YEAR VISITED: 2020

FAVORITE CITIES AND EXPERIENCES: In 2008 I earned a masters degree in Civil War history. While this obviously came with an abundance of studying, reading, and writing, a perk was the incentive to travel and tour battle sites. I greatly enjoyed walking Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg, touring the bloody cornfield at Antietam, and exploring Manassas (the infamous site of Thomas Jackson famously earning his nickname of “Stonewall”). However, until 2020 I had never been able to make it to Fort Sumter (the first battle of the Civil War) and South Carolina. Therefore, when we began planning our 2020 road trip an extended stop in South Carolina was a must. As a result, we decided to spend three nights in Charleston. We absolutely fell in love with the city. Our first stop was the area of downtown referred to as the Historic District.

While we hemmed and hawed over the price, we ultimately decided to take an hour long carriage tour and ended up being extremely pleased that we did. For no real reason we selected the Old South Carriage Company were we were happy with their service and tour guide.

In fact we enjoyed it so much if we returned to Charleston we would want to once again take a carriage tour; although for fun I would probably select the evening haunted carriage tour. No matter which option you select this is a great way to get acquainted with this one of a kind southern city. Our favorite sites were the cobblestone roads, Rainbow Row (a series of southern row style houses), and the Old Slave Mart Museum.

Following our exploration of the historic district I was excited to finally buy a ticket to explore Fort Sumter and the grounds of the first major battle of the Civil War. Because the Fort is stationed on an artificial island sightseer’s must take a boat to the island. Visitors have their choice of leaving from Liberty Square or Patriots Point. I chose Liberty Square (which is closer to downtown) where I enjoyed the boat tour almost as much as the fort itself. The up close views of Fort Moultrie and the impressive looking Ravenal Bridge made it feel like I was receiving a bonus tour and provided and alternative view to these unique and historical sites.

Once I arrived at the fort I felt like a kid in a candy store. The combination of the brick walkways, the skinny halls, and the restored gun turrets and cannons made me feel as if my boat ride was a time warp back to 1861. While there was a steady downpour for a majority of my tour, mother nature couldn’t dampen my nerdy civil war soul. Fort Sumter was more than worth the wait and I am now proud to say I have been to the location of every major Civil War battle site.

STADIUMS AND/OR SPORTING EVENTS: We did not attend any sporting events or experience any stadiums in South Carolina.

ADVENTURE(S): The majority of our stay in Charleston was met with overcast skies and periodic rain showers. However, with the temperature still in the upper 70’s and low 80’s this didn’t deter us at all from venturing to the beautiful South Carolina coast. For both of our beach days we selected the Isle of Palms and nearby Sullivans Island … which are side by side and located roughly 30 minutes east of Charleston.

This was our first time experiencing beaches in South Carolina and we came away extremely impressed. The water was warm, the sand was white, and the beaches were some of the most beautiful we have experienced. While I am sure we looked funny jumping waves and playing on the beach during a steady downpour, being from the Pacific Northwest we didn’t think twice about the rain.

NOTABLE DESTINATIONS & STOPS: Following our carriage tour and downtown wanderings, we decided to have dinner at a place called 5Church. It is located on Market Street and relatively speaking in the middle of everything. As you probably guessed the building itself was originally a church. In my opinion what makes 5Church special is the gothic style architecture and stain glass. Besides good food and drinks, we greatly enjoyed the unique ambience.

The last site we visited prior to departing Charleston was the Angel Oak. The oak tree is located south of town and has been identified as one of the oldest living oak trees (estimated to be between 400-500 years old) east of the Mississippi River. The tree stands 65 feet tall and one of the massive branches extends nearly 200 feet perpendicularly.

South Carolina and specifically Charleston did not disappoint. While we had originally set our sights on visiting the Palmetto State solely because it was the home of Fort Sumter, this ended up being one of our favorite stops on a 37 state road trip and can’t wait to return.

• OUR LIST TO VISIT OR RETURN TO:
• South Carolina Football & Baseball Game
• Clemson Baseball
• Myrtle Beach
• Hilton Head Island