J & J van Leeuwen: Charleston, SC

For Josh's first 3 day weekend just after we arrived here, we decided to take a mini vacation to Charleston, SC. We had some money saved from a graduation present to do something fun with. We decided we would go check out the coast, and see what all the hype was about for Charleston. We had a blast! It was a very relaxing weekend getaway. We used Hotwire to book a 4 star hotel in Mt. Pleasant across the bay right on the beach :) It was decorated in a nautical theme with a lot of seashells and palm trees. It is a little bit older hotel, so it was a little Grandma-ish, but we didn't mind at all. We stayed in Mt. Pleasant across the bay.

View of the private pier from our balcony

We were so excited to photograph this famous bridge that we crossed a couple of times each day.

Unfortunately the light is a result of photoshop :/ It actually looks like this. Still very neat!

First we toured Ft. Sumpter. It is the location of the very first battle of the Civil War. We heard a little synopsis of the battle while touring the fort. If you are interested in learning more, you can use this link. We aren't huge history fans, but we do love to walk around and look at all of the old stuff :) We also couldn't stop talking about how much Justin Saul and my dad would enjoy it! The fort is built on a man made island out in the bay. We took a little ferry ride there, spent an hour looking around, and rode the ferry back. I think this was Josh's highlight being the adventurous boy he is :)

The ferry - it was a very chilly ride!

Original canons - they swivel around to aim

The fort is surrounded by these hole
that they would shoot out of.

Original flag from the flag pole that was shot down
during the battle

Josh as a Junior Ranger!

After the fort we walked around a bit looking for what else we might care to do. We also had plans to tour a few other places the next day. That night we took a tour of The Dark Side of Charleston. We learned about the brothels and their connection to corruption and crime around the cities conception. It was very interesting! Our tour guide was so entertaining :) I think she enjoyed telling all of the "stories" just as much as we enjoyed hearing them! Here are a few shots from our stop at the graveyard!

The second day we walked around the City Market. It was the original trading location/grocery store of the Charleston area. It was a lot more commercialized than we expected, but it was still fun to look around. We also loved going in and out of the shops along the streets. Josh picked up a display piece in one of the shops and broke it. The lady was very nice and didn't charge us, but it was our little joke everywhere we went, "Josh, keep your hands to yourself!"

After grabbing lunch, we headed to the Charleston Tea Plantation. It is the only tea plantation in the United States. It was a short drive away, but it was so worth it! We took a short video tour of the factory before boarding a trolley to tour the fields and green house. We learned about the growing and harvesting process. The tea is dormant in the winter, but they have a built an electronic greenhouse where they plant new "trees". While touring the plant, we were able to drink all of the hot and cold tea we could possibly consume!

Tea Fields

Tea Plantation Trolley

Nearest Tea Fields

Big Green Machine for harvesting the tea

The next stop on our trip was the Irvin House Vineyards Winery & Firefly Distillery. We had no idea they were hosting an oyster fest that day! We aren't into oysters, but it was fun to watch a lot of drunk people listening to music and eating oysters :) The wine tasting included all 5 types of wine they serve, and we got to keep the wine glasses we drank out of! We also completed the distillery tasting. We tried 2 flavors of moonshine, sweet tea vodka (leaded & unleaded :), light & dark rum, lemonade vodka, and sweet tea bourbon. We weren't too impressed with any of the liquor, but we got to keep our shot glasses! No matter where you go, you are bound to say "It's a small world!" at least once. The couple next to us knew a couple who recently moved to Virginia City! They were so excited to visit with a couple of Montana natives :)

Pile of Oysters

Beer on tap out of this truck

Fire grilled pizza, also out of a truck

That night, we decided to take another tour from Bulldog Tours. We chose the Jail Tour. We hoped it would be really scary, but unfortunately we had a couple people on our tour who had way too much fun BEFORE the tour :/ The building is undergoing reconstruction by a group of college students, so that didn't help matters either. The stories were interesting enough though.

Take note of the wear pattern on the steps

Before we left for home (Franklin), we decided to find a genuine Dunkin' Doughnuts! We weren't too impressed with the coffee, but the donuts were good :)
Last, but not least, we toured the Calhoun Mansion. This place has a lot of history! It is now owned by a wealthy man who signed a contract to kept the home in its current, restored state. He has filled the 3 story home with his personal collection of art. It has more items than any museum I have ever toured. It is amazing! There are so many pieces in every room. It is loosely themed, but we were in awe the entire tour. We highly recommend this to anyone near Charleston! Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures inside.