I've always been a fan of Henry's downtown. I don't know much about the toursity sorta stuff, but if you need a list of good bars I can help!

Norm

Hey Jalika,

We just went on vacation to Charleston and loved it. It's such a charming, interesting place and if you like to explore restaurants you'll be overwhelmed with great options.

We started out our long weekend by taking a carriage ride around downtown. We just had a few hours to kill before dinner and it was a nice way to get a lay of the land and some information about the city. I liked learning about the architecture of the homes on our tour too.

We spent all day Saturday roaming the city. The market is fun to browse and I really liked watching the basket weavers make sea grass baskets. Plan to spend quite a bit if you want to buy one. The streets are lined with shops... the more touristy ones are near the market. Check out the candy shop on the street near there, Market Street Candy Shop I believe. The pralines are pretty fantastic. We wandered down King street. In one direction there's upscale shopping, although a lot of chains that we can find elsewhere so we didn't spend much time there. If you like antiquing, the other direction on King street has some beautiful shops.

We also checked out the housing district not far from Bay Street (I think that's the name). There are incredible, old mansions right off the water and it's a nice walk. If you like to go in the old homes, there are several in the city you can visit.

On Sunday, we went to Drayton Hall for a plantation tour. There are MANY plantations, but this is the oldest that's still intact. Our tour guide was really great. I liked it a lot more than I imagined I would, and learned a lot in the pre-tour about how the slave era plantation economy worked in the area.

Sunday afternoon we went to see the USS Yorktown and other ships because my husband was really into this. It was pretty impressive to explore inside them. It's not something I'd normally seek out but I'm glad I did. The Medal of Honor museum is inside the Yorktown and is actually really interesting as well.

We planned most everything around the spectacular meals we had, and I can recommend a few places, though you really can't go wrong with so many of the choices down there. Here are the places that we tried:

FIG: (Food is Good). This was the best quality meal we had there. They have an emphasis on using local, in season ingredients. It's not low-country food per se but it's very well executed. The chef is up for SE James Beard Foundation Chef of the Year.

Sticky Fingers: This is a regional chain, but excellent ribs. If you want laid back barbeque it's fantastic. We went twice lol.

Magnolia: Very old school Charleston and upscale low-country cooking. It was pretty great food and service and is a good option if you want some nice ambiance while trying the regional cuisine. Anson also looked nice for this.

Hominy Grill: This has a cult following among locals and is sort of out of the way but it's worth finding for breakfast, lunch, or Sat/Sun brunch. Sublime, inexpensive low country food.

I've heard Hank's is great for seafood downtown, Hyman's has a big following and I've heard mixed reviews but mostly good stuff. I had okay seafood in Mount Pleasant so I don't have a seafood place to recommend, but most of them will have good fresh shrimp and blue crab.

Have a wonderful trip! I'd love to go back soon!



Marenn

All great ideas. They're great places to see.

Nikpack
player of Celeiros

Climbing List:http://www.elanthipedia.com/wiki/Climbing_skill
Swimming List:http://www.elanthipedia.com/wiki/Swimming_skill

And if you want a couple day trips, Hilton Head and Savannah are only two hours away.

Nikpack
player of Celeiros

Climbing List:http://www.elanthipedia.com/wiki/Climbing_skill
Swimming List:http://www.elanthipedia.com/wiki/Swimming_skill

Subject says it all....

I'm pretty much accepting a job offer at Battery Creek High school and will be moving to Beaufort.. I'll be looking for a house this sunday (and will hopefully find one)..
So there anyone there that can show up around and such when I move?


Sothios Mori'Taren
Riverhaven Locksmith Union Representative

Good luck with the move. I don't live in Charleston but I'm usually down there several times a year for work. Will check on these boards next time I head down.

Jalika


Moving carefully, you slip your hand into Ragran's pockets and carefully grab a platinum.
Roundtime: 2 sec.

This is kinda late, but the hubbs and I used to live in the Goose Creek area and I worked on the Isle of Palms, at Wild Dunes. If you have any specific questions about the area and what there is to do , I'd be more than happy to try to answer them if you email me. :)

Welcome to one of the most beautiful places in the world! Hope the bugs aren't that bad right now.