We left EARLY Wednesday morning and this is what the hubby though of my picture-taking at 6AM...
After a quick layover in Baltimore we got our rental wheels for the trip...
We stayed at Market Pavillion which was super nice, across the street from the U.S. Customs Building, right near the harbor - with rooftop views from the bar/pool, and within walking distance to everything...
We met up with Auntie Mexico right away and headed out for lunch and to check out some sights...
First stop = Bubba Gump's for lunch, which is where Trish and I ate when we passed through town in 2003. We got some local beer - Palmetto, hush puppies, cajun peel & eat shrimp, and coconut shrimp...
This is where Trish & I stayed in our travels back in the day...and the jacuzzi we ended up in in the wee hours of the morning after a night on the town and frozen drinks from Wet Willies...
We walked around to check out some sights and fortunately it stopped raining. The homes/buildings and architecture are just amazing. Most of the homes are called "Charleston Single Homes" - made of brick covered in stucco, with the double front porches. Most of the lanterns on the front of the homes are lit with natural gas and are so beautiful at night. We walked along a small cobblestone street near the harbor which is where 60% of the country's slaves passed through when they arrived. The pineapple fountain is at Waterfront Park on the harbor.
Then we hit the rooftop of our hotel for some sun and drinks at the pool...
We grabbed a few drinks at a local bar called Henry's and then had reservations at Husk, which is supposed to be the best restaurant in America. The menu changes very frequently as they use only local/seasonal ingredients in their dishes. The meal was incredible - scallops over this corn-based sauce, fried green tomatoes, fried chicken skins, bacon cornbread (a little too salty for me), pork infused with their own homemade barbeque sauce and vaccum sealed to keep it tender (it literally fell apart without a knife) - served with crispy pork belly (basically the fat off the bacon!), homemade cider from Virginia, and an amazing peach dessert with fresh whipped cream. And the pedicab ride over there was pretty neat, I've never been in one! After din we went for a few night caps at the rooftop bar at Vendue - another Inn a few blocks down the road.
Thursday AM we were up early and ready to roll to the PGA Tourney! It was about a 45-50 minute ride from Charleston to Kiawah - a nice ride with beautiful trees that hung over the road. Then we had to park and be bussed onto the actual island/country club. The course was amazing and the longest course played in PGA history. The set up was pretty incredible to see. Mercedes Benz is a sponsor so in addition to the massive Mercedes tent at the tourney entrance, the players and their families are given Mercedes to drive while they are there. There are also designated parking lots for people who drive Mercedes. You are allowed to bring in 1 unopened bottle of water but it either has to be Aquafina - another sponsor - or you have to remove the label. No cameras are allowed but because people have cameras on their cell phones now, there was a massive crew of "Mobile Device Policy Enforcement" who made sure no one took pics and that phones were only used in designated cell phone areas. I cheated and snapped a few pics though and fortunately didn't get caught or they would have snagged my phone. It was fun to see the players that we are used to just seeing on TV. Halfway down the 6th hole we got to hear Tiger criticizing himself yelling "TIGERRRRRRRRRR" after a poor shot; I was the idiot yelling "HHS loves you, Keegan!" as he walked by us on the back 9; and when Phil passed us walking over a little bridge he was about 5 feet away I said "I love you Phil" like a dumbass but he looked right at me, smiled, and gave me a thumbs up.
At the tourney...
*Fairway at #6.
*Sidelines & fairway at hole #6.
*Fairway at hole #2.
*Furyk's group.
*The boys in the tree for a good view of the 7th tee.
*Huge croc under one of the bridges.
*Outside Wannamaker Club.
*Outside Pro Shop.
It took us about an hour to an hour-and-a-half on the bus ride out of Kiawah back to the cars. We were SO SWEATY & HOT so quick showers back at the hotel and then the hub and I hit the roofdeck for a drink and some tuna tartare...
We changed and met the rest of our group for a few more drinks upstairs before dinner at Hank's - which was another incredible restaurant around the corner. From there we went to Wet Willie's for some gross frozen drinks, then to a little hole-in-the-wall empty bar to finish the night.
Friday morning just the hubby and I were left, so we walked to a breakfast place called Toast. We ordered a couple of the meals that were recommended by the NY Times - peach stuffed frent toast with peach syrup (this thing was literally about 3-4 inches high, hugeeeeeee) and eggs benedict over a crab cake. Then it was time to go for a carriage tour - and you can see by the clouds we ended up getting POURED on!! Our guide Robert was not phased and continued on like nothing was going on.
*The Market on the left.
*Going through the French Quarter.
*Rainbow Row
Our horse's name was Gibbs and of course I had to pet him and get a photo. Well, apparently Gibbs "likes loose clothing" the guy told me as he started chewing on my midsection/shorts!!
We walked around the market and hit a local fudge shop for some goodies, then decided to hit the rooftop deck for drinks and to watch the PGA for the afternoon. It was a great trip and would love to go back, especially to Kiawah maybe with the kiddies. Charleston is beautiful and full of history. We were glad to get home to the babes though!
~E
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