Tag: Charleston

A Few More Photos

I want to post a few additional photos from our road trip in the southeastern states.

The beautiful Pineapple Fountain in Charleston, South Carolina.
Special artwork using paint and sweetgrass, on display in Hyman’s Seafood restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina.
We were surprised to see this bobcat one morning in northeastern Florida.
These fun boats caught our eye. The boats shaped like cars were docked at an outdoor restaurant where we ate in Clearwater, Florida.
We tried boiled peanuts for the first time, and liked them. We ate at Hyman’s Seafood restaurant. The Hyman family has been at the same location for over 121 years (five generations). It started out as a Wholesale dry goods store then changed to Hyman’s Seafood in 1987. The restaurant has a great reputation.
Some “funky birds” in a park in Dunedin, Florida.
In Myrtle Beach we tried fried green tomatoes, for the first time, and liked them.
Sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Charleston and St. Augustine

On our February road trip through the southeastern states, we met up with a lot of friends and family. We pre-planned, or made last minute plans, to connect with folks that either lived in the areas we visited, or they were visiting the same areas in the south where we were. Our two intended sightseeing destinations were Charleston, South Carolina and St. Augustine, Florida.

The historic Inn where we stayed in the carriage house, out back.

We stayed in a beautiful carriage house in the historic district of Charleston, South Carolina. It rained the first day we were there, but the inn provided umbrellas so we went on our merry way, walking around the city, and to the Charleston Museum which was very interesting.

Our lovely Bed & Breakfast room on the second floor of a restored carriage house in Charleston, South Carolina.

We toured a WWII aircraft carrier (the Yorktown) in Charleston which we found intriguing and worthwhile.

USS Yorktown is an aircraft carrier built during World War II for the United States Navy. It is located on Patriot’s Point in Charleston, SC.

We went on a horse-drawn carriage ride (on a nice, sunny day).

The Belgium-draft horse, Moultrie, took us for a ride on a carriage around town.

We walked along Rainbow Row (named for a series of thirteen colorful historic row houses in Charleston), and ate some great seafood.

Rainbow Row in Charleston, SC.

Charleston is nicknamed the holy city because of its number of church spires that dot its skyline.

St. Michael’s Church, Charleston, SC.

St. Michael’s is one of the churches with a steeple, built in the 1750’s. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. George Washington worshipped there one time, as did Robert E. Lee.  It continues to have an active congregation today.

Inside St. Michael’s church.

It’s a stunning white church that stands out. It is gorgeous! During the revolutionary war, the steeple was painted black for disguise. For more of its colorful history click here: St. Michael’s Church.

A friend recommended I read the book Celia Garth prior to our visit to Charleston. It is a historical fiction novel by Gwen Bristow written in 1959. The narrative takes place in Charleston during the revolutionary war. The author provided me some orientation to the town, and a lot of its history. The story was fun to envision as we walked along the cobblestone streets.

An amazing mural painted on the side a a brick building, near the stables.
The beautiful, spacious front porch of the inn where we stayed in Charleston.

Charleston is s charming city.

St. Augustine, on the northeast coast of Florida, was an exciting place to visit too. It is the oldest city in the U.S., and is known for its Spanish colonial architecture.  We enjoyed walking around this city, which is our preferred mode of transportation. The beautiful buildings and quaint shops and old city gate were all fun to see. 

Flager College, established in 1968 in the former, luxury Ponce De Leon Hotel.

We toured the Castillo de San Marcos fort, a 17th-century Spanish stone fortress.

Castillo de San Marcos.
The drawbridge over the moat around the fort.

We climbed up 219 steps of the historic 1874 St. Augustine Lighthouse. 

St. Augustine Lighthouse.
Looking up the spiral staircase in the lighthouse.
At the top of the lighthouse….

And we ate more great seafood.

We had a delicious dinner at this restaurant on the ocean in St. Augustine.
Our long shadows on an Atlantic ocean beach in St. Augustine.

Although I had not read a book about St. Augustine before our trip (it was referred to several times in Celia Garth), we throughly enjoyed our visit to the oldest city in the United States.

 
I liked this fountain. The masks that decorate this fountain was a gift to the City of St. Augustine (in 2005) by its sister city in Spain, the City of Avilés, birthplace of Pedro Menéndez, founder of St. Augustine in 1565.

South Hills Market & Cafe

Usually when we travel we like to stay away from chain restaurants…so on Saturday night, after a little research we decided to eat at the South Hills Market & Café in Charleston, West Virginia.

Usually we do not sit at the bar… but since this was a small, family–run restaurant with few tables that were already reserved until 8:30 pm, and it was a busy Saturday night, and we didn’t know where else to go, we decided to sit at the bar since they served the same menu.

I chose the Buttermilk Chicken with a Pecan Waffle that I had found intriguing when we looked at the menu online. Gary chose fish tacos. Both were delicious.

But what made our experience extra special were the people sitting beside us at the bar. To my right a mom and her adult son were also eating dinner and we visited for a while…they were from the Charleston area. A little while later, as the place filled up, another couple sat down beside Gary on our left. They were “regulars” and the staff knew them. They were very friendly also, and stuck up a conversation with us.

Soon I was tapped on the shoulder and Pam, on my right, offered me 2 beignets – a French-style pastry. They had ordered the dessert but the portions were so large they decided to share it with us which I found touching. When we left I told them we’d pay it forward.

So now I have a new outlook on sitting at the bar versus sitting at a table. Both have their place, but for this evening the bar was a wonderful choice.

We were celebration our 40th anniversary too!