We had been wanting to revisit South Carolina since we went in 2020. That trip was kind of a spur of the moment decision at the time, and we only gave ourselves two days to get a taste of the Low Country.
Ever since we had been wanting to return and see more of the historic beauty of Charleston and its surrounding areas, and to see whether the people were as friendly as we remembered.
Additionally we read a book called ‘Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil’ and that piqued our curiosity about a certain city in Georgia called Savannah. Actually, we already were interested in visiting Savannah, and the photos of Spanish moss dripping over fountains in the city parks and the historic antebellum architecture of the city were definitely a draw for us. “Midnight” only added impetus to the decision.
So with October 2024 fall break coming we decided it was time for a “Low Country” crawl, starting in Charleston and working our way down to Savannah, visiting both cities and everything in between.
Day 1: Charleston
We flew into Charleston in the afternoon, and after swapping our rental car (the initial economy car we were given sounded like it had transmission issues) we headed for our hotel in Mount Pleasant.
Mount Pleasant is right across the bay from the peninsula of Charleston and hotel rates for rooms with three people are a lot better for the weekend than what you can find in the historic center of Charleston. We had booked the Cambria Hotel which was sufficiently nice for our sightseeing needs. Close to the Arthur Ravenel Bridge, Patriot’s Point, and Sullivan’s Island we were well situated for the next three days.
But sightseeing would need to wait until the following day. We arrived in the afternoon and we didn’t want to kill ourselves with a ridiculous itinerary the day of arrival. We just wanted some dinner and a chance to relax.
We found a place called The Mill at Shem Creek which had a nice view of the river estuary while we had some much needed beers. The seafood was just ok though. We’d need to rectify that before the end of the trip.
Day 2: Charleston
Fort Moultrie
We started out the day a bit disorganized and instead of stopping along the way for breakfast we made our way to Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island.
There is something of a joke between myself and my wife about how often we tend to visit forts when we travel. It just seems like we make our way to historic fortifications as a matter of course, since they were important in our nation’s wars and we’re kind of history buffs. But at the same time she said she didn’t need to see one every time we travel.
So of course I decided to make Fort Moultrie our first stop on our trip 🙂
We had gone to Fort Sumter on our previous visit to Charleston in 2020 and that fort’s significance as the starting place of the Civil War makes it a priority for most visitors to Charleston. However, Fort Moultrie has a longer and more complex history since the initial fortification dates back to the Revolutionary War and the fort was still in use through World War II.
We walked through the fort and into the various bunkers to see various exhibits. The visitor center movie was a bit dated and corny but it also provided a good bit of information before entering the fort. Now we know why palmetto logs were effective against cannon fire (the rounds bounce right off).
My son Evan really likes canons and artillery too, as you can probably tell.
After visiting the fort we were pretty hungry and we all still wanted breakfast. It was already around 11AM and since we were on Sullivan’s Island we decided to head to a place on the island that had some good reviews on TripAdvisor. And it was relatively close, though still 5 miles away.
We drove to the restaurant and found that the parking on the island was pretty limited. Entering the restaurant we found that it was cash-only and we had no cash. In frustration we decided to forgo breakfast entirely and to go have lunch at a BBQ place in Charleston instead.
We drove across the Arthur Ravenel bridge (the first of many crossings) to Lewis BBQ. It was one of the restaurants that I picked out before we left for South Carolina since it had BBQ (a must in Carolina) and the prices were reasonable (a must for us since we’re not wealthy). It turned out to be a pretty good choice. I had a delicious pulled pork BBQ sandwich.
After getting some much-needed food, we wanted to get away from the city for few hours. It was Sunday and things were a bit more hectic than we were really expecting. We wanted to visit a plantation and I suggested Drayton Hall, which would deliver us to the calm countryside along the Ashley River.
Drayton Hall
The drive to Drayton Hall was pleasant and when we arrived the plantation grounds were practically empty (as you can see in the video below). We did see some people waiting near the visitor center for the house tour that would start a half hour later but in the interim we were free to enjoy an afternoon on the plantation grounds.
Drayton Hall is unique in that it is both an antebellum plantation and the house remains unrestored, remaining largely as it would have looked prior to the Civil War. Most plantations houses (including the one at Magnolia Plantation which we visited in 2020) were either destroyed during the Civil War and rebuilt, were built after the Civil War, or simply no longer exist. Drayton Hall is a glimpse back in time to the antebellum era.
Since we were alone to peruse the grounds we made it to the caretakers cottage, the privy, the reflecting pond, the well, and a great oak. While standing by the pond my son and I noticed a dark, elongated shape on the opposite shore. Was that what we thought it might be?
I walked around the pond and sure enough, there was a smallish (around 7 feet long) alligator lying in the grass. I called my son over and he excitedly dashed around to see the alligator too.
After this bit of fun it was time to enter the house on the tour. And it is a good tour with a lot of interesting information. The Drayton’s were a wealthy and politically powerful family dating back to before the revolutionary war. And they weren’t exactly on the side of the colonists in the War of Independence until they knew the American side would win. Then, of course, they played the side of the patriots.
The house tour includes the basement levels where slaves worked and lived and on to the upper floors where the Drayton’s made sure to show off their wealth in their choice of woodwork, ceilings, and furnishings. They also refused anyone to enter through the front door unless they were particularly high-status individuals.
After touring the house we walked over to the shore of the Ashley River and enjoyed the serene environment and the Spanish-moss laden trees with the house in the distance.
Driving back to the main road from the plantation we stopped at a pond where the tour guide said an alligator named “Big Momma” might be found. And of course, we found her right away!
Kiawah Island Beach
After enjoying our visit to Drayton Hall we decided to visit a place that we enjoyed on our first visit to the Charleston area: Kiawah Island. Last time we actually stayed on the Island at the Andell Inn, which had very reduced rates due to the Covid pandemic.
The drive was a bit longer than we remembered it being last time, but after about an hour we arrived at the beach. It was much more crowded this time around and there was an obvious sense that it was a beach visited by those that believe themselves the higher class.
I didn’t quite get the same feeling I got the last time we were there, but it is a nice beach. Did I feel like it was among the top beaches in the country? Maybe not. Another day with fewer people I might think differently again.
But perhaps the old woman dressed in a ton of jewelry took away from the beach vibe. Who wears jewelry to the beach? And she was hardly alone in seemingly presenting a “look at me” wealthy vibe.
Beaches are for families and chilling. Lounging and relaxing in the sun and in the surf.
So yeah, we made it to the beach that we enjoyed in 2020. We didn’t get into our swimsuits and maybe that’s part of the problem. Last time we rode the waves. It’s all good.
One thing we learned is that sanderlings have some fast feet. We got a kick out of watching them race across the sand.