long girls weekend Charleston and Kiawah
Nov 14th, 2015, 09:00 AM
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long girls weekend Charleston and Kiawah
Two friends wanted a short getaway, so we rented a VRBO cottage on Kiawah Island (#221082) and took off with little planning. we knew we wouldn't get to do much, but we had canceled the trip twice before and were determined to get out of down despite my friend's broken elbow 2 weeks before the trip.
My friend had stayed on Seabrook and liked it, but I had never stayed in the area. Hotels in Charleston were more expensive than this cottage offseason, so we decided to get in some beach walking (we both love the outdoors).
We decided enroute to stop at Magnolia Plantation for a couple of hours before dark and catch the last house tour. We enjoyed the walk around the grounds after the time in the car (mosquitos hungry in November) and the tour was interesting. We only knew what my friend saw in a guide book enroute, so she was a little disappointed that the house wasn't "grander", but once she heard the story of how it evolved after the War, she enjoyed the tour. The tickets are good to return to the grounds on another day, so we kept that as a possible stop when leaving the area. (A wedding was in progress--the first of at least 4 we encountered that weekend.)
The fog after dark was amazingly thick. We crawled over to Kiawah (odd roundabout) and the friendly staff offered to lead us to our cottage in their van, but we took off on our own and eventually found it. (The other van driver offered us a ride to the rehearsal dinner--another wedding.) The cottage was great and a steal offseason with a 2-night minimum. We had found the grocery on the way in, so we heated up dinner and settled in for a DVD and relaxing evening.
Live oaks drop acorns all night, I learned. Every so often I would hear what my mind interpreted as scurrying feet (we have squirrels who run over the roof at home), but I would remember the acorns and return to sleep. But it did interrupt my sleep. My friend has two big oaks over her house, so she felt right at home.
We had a glorious 5 mile walk on the beach and could have kept going except we wanted to go to Charleston for most of the day. Deer in the dunes. Dolphins in the surf. Fishing boats off shore. Tiny crabs on the beach. Bright sunshine. Perfect (except for the dead horseshoe crabs washed up). Very clean beach. Very wide at low tide. No loose dogs. The next day we also went to the beach, but a storm was coming from the west. Lots of wind, clouds, no wildlife. Still a good way to exercise, but not as glorious.
My friend had stayed on Seabrook and liked it, but I had never stayed in the area. Hotels in Charleston were more expensive than this cottage offseason, so we decided to get in some beach walking (we both love the outdoors).
We decided enroute to stop at Magnolia Plantation for a couple of hours before dark and catch the last house tour. We enjoyed the walk around the grounds after the time in the car (mosquitos hungry in November) and the tour was interesting. We only knew what my friend saw in a guide book enroute, so she was a little disappointed that the house wasn't "grander", but once she heard the story of how it evolved after the War, she enjoyed the tour. The tickets are good to return to the grounds on another day, so we kept that as a possible stop when leaving the area. (A wedding was in progress--the first of at least 4 we encountered that weekend.)
The fog after dark was amazingly thick. We crawled over to Kiawah (odd roundabout) and the friendly staff offered to lead us to our cottage in their van, but we took off on our own and eventually found it. (The other van driver offered us a ride to the rehearsal dinner--another wedding.) The cottage was great and a steal offseason with a 2-night minimum. We had found the grocery on the way in, so we heated up dinner and settled in for a DVD and relaxing evening.
Live oaks drop acorns all night, I learned. Every so often I would hear what my mind interpreted as scurrying feet (we have squirrels who run over the roof at home), but I would remember the acorns and return to sleep. But it did interrupt my sleep. My friend has two big oaks over her house, so she felt right at home.
We had a glorious 5 mile walk on the beach and could have kept going except we wanted to go to Charleston for most of the day. Deer in the dunes. Dolphins in the surf. Fishing boats off shore. Tiny crabs on the beach. Bright sunshine. Perfect (except for the dead horseshoe crabs washed up). Very clean beach. Very wide at low tide. No loose dogs. The next day we also went to the beach, but a storm was coming from the west. Lots of wind, clouds, no wildlife. Still a good way to exercise, but not as glorious.
Nov 14th, 2015, 11:37 AM
#2
Glad you had a good stay on Kiawah and got to experience the beautiful beach with all that it had to offer. Love the dolphins! I’m from Seabrook (on the opposite side of the roundabout). Love it here! I had to laugh about the acorns, though, because that is definitely so much better than walking under a deluge of geometer caterpillars that descend in the early spring from those same trees after shedding winter leaves and new growth begins. I usually try to be out of town (or off the islands) during those few weeks.
Nov 15th, 2015, 08:06 AM
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Caterpillars descending from trees--sounds like a horror movie.
We did hear something walking under our screened porch in the dark while we were eating dinner surrounded by fog. Added to the atmosphere.
We headed into Charleston on Saturday morning surprised by the backups at traffic lights--people everywhere drive on Saturday. Enjoyed the live oak canopy over the road. Saw the Johns Island Farmers Market and would have stopped in if we were going back to the cottage before nightfall. We didn't want to buy food to sit in the car all day and time at the market meant less time in town.
I had downloaded info about parking garages and the trolley, so the GPS took us to the courthouse parking lot at King/Queen. We headed out on foot armed with walking tours from the AAA Tour book and my friend's memories from the Charleston picture book she had looked at on the drive. It was hot--high 80s--and humid even in November.
We window shopped for a lunch restaurant and ended up at Lowcountry Bistro. Our only disappointment is that they had a large chalkboard of interesting specials, but they were only for dinner--brunch only on Saturday, so not the lunch menu. I found frogmore stew, which was great.
I had forgotten how compact the historic districts are. We walked the rest of the day, looking at houses, walking along the Battery, watching wedding photo shoots. We wandered through the market, but no real shopping. I love the baskets, but already have 3. When we reached the Nathanial Russell House, a tour was starting in 10 minutes, so we paid and waited. The air conditioning was broken and it was hot. My friend ended up abandoning the tour on the second floor when she started feeling faint, waiting for me in the garden. It was an interesting house. We kept in the back of our minds that we could go to the Aiken-Rhett House, show our tickets, and just pay the add-on price.
After more walking and weddings, we were at the Calhoun House where the sign announced a 5:00 tour, 10 minutes away. We joined the group and went through the house, seeing the owner a few times. Again, very interesting (and the a/c worked).
My friend asked for ice cream for dinner, so we headed back toward the market and ended up at Ben & Jerry's, taking our indulgence down the road where some tables and chairs sat outside the market and tried to stay ahead of the melting.
We returned to Kiawah with the choice of a walk on the beach in the dark or a DVD. Our feet opted for a quirky comedy that I had brought from home. It was great to have so much room to relax, eat snacks, etc. rather than sitting in a hotel bedroom.
We did hear something walking under our screened porch in the dark while we were eating dinner surrounded by fog. Added to the atmosphere.
We headed into Charleston on Saturday morning surprised by the backups at traffic lights--people everywhere drive on Saturday. Enjoyed the live oak canopy over the road. Saw the Johns Island Farmers Market and would have stopped in if we were going back to the cottage before nightfall. We didn't want to buy food to sit in the car all day and time at the market meant less time in town.
I had downloaded info about parking garages and the trolley, so the GPS took us to the courthouse parking lot at King/Queen. We headed out on foot armed with walking tours from the AAA Tour book and my friend's memories from the Charleston picture book she had looked at on the drive. It was hot--high 80s--and humid even in November.
We window shopped for a lunch restaurant and ended up at Lowcountry Bistro. Our only disappointment is that they had a large chalkboard of interesting specials, but they were only for dinner--brunch only on Saturday, so not the lunch menu. I found frogmore stew, which was great.
I had forgotten how compact the historic districts are. We walked the rest of the day, looking at houses, walking along the Battery, watching wedding photo shoots. We wandered through the market, but no real shopping. I love the baskets, but already have 3. When we reached the Nathanial Russell House, a tour was starting in 10 minutes, so we paid and waited. The air conditioning was broken and it was hot. My friend ended up abandoning the tour on the second floor when she started feeling faint, waiting for me in the garden. It was an interesting house. We kept in the back of our minds that we could go to the Aiken-Rhett House, show our tickets, and just pay the add-on price.
After more walking and weddings, we were at the Calhoun House where the sign announced a 5:00 tour, 10 minutes away. We joined the group and went through the house, seeing the owner a few times. Again, very interesting (and the a/c worked).
My friend asked for ice cream for dinner, so we headed back toward the market and ended up at Ben & Jerry's, taking our indulgence down the road where some tables and chairs sat outside the market and tried to stay ahead of the melting.
We returned to Kiawah with the choice of a walk on the beach in the dark or a DVD. Our feet opted for a quirky comedy that I had brought from home. It was great to have so much room to relax, eat snacks, etc. rather than sitting in a hotel bedroom.
Nov 15th, 2015, 02:00 PM
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Sounds like a great trip to Charleston. Beach, historic homes, walking along the Battery, a great way to spend a day! Sorry for your friend that the a/c was out at Nathaniel Russell House, as I quite enjoyed the glimpse into 19th century Charleston society that it gave. Best wishes, Daniel
Nov 16th, 2015, 07:56 AM
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We are both used to humidity, but I think her elbow injury weakened her. She was doing way more than the doctors recommended from the time she came home from the hospital.
We got a late start on our last day on the trip. We knew it might be raining all day, so we stayed up late watching movies and did not try to make a sunrise walk as we hoped. It was cloudy and very windy, but temps were high and only spitting rain, so we did get to the beach for a walk before check out time.
Because of the forecasted storms between us and home we debated how long to stay in the area. Get on the road early to arrive home well before dark, driving in rain on the latter part of the trip or spend time in the area and when rain arrived head into it with the chance it would be over before we reached home. In the end, we decided to stay.
We agreed upon Fort Sumter as a change from what we had done already rather than returning to the plantation or another house tour (late on Sundays). Our group of about 30 people headed over on the ferry with only a few hardy souls on the upper deck. I would have joined them if not for my friend. I prefer the fresh air and the columns [plus cover blocked most of the wind. After a short talk from a ranger with the oddest voice, we did the walk around the fort and museum with my friend taking a break to sit in the museum. It was interesting and a nice contrast. Plenty of time allowed on the island. Easy to see why it was so strategic but also shows how much warfare has changed that it was so far for bombardment. My friend immigrated to the US as an adult so she enjoys learning American history at such sites.
By the time we left the Charleston area, raindrops were falling and we had steady rain our entire drive home. At least no thunderstorms or downpours until within 20 miles of home. So, no matter when we had left, we would have had rain, but we did slow down for the conditions, adding an hour to the drive and arriving home well after dark, but before bedtime.
My friend is already planning our next tour of homes. We did one a few years ago in a historic town and the Charleston tours reminded her how much we enjoyed that. Maybe a spring house/garden tour somewhere. We picked up the Charleston spring tour brochure, but I haven't examined. She said it overlapped with a conference we both attend out West and her son's spring break, so another trip to Charleston during that time may not work in 2016....maybe closer to home as a day trip.
We got a late start on our last day on the trip. We knew it might be raining all day, so we stayed up late watching movies and did not try to make a sunrise walk as we hoped. It was cloudy and very windy, but temps were high and only spitting rain, so we did get to the beach for a walk before check out time.
Because of the forecasted storms between us and home we debated how long to stay in the area. Get on the road early to arrive home well before dark, driving in rain on the latter part of the trip or spend time in the area and when rain arrived head into it with the chance it would be over before we reached home. In the end, we decided to stay.
We agreed upon Fort Sumter as a change from what we had done already rather than returning to the plantation or another house tour (late on Sundays). Our group of about 30 people headed over on the ferry with only a few hardy souls on the upper deck. I would have joined them if not for my friend. I prefer the fresh air and the columns [plus cover blocked most of the wind. After a short talk from a ranger with the oddest voice, we did the walk around the fort and museum with my friend taking a break to sit in the museum. It was interesting and a nice contrast. Plenty of time allowed on the island. Easy to see why it was so strategic but also shows how much warfare has changed that it was so far for bombardment. My friend immigrated to the US as an adult so she enjoys learning American history at such sites.
By the time we left the Charleston area, raindrops were falling and we had steady rain our entire drive home. At least no thunderstorms or downpours until within 20 miles of home. So, no matter when we had left, we would have had rain, but we did slow down for the conditions, adding an hour to the drive and arriving home well after dark, but before bedtime.
My friend is already planning our next tour of homes. We did one a few years ago in a historic town and the Charleston tours reminded her how much we enjoyed that. Maybe a spring house/garden tour somewhere. We picked up the Charleston spring tour brochure, but I haven't examined. She said it overlapped with a conference we both attend out West and her son's spring break, so another trip to Charleston during that time may not work in 2016....maybe closer to home as a day trip.
