Chad and I try to take a trip for each of our birthdays every year, and this year, for mine, we spent the weekend in Charleston.  This city has been on my travel bucket list for a very long time, so it seemed like the perfect place to celebrate.

When we were booking our flights, we noticed that there was a significant price difference (over $1000!) if we flew in on a Saturday morning instead of Friday, so that was an easy choice–Saturday morning through Monday evening was the plan!

As soon as we landed in Charleston, we got an Uber to our hotel to drop our bags.  We are Marriott loyal, so we stayed at their downtown property, which was perfectly located.  We got cleaned up and got an Uber to King Street to start exploring.

Our first stop on King was the Stars Rooftop.  Charleston has many rooftop options, and this one was highly recommended above the others.  The views are fantastic, the drinks are tasty, and the vibe is relaxed.  It was a great kickoff to our weekend!

After our inaugural cocktail, we decided to walk around for a bit.  We dipped into several of the local stores, and I “may” have done a little birthday damage.

We decided it was time for a snack, so we stopped at Beer Works for a local brew and a snack.  Chad and I each selected one of the Charleston beer choices and some chips and salsa to share.  It was a fun spot to relax at the bar for a bit.

We walked around for a bit more before deciding that we were getting hungry for dinner.  King Street starts to get really crowded in the evening, so the waits at restaurants can be very long without a reservation.  There is any type of cuisine that you could want, but we decided that we were craving sushi.  We lucked out when we found O-KU!  The atmosphere is absolutely stunning, the service was fantastic, and the food was unique and delicious.

After dinner, we were exhausted!  But we couldn’t leave King without one more stop: Cupcake Downsouth.  As I’m sure you can imagine, I do my cupcake homework before I travel, and this one was at the top of every list.  We got our cupcakes to go, and I assure you, they tasted 100 times better in my pajamas.

We had a full day planned for Sunday, so I had to kick it off with a visit to Orangetheory.  It was a workout full of pushups and daydreams of the beach.  Before I got an Uber back to the hotel, I saw that there was a spot next door to the studio called Clean Juice, so I decided to check it out.  So glad I did!  Clean Juice is a juice, smoothie, bowl shop that is founded and grounded in Christian principles.  From their fun merch, to the prayer jar, I was instantly researching how close to home I could get a fix.  (Sadly not close, KC.)  I got some goodies for my ride home and was off to get cleaned up.

We asked several people for their recommendations, and Folly Beach was a common refrain.  That was our first stop, and we started by walking along the pier and taking in the breathtaking views of the ocean.  In March, the water is still very cold, so the beach and boardwalk are not very crowded yet, which made for a great opportunity to walk slow and enjoy.

After leaving the beach, we walked around for a bit before stopping in at Rita’s for a drink and a snack.  Another round of chips and salsa, a beer for him, and a super tasty Strawberry Basil Mimosa for me!

We were both craving something light for lunch, and we found Lost Dog around the corner from Rita’s.  Their brunch menu was just what we had in mind, and the dog décor throughout made it just our type of place!  I got this super fresh veggie wrap and fruit, and it was the fuel I needed to keep going with our day.

When we travel, we like to taste the local beers as much as possible.  In our research, we found Frothy Beard Brewery and decided to check it out.  Originally intrigued by the name (hello bearded husband…), we were really impressed by the beers.  Chad got a flight (smart dude), and I chose one of their amber selections.  Everything we tried was yummy, and nap-inducing.  With that said, we agreed that we could use a little downtime before our dinner reservation.

Sunday night was my birthday dinner celebration, and I had chosen Obstinate Daughter, based on many recommendations.  And I can see why!  The atmosphere is a beautiful mix of nautical and a Pottery Barn showroom.  The cocktail list is fun and creative, and everything we ate was spectacular!  I’m still having dreams about those brussles.

Obstinate Daughter is located on Sullivan Island, so it’s a neat little area of bars, restaurants, and other little shops, which is completely walkable.  After dinner, we walked down to Poe’s for a drink.  This place was the perfect nod to my English degree, writing-loving heart.  EAP is all over this place, including in the drink names.  (Enter my Lenore’s Lemonade.)

Now it was time for dessert, and I had already scoped out Beardcats Ice Cream.  It’s a cute little shop with all the basic flavors you love, plus some interesting additions.  Plus they will let you sample and shove multiple flavors into your cup or cone.  I did all of the above and was sufficiently full from the treats.

We were loving this part of Charleston, so we decided to hang out a little longer.  We stumbled upon Dunleavy’s pub, and it was one of the highlights of the trip.  We found a spot at the eclecticly decorated bar and ordered a couple of beers.  The older gentleman struck up a conversation with us, and our new best friend turned out to be the bar owner.  We wound up talking with him for a couple of hours, and he bought us far too many beers.  But we had so much fun hearing his story and learning more about the city.  Plus they had a popcorn machine, and every good bar has a popcorn machine.

It was way past our bedtime, so we got an Uber back to our hotel to rest up for our final day.

I started the day at the Orangetheory in Mt. Pleasant.  I was delighted to see another Clean Juice next door to this studio too!  I stopped in before getting my Uber to grab some juice and one of the oatmeal bowls I had my eye on the day before.

Chad and I had decided that our final day was all the touristy things.  We started with a carriage tour, which is one of the best ways to learn more about Charleston.  I loved hearing about all of the beautiful homes and their history.  Plus we got free hot hushpuppies, so duh.

After the tour, we walked around the City Market area.  We found Henry’s and had a tasty lunch on their incredible rooftop.  I wish that we’d found this spot earlier in the trip, because I could have spent so much time on that roof.  The views were some of the best, and the atmosphere was so beautiful and fun.  Plus those fish tacos…

After lunch, we walked down the street to Savannah’s, which was the candy store on my list.  It is an old-timey candy store with an ice cream counter.  I was deep into my no candy Lent, so I didn’t partake in any sampling.  But I did get a bag of gummies and an ice cream cone to go.

The weather while we were in town was perfection.  Temperature was spot on, no humidity, clear skies.  We wanted to take as much advantage of that as possible.  (Especially since it was SNOWING back home in KC!)  We walked around, found Rainbow Row, found the water again, found the cobblestones, found our dream homes.  It was the best end to our trip.

The official end to our trip was one last cheers on the Venue Rooftop while taking in the views, the sunshine, and the breeze.  We always end our trip by asking each other about our favorite parts so we can relive those moments.  This was one really hard to pinpoint.  We were ready to get home to our lil dude, but we weren’t ready to leave.  We’re already planning our next trip to South Carolina, and the list is getting long!

XOXO,

Molly B.