The carriage tours start at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday. Most of the tours last about an hour. Its a great way to cover a lot of the area in a short amount of time. You can book a time in advance online, or in person down near the Market.

The first ferry to Fort Sumter leaves at 11:00 a.m. The tour lasts about 2 1/2 hours. The ferry leaves from the wharf next to the aquarium.

The nice thing about Charleston is that it's a good "rambling" town. If the weather holds, head south and see what you find!

rascat's correct. Walk to the HD and just enjoy the ironwork on the gates, the camellias in bloom and the homes. Have a nice Island Cocktail at High Cotton on East Bay. Go down to Waterfront Park and sit on a swing for a while.

Woo. Such an emotional day!

Had a poor night's sleep - just a lot of street noise at my B and B. Woke up before 7, got ready, walked two blocks to MUSC and had the interview. Quiet disappointing, really: I was supposed to meet with several people who weren't there, so it was a bit annoying to not get information from people I had really wanted to.

I was feeling pretty down about Charleston after the interview and walking a bit from B and B to Hope and Union Coffee Shop to meet my friend. Just a lot of old, kind of seedy residential places. Maybe I was just snobbish but I was really not liking what I was seeing. The coffee and conversation were both good, and I loved how quaint the coffee place was.

Then, things really picked up after I found my part of town. Walked from Hope and Union all the way down King to near the water. I definitely loved all of the commerce. I stopped for a quick drink at Dudley's on Ann - kind of dead but just what I was looking for at that time. I loved all the shops and people out on King. Couldn't see much there in terms of places to live, but it confirmed that Downtown would be the place for me. Walked from King to Broad to East Bay for my dinner at Blossom. Beforehand I grabbed a quick drink at High Cotton and met the sweetest retired couple who talked up Charleston mucho. Finally, I was feeling the charm and nice people. I loved all of the shops and houses and was said that it was too dark to really see much of anything. I had a good three course meal at Blossom: wedge salad, flounder with a great risotto and coconut cream pie (wish I'd have had the chocolate peppermint brownie). Took a cab back to my B and B for a whopping $6.

Tomorrow I'm going to do more of East Bay Street and the Battery in the daylight. Hopefully I can at least see Fort Sumter from a distance. Turns out the Calhoun Mansion is open at 11 so I hope to squeeze that in too.

Thanks for all the tips and talking!

Oh good. I knew that you needed to get down to the HD to "Get" Charleston. I love High Cotton. Bummer about the meeting, though.

It's important to remember that Charleston has very specific laws regarding building and making changes to homes. It can be a barrier to people wanting to fix up their places- they have to get permission blah blah blah.

Do walk down King past Broad and enjoy the homes. You'll be able to easily see Ft. Sumter from the Battery. You'll also see Sullivans and Mt Pleasant, so wave. I'll wave back.

Yes, I do plan to get all the way to the water in the daylight tomorrow and see the homes and the battery. I'll wave! Thanks for all of your help, Sue. I loved High Cotton - had this amazing Winter Cosmo for $5. Very chic.

Yeah, High Cotton is one of my (many) favorites. Nice people, lovely food. I like Blossom too, but I haven't been there in a long time. It's owned by the same people that own Cypress and Magnolia's, all great.

You'll enjoy the Calhoun home.

I ate so much during this restaurant week, all in the name of research. Dog and I will have a serious walk by the harbor tomorrow!