Tag: SC

Our Babymoon to Charleston Part Three!

Published on by Mackenzie19 Comments

Gooood morning! (or afternoon or evening- whenever you may be reading this).

It’s a rainy day here, and my favorite days to blog are for sure rainy mornings. I’m ignoring my to-do list that is longer than it’s ever been, and giving myself one solid hour to write about & share our final day in Charleston, SC!

The morning of February 26th, Rach sent us a picture of Moose and Trotter. So cute how sleepy they both look. We were reassured knowing Moose was in the best of hands with her & I know he loved having his friend Trotter there.

We headed out right away to soak up the sunny morning.

We immediately went to Miller’s All Day for breakfast knowing there would be a heckuvah wait. It was about an hour and a half, so we decided to just walk around town and stop in shops to pass the time.

First stop- a Christmas store!

We usually don’t get souvenirs from the places we travel to, but we decided it would be fun to start collecting an ornament from each place we visit. This is the one we ended up getting!

The place the ghost tour started the night prior seemed like a neat little area of town, so we decided to explore it a little more in the daylight.

At Historic Charleston City Market, there were many vendors selling a sundry of artistic DIY creations. You could also find benne wafers just about every few feet!

When we were on our ghost tour, we noted Byrd’s had a sign displaying free cookie samples. As much as we were tempted to ditch the ghosts for some free samples, we resisted, but thankfully we made it back to enjoy some the following morning!

I tried a lemon one and a chocolate one. Since they are more crunchy cookies versus doughy, they would go wonderfully with some coffee! They had great flavor.

We were about due back for our reservation, so we started the walk back to Miller’s. I was ready to CHOW DOWN.

And we’re back!

We were seated immediately once we checked back in. How cute is this place.

I ordered a decaf coffee, and DJ had the nitro cold brew.

Now for the foooood. This was a brunch we will not forget!!

I had their frittata with eggs, grits, roasted veggies, whipped feta and mixed greens. I have stayed away from feta most of my pregnancy since it can be a risky cheese for listeria, but I made sure this was pasteurized- and the fact that it was heated up on top of the eggs made me feel better. It was phenYUMenal!

DJ had their signature fried chicken biscuit. I had one bite and was blown away by how good this was!! A must try. 

And we could not resist sharing a side of their waffle with sorghum, caramel and meringue. Every bite was heavenly. 

10/10 brunch!

Our big tourist stop on the agenda this day was visiting Magnolia Plantation & Gardens. Magnolia houses the oldest public gardens in America. I like this quote from their website to sum it up, “Unlike most of America’s gardens, which are formal and seek to control nature, Magnolia cooperates with nature to create a tranquil landscape like Eden where humanity and nature are in harmony”.

It was stunning & truly peaceful. We enjoyed every moment being out there. I only interrupted the tranquility about three times for a bladder break, but besides that it was wonderful in every way!

There was a Japanese garden with bamboo, many beautiful flowers on the different trails, quaint bridges, a garden maze and even a Biblical Garden amongst much more. I’ll just let the pictures tell the story here 🙂

And ya know I had to sneak in a bump pic somewhere!

DJ took the picture above with the bee-have to give him photo cred for that one!

I don’t even think we were there in peak blooming season, and it was still breathtaking. Of course, the pics cannot do justice!

After Magnolia, we decided to drive around to different areas of Charleston from Mount Pleasant to Sullivan’s Island to the beaches along Isle of Palms.

We then headed back to the Mansion to rest our feet a minute before dinner.

On the porch in the mansion around 5 pm, they serve hors d’oeuvres and wine for guests. I sampled a little bit of everything (minus the wine), but made sure to save my appetite for a great dinner we had planned.

We popped up to the Cupola one last time and then went back to the room to get ready for dinner.

We snagged a picture in front of the glorious stained glass mansion doors and then headed across the lawn to the restaurant on site, Circa 1886.

This meal was included in our babymoon package, and we wanted to make sure to save this for our last meal because we knew it was going to be a real treat.

This is one of the best meals we have ever had beginning to end – from the service to the food itself to all the creativity in between. It was a fun, romantic and delicious meal!

First, since the waitress knew we were on a babymoon, she immediately brought out a “Spirit Less Sippers” menu. I ordered the Faux-jito and DJ thought the menu looked so good, he ordered their Baby Burro. These were some yummy drinks to start out the evening!

We then enjoyed the bread and crystal salted butter- the best butter! Also, it was extremely dim in here (I loved it for the romantic atmosphere), but the quality of these pics leaves much to be desired, lol. Now the quality of the food did not.

Our waitress brought out this dish below as an amuse-bouche before we started our first course. I don’t remember exactly what it was, but I think some type of tasty potato puff and refreshing gazpacho.

The menu was quite unique in how it was set up. It had four categories to choose from: Tastes of Native Tribes, Influences from Europe, Flavors brought from Africa and South Carolina today. You could mix and match selections from each too. We tried a little bit from each section.

We started with the shrimp n’ rice grits- yum!

Next up we had their southern grilled cheese which included pimento cheese mousse, grilled brioche, surryano ham (I just took off the ham & gave it to DJ since I can’t have deli meat), paddlefish caviar and cured yolk powder. Probably needless to say, this was a grilled cheese unlike any we’ve had before.

We also tried the preserved rabbit. Neither of us have tried rabbit, so we thought why not give it a go. I very much enjoyed the flavor of this! It was flavorful and savory, not gamey like I had expected.

DJ had their venison, which was cooked to perfection. He raved about it.

I had their scallops which… as I sound like a broken record.. were very good.

I think my favorite part may have been the dessert. To start out dessert, they surprised us with alcohol-free champagne to toast one last time on our babymoon. It actually tasted like champagne too and was crisp and light- not too sugary at all.

While we sipped on our non-champagne-champagne, we indulged in the apple soufflé with hot toffee sauce and candied praline ice cream.  Divine. 

And a beautiful contrast to the rich soufflé was this west African milk tart with ginger sable, coconut cream sauce, pineapple mango sorbet and banana mousse. Each bite was an explosion of flavor.

I could not have imagined a better babymoon! This trip was a dream. I am so grateful we were able to find time to go & were able to make it happen.

We went back to the hotel, packed up for an early flight the next morning and grabbed as many z’s as we could before the alarm went off.

When we made it through security, it was about 6:30 AM. Priority number one- you guessed it, find some food. We passed a Cinnabon and DJ grabbed one for breakfast. I was excited about his selection because it meant I got to have a bite.

I stopped into Caviar & Bananas and grabbed a decaf coffee, a banana, a Siggi’s yogurt and a Go Macro bar for my breakfast.

I was focused on loading up the protein since I knew we probably wouldn’t get to stop for food again at our short layover- also I was somehow ravenous despite the big meal seemingly hours prior. Although, we did calculate that we had walked 16 miles in the two full days we were in Charleston- yes, 16! No wonder I was extra hungry that morning.

We could not wait to get back to see Moose. It was tough being away from him for a whole weekend. When we walked through the door he gave us all the love, kisses and cuddles and stayed by our sides the rest of the day. He does this usually though, so it’s hard to gauge just how much he really missed us, hah.

Thank you for reading & following along on our Charleston babymoon! If you want to read part one and part two, I’ve linked them here 🙂

Question for you: 

  • Do you collect anything from the places you travel?

Have a great weekend, friends!

<3,

Mackenzie

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