Honeymoon - Day 9 - 6/1/11

Magnolia Plantation

Our last fullday in Charleston.  Sad face!  We decided to take a tour by Adventure Sightseeing to Magnolia Plantation.  We had a fun tour guide named Earl who drove the bus and gave us a quick tour of the gardens.  The gardens are so beautiful there.

This was taken at a bridge in the gardens.  Again, just so beautiful.  A few pictures of the grounds:

We then had a nature tour on a tram.  We got to see some great wildlife including this alligator:

We also had a tour of the house but no photography was allowed.

When we retunred to Charleston it was time for lunch!  We went to The Noisy Oyster and had some of the best She Crab soup.  I also had a Shrimp Po Boy that was just delicious.

From there, we walked down Market Street and saw this sign:

Okay, I love most wines and will always try something new.  I would not recommend this wine to anyone.  South Carolina may be first in my heart for many things, but wine is not one of them.

We tried to go to the Old Powder Magazine, but it had just closed.  Hopefully I can go there next time and have more info.

We did make it to the Old Exchange and Provost.  This was worth the low price of admission.  The building dates back to pre-Revolutionary War days and they hosted President Washington there in this room:

The basement was used as a prison pr Patriots during the Revolutionary War.

This is what Brian and I look like in prison:

Scary, huh?

We then found the greatest craft beer store I have ever been in:

And a place we bought lots of Firefly:



After buying a handle of it, I had to stop at a bar and get a glass or the Sweet Tea Vodka.  So yum:

We then enjoyed watching some boats sail in the harbor before heading back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.

We went to Slightly North of Broad (SNOB) on our last night.  It was one of the best meals (they were all incredible)

Thus ended our honeymoon.  We woke up early the next morning to catch a flight back to Chicago.

Honeymoon - Day 8 - 5/31/11

Fort Sumter

We got up early and walked to the ferry boat for Fort Sumter.  The walk was a little longer than we thought and it was HUMID out.  Luckily, the welcome center was air conditioned.  We didn't ahve to wait long for the boat.

If you visit Charleston, Fort Sumter is a must.  They've done a good job preserving it and it gives an interesting perspective to a very important time in American history.  I am a history buff and I was luck enough to marry someone who loves it, too.

A few pictures of Fort Sumter:

We had so many pictures, it's hard to pick just a few.



After we returned to the peninsula, we walked back to a resturant on the water called Fleet Landing.  The food was amazing and its a very casual atmosphere.  It was a Tuesday afternoon but it was packed.  Great Shrimp & Grits!

From there we walked to the Battery, Rainbow Row and the Gardens.  Charleston is just such a beautiful old city.  So much to marvel at.



We also stopped at a place called Kaminsky's for a sweet treat in the middle of the day.  This place has fresh desserts every day and lots of great drinks.

We went to Poogan's Porch for dinner.  This place is supposedly haunted but we had no encounters, just great food.  I can't believe how good the food in Charleston is!

We ended our evening at Waterfront Park on the pier.  A romantic place after dark.

Honeymoon - Day 7 - 5/30/11

Disembarking and Pub Tour

I woke up early enough to see the ship arrive at Charleston Harbor.  It was beautiful to see the city before sunrise.

We were sad to get off the ship but happy that we still had a few days in Charleston ahead of us.

Once we went through the easy disembarkation process, we realized that our hotel was within walking distance from the port.  It wasn't fun to roll the bags, but it sure saved time.

It wasn't time to check in yet so they held our bags while we did some walking around.  We had lunch at Gilligans, a favorite of mine from childhood vacations.  Once we checked in, we did some shopping at the City Market before our plans for the evening ...



We had scheduled a Pub Tour of Charleston and as it turned out, we were the only ones on our tour!  Sam, our tour guide, was great and we learned something and had great drinks!

The Mad River Bar & Grille was once a church.  The ground was actually deconsecrated.  We had martinis and appetizers.

Next was Tommy Condon's; an Irish pub that was once a candy shop.  Here we had cocktails and appetizers and I really met my new favorite drink.  Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka.

The was the Blind Tiger; an old speakeasy that still looks like one!  I found a guys with a Yankees Suck jersey that I had to take a picture of.

They have a ring toss game that our tour guide almost never missed at.  I never won and Brian got it once or twice.

On to the Rooftop at Vendue Inn.  A rooftop bar that looks out over the city and the harbor.  Great margaritas.

This was the last stop on our tour but Brian and I continued alone to Social, a wine bar