From August 21st until August 29th I was a road trip expert. With my boyfriend Spenser and I in one car, and my brother (Zach), his girlfriend (Marissa), and our friend Bryan, we began our trek to South Carolina at 10:30 pm on Friday 8/21. It took us about 16 hours with stops for food and gas to get there.
We stayed at my aunt's vacation house in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. What a beautiful place! It is in a gated community and the house's backyard is the 12th hole of a golf course (yes the boys took FULL advantage of the convenient location of the course). There was a hot tub too which was pretty amazing. We were living large for a week. Here is a little recap of the places we were able to stop at:
1. Prohibition: On our first night out, our Uber driver suggested this location....wish he didn't! I am not very picky when it comes to bars, but the workers there were very very rude. After we chugged our drinks we were out of there!
2. Republic: Our second and final stop of the evening was at this fun spot. It was Zach's birthday so we splurged on a bottle of champagne that was brought out to us with a sparkler in the cork! So fun! They had great music and it had a fun, laid back vibe!
3. Tom Condon's: After our first rowdy night out, we needed some brunch in our bellies. We wandered around Charleston looking for a spot. After about an hour of searching with no luck due to the Sunday morning brunch demand and limited seats, we stumbled upon this secret gem. It was completely empty. We came in and I couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised. Our server was the best (if you ever go ask for Kennedy!) and the food was delicious. And the dollar mimosas weren't anything to complain about either.
4. Folly Beach: GREAT beach with tons of shops, restaurants, and bars within walking distance. This was the beach that was most suggested to us and I am very happy that we went!
5. Folly Beach Crab Shack: Everyone (minus me) was craving raw oysters, so while at Folly beach we popped into the Crab Shack where immediately the four of them ordered two buckets of oysters for them to share. Well, to their disappointment, when the oysters came out, they were not raw as the menu suggested. They were steamed and needed to be shucked. Everyone was pretty disappointed, but shucked and ate the steamed oysters and were pleasantly surprised. My grilled shrimp was amazing.
6. Rita's: This was my favorite restaurant throughout the whole trip. Not because of the food, bur because of the atmosphere. It is the "must try" margarita place in the area, so we stopped there after the beach and ended up staying for four hours! We sat on the outside deck where they had a live band that played the perfect mix of low key music. The gang got their fix of raw oysters and I sipped on margaritas!
7. Toast!: I was dying to try this spot. When I was doing research for the trip, every site recommended Toast!. The food was great and the $14 dollar pitchers of mimosas were awesome! I loved the atmosphere of this bar and I'm so glad we stopped there.
8, Husk: We stopped here for a drink post Ghost Tour (another recommendation) and I loved it, Laid back, rustic atmosphere with awesome Bourbon drinks!
9. Wet Willies: Frozen Daiquiri bar. There were over 20 different flavors and the bartender was awesome and even let us sample several before making our final choice. Really fun spot!
10. The Aquarium: Me and my boyfriend on the last day made an impromptu trip to the Charleston aquarium and I am so glad we did. We saw sharks, pet sting rays, and even got to see an albino alligator!
11. Bubba Gumps: This Forest Gump inspired spot has the best shrimp ever. Their Cajun grilled shrimp app was to die for.
12. Cowboy Brazilian Steakhouse: My boyfriend and I bought a Groupon for our last night in Charleston to this steakhouse that has all you can eat salad bar and Brazilian sides, and 16 different cuts of meat that is cut and served to you right at your table, Our Groupon also included a bottle of wine. The service was amazing and the meat was to die for! We only got through 6 different meats before we had to tap out. It was definitely worth it!
These are only a handful of the stops we made, other spots to try out: Fins and Juanita's (both in Mount Pleasant), Southend Brewery and Smokehouse, Henry's Bar and Restaurant (awesome roof deck). Charleston is beautiful and I can't wait to go back!
xo
Kelsie
We stayed at my aunt's vacation house in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. What a beautiful place! It is in a gated community and the house's backyard is the 12th hole of a golf course (yes the boys took FULL advantage of the convenient location of the course). There was a hot tub too which was pretty amazing. We were living large for a week. Here is a little recap of the places we were able to stop at:
1. Prohibition: On our first night out, our Uber driver suggested this location....wish he didn't! I am not very picky when it comes to bars, but the workers there were very very rude. After we chugged our drinks we were out of there!
2. Republic: Our second and final stop of the evening was at this fun spot. It was Zach's birthday so we splurged on a bottle of champagne that was brought out to us with a sparkler in the cork! So fun! They had great music and it had a fun, laid back vibe!
3. Tom Condon's: After our first rowdy night out, we needed some brunch in our bellies. We wandered around Charleston looking for a spot. After about an hour of searching with no luck due to the Sunday morning brunch demand and limited seats, we stumbled upon this secret gem. It was completely empty. We came in and I couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised. Our server was the best (if you ever go ask for Kennedy!) and the food was delicious. And the dollar mimosas weren't anything to complain about either.
4. Folly Beach: GREAT beach with tons of shops, restaurants, and bars within walking distance. This was the beach that was most suggested to us and I am very happy that we went!
5. Folly Beach Crab Shack: Everyone (minus me) was craving raw oysters, so while at Folly beach we popped into the Crab Shack where immediately the four of them ordered two buckets of oysters for them to share. Well, to their disappointment, when the oysters came out, they were not raw as the menu suggested. They were steamed and needed to be shucked. Everyone was pretty disappointed, but shucked and ate the steamed oysters and were pleasantly surprised. My grilled shrimp was amazing.
6. Rita's: This was my favorite restaurant throughout the whole trip. Not because of the food, bur because of the atmosphere. It is the "must try" margarita place in the area, so we stopped there after the beach and ended up staying for four hours! We sat on the outside deck where they had a live band that played the perfect mix of low key music. The gang got their fix of raw oysters and I sipped on margaritas!
7. Toast!: I was dying to try this spot. When I was doing research for the trip, every site recommended Toast!. The food was great and the $14 dollar pitchers of mimosas were awesome! I loved the atmosphere of this bar and I'm so glad we stopped there.
8, Husk: We stopped here for a drink post Ghost Tour (another recommendation) and I loved it, Laid back, rustic atmosphere with awesome Bourbon drinks!
9. Wet Willies: Frozen Daiquiri bar. There were over 20 different flavors and the bartender was awesome and even let us sample several before making our final choice. Really fun spot!
10. The Aquarium: Me and my boyfriend on the last day made an impromptu trip to the Charleston aquarium and I am so glad we did. We saw sharks, pet sting rays, and even got to see an albino alligator!
11. Bubba Gumps: This Forest Gump inspired spot has the best shrimp ever. Their Cajun grilled shrimp app was to die for.
12. Cowboy Brazilian Steakhouse: My boyfriend and I bought a Groupon for our last night in Charleston to this steakhouse that has all you can eat salad bar and Brazilian sides, and 16 different cuts of meat that is cut and served to you right at your table, Our Groupon also included a bottle of wine. The service was amazing and the meat was to die for! We only got through 6 different meats before we had to tap out. It was definitely worth it!
These are only a handful of the stops we made, other spots to try out: Fins and Juanita's (both in Mount Pleasant), Southend Brewery and Smokehouse, Henry's Bar and Restaurant (awesome roof deck). Charleston is beautiful and I can't wait to go back!
xo
Kelsie