Hi all!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone....!

I just have a question re: Mt. Pleasant. I am planning a 2nd trip to Charleston (I fell head over heels in love with the city when I was there a few years ago) and this time, I'd like to get out of the city for a bit.

I've read that there are several locals type seafood places in Mt. Pleasant (or just overall locals type restaurants, as opposed to some restaurants downtown) and I'm wondering approximately how long the drive is and how much it would cost round trip between Charleston and Mt. Pleasant. I plan on doing tons of research, as always (and it's a lot of fun to do, anyway), but I figured that I'd ask about Mt. Pleasant before planning any sort of itinerary. If it turns out that it's really not worth the $$ for a cab, then I can concentrate more of my efforts in the city proper. For the record, I've heard great things about Boulevard Diner, Old Village Post House and Mustard Seed.

If it makes a difference, since I was only in Charleston a few years ago, I plan on seeing touring some of the houses again, but not all. I'd like to do Magnolia Plantation (planning my trip for April, so seeing the flowers in full bloom should be magnificent) and I plan on Ft. Sumter again (can't get enough of the Civil War).

Basically, I've taken the long way around in trying to say that I wouldn't be missing a lot if I took the time to visit Mt. Pleasant (because I did see a tremendous amount the last time I visited), if that's a concern (which I understand it could be; when I visit a place for the first time, I try very hard to stay within the city limits and not venture to outlying areas).

This time, I'm hoping to check out:

Gibbs Museum
SC Aquarium
Ft Moultrie (if it's possible to do without a car - is it?)
Charleston food tour
Barrier Island Eco Tour

I just love Charleston so much and revel in it's beauty, history and food (I love food) - I can only hope this trip equals the first.

Also, I didn't mean to imply that the restaurants in Charleston itself are touristy - I had some of the best food of my life the last time and I expect more of the same this time.

Sorry for being so long-winded, but it's hard for me to contain my excitement when I love something so much.
Thanks!
Betsy

We were just in Mt Pleasant in October & really loved the Boathouse (Isle of Palms) & the Mustard Seed (right in Mt Pleasant).

East of the Cooper (Mt Pleasant, Isle of Palms, Sullivans Island) has several good/great places. The Boathouse mentioned above is one. Right on the inlet with great sunset views. It's between Sullivans Island and Isle of Palms and would be a trek compared to others.
There are several good places on Shem Creek which is very close to Charleston (just past Patriots point when you cross the bridge-bear right). Our farovite is The Wreck which has the best fried shrimp I have ever had. A very "down and dirty" type place (paper plates, etc). They serve boiled peanuts as table appetizers (like other places have hush puppies, breat, chips and salsa.
There are also several more upscale seafood places on Shem Creek,

A real authentic seafood place in Mt. Pleasant is the SeaWee on Route 17.

We also liked the Boathouse on Isle of Palms and one on Shem Creek-I think it was called the Shem Creek
Grill.
We stayed in Wild Dunes-we just love the area.

Thanks for all the responses!

I'm going to make a point of budgeting some extra $$$ for cab fare (or take the bus, which per the Carta web site, seems feasible) to/from Mt. Pleasant. The idea of just relaxing and taking a nice bike ride, then enjoying a wonderful meal is so appealing.

It's going to be tough to choose between so many yummy sounding restaurants. For dinner, I'm leaning towards Mustard Seed, but it's too bad their menu isn't available on line. Since it's not, what kind of food can I expect? For lunch, I know the Boulevard Diner and Old Village Post House are favorites.....wow, I'm getting hungry just thinking about all the choices.

Gretchen, See Wee is a definite possibility, but I think it's 15 minutes from downtown......? If so, I probably won't be able to do that - that would be like a $20.00 cab ride. If it's not too far, that would be a definite, since it's gotten nothing but raves on every board I visit.

Maybe I'm not undeerstanding. It is on the Mt Pleasant side of the river. It's fine, but how are you getting to all these other places. Have you been in Mt. Pleasant? It is pretty spread out with shopping malls, from what I've seen.

Well, See Wee I'm sure is out, but isn't Mt. Pleasant just over the bridge? For some reason, I thought it was kind of a small town (based on posts here and on trip advisor), but I could have been misinterpreting those posts. If Mt. Pleasant is spread out and if it requires a car to get around, then obviously I need to reconsider whether I want to bother doing that or not. I figured on taking the bus to Mt. Pleasant, but if indeed it is spread out, I guess I would take a cab to Old Village and walk around there.

Gretchen, I meant to add this to my post:

The reason why I had put Mt. Pleasant on my initial itinerary is because so many locals (from what I can gather on message boards) feel that the true authentic seafood meals can not be had downtown. However, I did not realize that Mt. Pleasant was so spread out; I thought it was more like a small beach town. For the sake of expediency and my vacation, looks like that is a no-go.

If I skip Mt. Pleasant, then I have the following on my itinerary. Any comments would be greatly appreciated:

Museums:
Charleston Museum
Gibbes Museum

Home/Gardens tours (I'll be going in April)

Cooking Class/Charleston Cooks

Tours:
Gullah Tour
Culinary tour
Barrier Island Eco-tour
Civil War tour

**I know, a ton of tours, but anything that allows me to get to truly know a city is a good thing
Fort Sumter (will be a repeat for me, but I loved it the last time -I'm a Civil War buff)

Fort Moultrie (** I won't have a car, so I'm hoping my inn/hotel can help with arrangements)

Aquarium

Magnolia Plantation (definite - I want to see the grounds when the flowers are in bloom)

Without Mt. Pleasant, I can do Middleton and Drayton again (possibility)

And also - just taking the time to enjoy the beautiful city and enjoy life.

I was going to make this a Charleston/Savannah trip but there is no way I'm going to cut my trip short. Saying I'm in love with Charleston is putting it mildly.
Any thoughts on my itinerary? I did the Hunley a few years ago, so I'm not sure I need to do that again. I'd like to spend 6 days at least, so if there's anything I'm missing.......please, I'd love to hear it.
Thank you!

I agree with the recent posters that Mt. Pleasant is spread out and I don't know that I would make a special trip for the restaurants.
However, there is another plantation, Boone Hall, in Mt. Pleasant. If you have already been to Magnolia, Middleton and Drayton, you may want to make the trip over the bridge for Boone Hall and a restaurant.
Have you thought about a car rental? Another bonus of Mt. Pleasant is that you are very close to the beaches, Sullivans Island and Isle of Palms.

Hi Tamjam

Nope, I won't even consider renting a car - I have a lousy sense of direction and driving in an unfamiliar area just makes me very uncomfortable. If I had someone with me, it would be a different story, but I am a nervous nelly.

I have been to Middleton and Drayton plantations, but with 7 full days in Charleston, I think I'll do Middleton (at least) again.....and Magnolia. With the flowers blooming, they should be particularly beautiful.

If I have extra time, I may take a cab or bus and check out the Old Village in Mt. Pleasant.....but I may not have that time. I've got lots to do downtown and I also want to budget in some downtime. I'm already dreaming of the four-poster canopy bed at the Governor's Inn.......!

Mt. Pleasant is pretty spread out. The old village area is lovely, but I'm not sure that there is enough there to make it worth taxi fare to wander around. If you decide wander anyway, I would get a copy of the book, Lowcountry Daytrips (William P. Baldwin, III). It has a nice walking tour of the old village area of Mt. Pleasant. Not many of the historic buildings are open to the public, so it is helpful to have a guidebook to let you know what you are seeing. Otherwise, there is really only one "business district" street in the old village area, which is where the Old Village Post House is located, along with the Pitt St. Pharmacy, a bakery, and a couple of neat little shops.

Honestly, though, if you would reconsider renting a car for a day, it is not hard to find your way around Mt. Pleasat. From Charleston, if you go straight up Meeting St., you just turn right onto the new bridge and then you're in Mt. Pleasant. If you follow the signs for Coleman Blvd. and "to Ft. Moultrie", you're basically set. You will pass the Boulevard Diner on this route, get to see Shem Creek and the shrimp boats, and you could even head over to Ft. Moultrie and Sullivan's Island, all without turning off of this one street. However, as much as I enjoy exploring Mt. Pleasant and the surrounding islands, it really doesn't make sense to do it without a car.

Hi Betsy (from another Betsy!) -

Thanks for the great info. I did more research today and found out exactly what you stated - that the Old Village part of Mt. Pleasant is rather small. If I really want to get out of the city for a day, I probably will need to rent a car. I'll have to think about it seriously........

If I end up not renting a car, then it probably does not make much sense to be spending $$ trying to get around. I may compromise and end up at the Mustard Seed for dinner.....I keep reading raves and it would be a bit of an adventure to get out of downtown. One question - is the James Island location closer than the Mt. Pleasant one?

Regardless of whether I end up in Mt. Pleasant or not, I'm guaranteed to have a great vacation. I've got 7 full days in Charleston and that should leave me lots of time to either do things that I loved the first time or do new things.

Oops, one more question: I was planning to do Ft. Sumter and the Aquarium on the same day as the Ft. Sumter visitor's center is close by the Aquarium. However, I'm thinking it may make more sense to take the ferry back to Patriot's Point as I'd like to see the USS Yorktown, etc... Is it possible to take the ferry from the downtown location to Ft. Sumter and return via the Patriot's Point ferry? I could then take a cab back to downtown..... If so, can you recommend any good lunch places around Patriot's Point?

Thanks again!

If you have that long in Charleston I think renting a car would be a very freeing thing to do. You can drive to the plantations, you can get to great places to eat in Mt. Pleasant/Shem Creek, etc. It isn't difficult. And a lot of rentals have GPS units now.

Gretchen, I'm beginning to think you're right about renting a car and I will have to seriously consider it, even if it's just for a day or two. I don't have to make any decisions now, fortunately; right now, I'm starting to book my tours and cooking classes so that they don't fill up.

I do have another question and I'm not sure why I don't remember this as I did it before: do you need to order tickets in advance for Ft. Sumter or can you just show up at the visitor's center early?

thanks!

If I were you I would try to lock in a car rental now on Priceline and save a bunch of money. April is prime time in Charleston. I'm sure you can just show up at Ft. Sumter unless this is spring vacation.

Hi Betsy! I hope you decided to go with the car rental idea! We just loved Mt Pleasant & Isle of Palms (when you drive over the bridge to Isle of Palms, you feel as though you've just entered another, tropical world from downtown Charleston or even Mt Pleasant!). Patriot's Point is definitely worth a visit, esp. if you're any type of history buff. Now for the Mustard Seed menu, I would have to say eclectic - not just one type of cuisine. What we ate - I think we shared the Ahi Tuna appetizer, then I had one of the specials - the linguine w/ mussels (delicious & enough for two!). Can't remember what hubby had. We were going to try their fried green tomato appetizer, but found out it was pretty large, so decided to forego that; we also split a salad - I can't remember what it was - just that it was unique & tasty! Prices very reasonable too! Bon appetit!

Hi Gretchen

Sorry for not responding- I couldn't find this thread again
until now.

I decided not to rent a car - I'll just pay the extra $$ to cab it.

As for Ft. Sumter, I'll get the tickets in advance. I had to switch my dates and I ended up with 3/16-3/24. I thought Easter break would be after the holiday, but I was wrong. Hopefully it won't be too bad, but at this point I will have to make the best of it. I've already booked most of my tours and I plan to do the rest tonight.

Hi Mouse!

No car for me this time, but I'm definitely going to Patriot's Point and will end up at the Boulevard Diner. I'll have to save Mustard Seed for another time - I think that by my next trip to Charleston, I'll feel better about renting a car.

Thanks for your help and tips. I plan on posting a trip report when I return........!

Not to beat a dead horse but you really might investigate the cost of a car on HOtwire. You seem to be planning a lot of "out of Charleston" experiences and a single cab ride could equal a whole day rental. I don't understand the resistance exactly.

Just out of curiosity, I looked on Hotwire for a car for the whole week. It would be $180, everything included. So, it would be your transportation to and from the airport, plus any place you want to go all week.