South Carolina Charm!

 

Had to have a picture to prove I was in North Carolina even if it was just for an hour and a half in the airport... Solid effort was made this week on my 50-by-50 state visitations as I was able to check both the Carolinas off my list!

I'd have to say this was in my top 5 trips and will go down as "Food, Fun & Friends."  What started as a group of friends helping Lauretta celebrate her 50th birthday ended up being the beginning of what I hope is an annual girls trip for a long time to come!  Eight of us headed out on two red-eye flights Wednesday evening and arrived at our final destination--Charleston, South Carolina on Thursday morning. Not one of us had been to Charleston so we turned it into quite the adventure.

 

After some amazing food at EVO Craft Bakery in North Charleston, we drove to where we'd be staying the next 4 days on Isle of Palms.  We loved the house and the location!  We were glad to have a full day to relax and decompress before our busy girls trip got going.

 

Enjoyed an amazing dinner Thursday evening at Morgan Creek Grill which was right on the water.  Shrimp and grits became a new favorite of mine along with pecan pie!

 

Breakfast Friday morning was at the renowned Sea Biscuit Cafe before heading to Boone Hall Plantation for several hours.

 

The beautiful oak trees with hanging spanish moss as we drove up to the plantation was stunning.  Slave quarters lined the side as well as horse pastures.  We took a tram tour of the 738 acres and learned much about the South, its culture and charm.

 

After Boone Hall, we headed over the Arthur Ravenel Jr. bridge into downtown Charleston.

 

After the most amazing lunch at Husk, carriage ride and numerous pralines, we walked to the waterfront and more beautiful Southern homes.

 

Rainbow Row.

 

Our evening was topped off with another fabulous meal at Cru where we tasted appetizers, entrees and several desserts apiece.

Saturday morning was spent at Magnolia Plantation and Swamp Garden--loved it!!  No gators unfortunately but saw lots of other swamp life.

It was also Heather's birthday on Saturday and I LOVE this picture of her at Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream enjoying every morsel of her scoops and ice cream sandwich.  We each had at least 3 scoops just PRIOR to our culinary food tour.

 

Our culinary food tour included stops at 4 different restaurants with a total of 8 courses of food.  My favorite was an appetizer at HoM called Dixie Flatbread which had pimento cheese, pork confit, caramelized onions & maple bacon greens.  Divine!  I also tried calamari for the first time but skipped the mussels.  :)

 

The food tour ended at a macaroon boutique where the salted caramel was the fan favorite.  After hours of walking and shopping, we were actually hungry for dinner at Eli's Table and the incredible food experience continued...

 

Sunday morning was spent with a leisurely stroll on the beach for the last time before we had to leave.

 

We were lucky to get in for lunch at The Obstinate Daughter on Sullivan's Island and I had a favorite of the trip--shrimp roll and geechi fries.  I could've eaten 3!  We drove to Shem's Creek and were thrilled to see a family of dolphins diving for food next to a shrimp boat! Then it was off to the airport to head back to reality.

 Luckily a few of us had saved some pralines in case we got hungry!  Can't wait for Girls Trip 2015!