. Our bartender had told us we could park on the side of the road and, despite there being loads of cars, we found a space and walked over the public access way and voila, we were at the beach.

It was lovely. Not crowded at all, warm and sunny and there were pelicans flying overhead and we had a very pleasant time walking around. We hung out for a while and then headed back to our place where we spent the rest of the evening making our plans for the week ahead.

More on that tomorrow!