Tag: babymoon charleston

Our Babymoon to Charleston Part Two!

Published on by Mackenzie18 Comments

Welcome to Part Two of our Babymoon to Charleston, SC! Here is Part One in case ya wanna read that too. Continuing on our way back to 167 Raw, we kept seeing historic buildings and churches that grabbed our attention.

We ventured through the wide open gates of one church as we spotted the inviting pathway lined with beautifully planted greenery on each side.

At the end of the path was a quiet cemetery, home to tombs hundreds of years old and cherry blossom trees that towered around them.

We made it back to 167 Raw with about 15 minutes to spare. We found a nice bench and rested our feet while checking in on Moose.

And then…we FINALLY got some lobster rolls!!!

These were very good and definitely gave us our Lobster Roll fix, but we both agreed they did not beat out the epic lobster rolls from Sam’s Chowder House in Halfmoon May.

We walked back to the mansion after to explore its grounds and rest a bit before heading back out for the evening.


We peaked around the various rooms and then stopped by the parlor for some afternoon lemonade and tea. Naturally, we made a couple Arnold Palmer’s, as ya do 😉

We put our walking shoes back on and headed to the Charleston Maritime Center dock to go on a historic sunset tour on water with Charleston Harbor Tours.

The whole vibe could not have been better. The weather was near perfect, the boat had great music playing, and everyone seemed in a relaxed mood.

While waiting for the boat to depart from the harbor, we watched dolphins playing in the water around us.

And then we were off! We had a great tour guide that kept the tour  entertaining with trivia games and dad jokes. We passed by Fort Sumter (pictured below), Forts Moultrie and Johnson, USS Yorktown, St. Michael’s Church, striking homes along the Battery and passed under a magnificent bridge to round out the trip.

We got back right to the dock around the actual sunset, hustled back to the mansion in a Lyft and dashed up to the mansion’s cupola to catch the last bit of the sunset.

We made it right on time!

At this point in the evening, I was starting to get real hungry. We decided last minute to do a graveyard/ghost tour, but I needed to get something in my stomach beforehand (outside of the benne wafers I munched on in our hotel room).

On our way to the tour, we decided we would grab something quick to tide us over (read: keep the hanger at bay) and then also grab something after the tour.

Lenoir caught my eye. This is one of those spontaneous game-time food decisions that could not have gone better!

While I enjoyed admiring their decor, I had one thing on my mind- FOOD.

We put in an order for their cornbread and some veggies and hummus. Mmm the cornbread was oh so yummy & I was glad to get some veggies. It was a great tide-me-over until our next meal.

SpooOooOooky time! We walked to Bulldog Tours main building, were paired with a group and a guide and set off the explore Charleston’s graveyards.

It was a tour worth doing! It went maybe a bit long for us after a long day, but the stories were fascinating, and it was a fun way to see the city at night.

After the tour I got an intense craving for a chicken sandwich. We did a quick Google search and found Blind Tiger apparently had a good one, so we decided to give it a go!

I had the chicken avocado club which satisfied my craving with their delicious fries. DJ had the fried chicken sandwich- I had a bite, and it was a mean fried chicken sammy!

And the sweet tooth started acting up, so we indulged in their peanut butter pie. Ohhhh my goodness, this was one amazing PB pie. I could go for some right now.

And then we headed back to the hotel to rest up before another big day to follow! It was a peaceful walk back as we soaked up the charming city’s nighttime beauty.

When we got back to the room, we had these amazing dusted chocolate truffles waiting for us. Idk how they make these, but wow they are good.

Thanks for sharing in our little adventure with us 🙂 Stay tuned for Part Three!

<3,

Mackenzie

Our Babymoon to Charleston Part One!

Published on by Mackenzie30 Comments

Oh, am I ever excited to have a little time this morning to document the first part of our Babymoon to Charleston! It was wonderful in every way. DJ had never been to Charleston, and I only went once when I was very young (so I barely remember it). We packed as much as possible into our couple of days there, and they were two days we will not forget!

For those that are wondering “what the heck is a babymoon?”… basically it’s a little trip or vacation the future mom and dad take before baby is here. Think honeymoon, but pre-baby!

On February 24th, I met DJ at his work and then we drove to Cleveland airport. We made it through security with plenty of time for dinner. We stopped at Great Lakes Brewing Co. I ordered a salad and their shrimp tacos (which were good, but only a sneak peak to the real goodness of seafood we were about to experience), and DJ ordered a burger.

With full stomachs, we were fueled for the late evening. We were worried about our flight getting cancelled because of the weather, but luckily everything went ok, we made our layover, and made it to Charleston around 12:30 AM.

We loaded up our rental car and headed out to Wentworth Mansion, the charming, dreamy location we’d be staying for the weekend. When looking up places to stay in Charleston, I stumbled across Wentworth Mansion’s Babymoon package. I didn’t even know this was a thing hotels offered! Of course, when I saw that I knew we’d have to do it. There are a few other hotels in Charleston that have babymoon packages too, but we were so drawn to the historic, quintessential Charleston feel with the mansion- and we’d never stayed in a mansion like that before. All about a unique experience!

Even in the dark, we were taken aback by the beauty of the mansion.

We walked into a spectacular open lobby bookended by beautiful stained glass doors. To the right was a winding staircase and several hallways leading to the parlor, day room, and other rooms tucked within the mansion.We were greeted with true southern hospitality, were given our room keys and headed up to get unpacked and get some sleep. We would do more exploring of the mansion in the day light.

When we walked into our room, we were greeted by a lovely, storybook type room with light classical music playing, sparkling grape juice and chocolate covered strawberries. The babymoon package was off to a great start!

 

We also had a package of these benne wafers waiting for us, which we also saw sold at just about every shop we passed that weekend. These are popular for good reason- they are sweet, nutty and delicious. I love them with a little coffee or just on their own. Here’s the history of the benne wafer if you’re interested.

One of our favorite parts about getting away and staying in a hotel is getting a hotel breakfast room service. There’s just something about it! February 25th, I woke up ravenous, surprise surprise. I was craving something cold & fruity, so I had their yogurt bowl and their pastry basket. DJ enjoyed their sweet potato pancakes & helped me out with some of those yummy cinnamon rolls.

As the light came through the long curtains in the sun room, we enjoyed our breakfast in bed. Everything tasted amazing. The decaf coffee was even so yummy. We were particularly impressed with how darn good the pastries were. I had a bite of DJ’s pancakes too which were really good sweet potato pancakes; the sweet potato flavor was nice and subtle and the pancakes were griddled just right.

We headed out to get our day started. A couple’s massage was included in the babymoon package with a prenatal massage specifically for the momma-to-be, so we walked through the back doors of the mansion and across the courtyard to their spa. If you do this package, make sure to book your massage right away because they fill up fast!

For the massage, they have a little donut to prop up the mom’s baby belly. It was a luxurious massage and a great start to the day!

We headed back through the courtyard to get ready for the day.

Once dressed and ready to head out, we were able to finally see the dazzling mansion from the front entrance for the first time and in the daylight!

Priority #1: Get a really good lobster roll. I did a, probably excessive, amount of research looking for the best lobster roll in Charleston. There are probably three places that contend for the “top”, and 167 Bar Raw Oyster Bar was within walking distance and at the top of most lists. We walked through the city and put our name in. It was going to be about a two hour wait (and they don’t take reservations) , so I was grateful we had a hearty breakfast.

To kill the time, we reversed our schedule and walked out to some spots I had planned for us to explore after lunch.

Just walking through Charleston is so much fun. There is a little bit of history everywhere you look and even just building-gazing is fun with all the different architecture and gorgeous churches that draw your attention from practically every corner.

We first walked to rainbow row to see the homes here. It actually reminded us a little of painted ladies in SF!

We grabbed some pics out on Rainbow Row, and someone graciously offered to take our picture- never will turn that down!

Oh, and our weather was beautiful- high 70s and sunny!! We really lucked out. Next up was Waterfront Park.

There is nothing more calming than being by or in water, in my opinion. I love it so much, and I just remember feeling so relaxed as we walked around the pier.

And you know I had to get a bump pic whenever I had the chance!

We walked down the pier a little ways, and I probably was over-excited when we spotted the famous Charleston Pineapple fountain. Pineapples are seen everywhere in Charleston as a symbol of hospitality!

On this side of the pier, there are wooden swings staggered throughout these little pavilions. We couldn’t find one that was open, but I think it’d be so nice to just relax on one of those if you find yourself at Waterfront Park.

Since those were the two big spots I had planned for the afternoon (Rainbow Row and Waterfront Park), we had a little time to kill still before getting back to 167. We just walked around, stopped in little boutiques and enjoyed the stellar (and quite foreign!) sunshine.

This cute little Gelato shop caught my attention with their adorable pink chairs and tables outside, but even more so- the advertisement for Dutch mini pancakes beckoned us inside.

I would love to come back here to try their gelato sometime, because it looked mighty tasty.

These mini Dutch pancakes were so good. We had them with maple syrup and honey- and oh myyy. So sweet, so delicious.

As good as they were, I was admittedly a tiny bit queasy after and my body was screaming, “need real food NOW!”.

And I will leave ya on the edge of your seat to see if we finally did get those lobster rolls!

Thanks for reading 🙂

<3,

Mackenzie