Travel Notes - Charleston, SC - Long Weekend Edition
It goes without saying that COVID-19 has put a damper on travel for most everyone. A good portion of our travel is usually done regionally on long weekends. But as summer 2020 was kicking into gear, as were our vaccinations, we decided a little trip to the beach may be what the doctor ordered for a bland weekend. So, off we went to Charleston, South Carolina for a little beach time.
Charleston is about 10 hours from our home in Louisville, KY, which is just within our driving range for a long weekend. Although being relatively close to home, Andrew or I have never visited there. The extent of our knowledge centered around problematic monuments, Civil War battlegrounds and old southern homes/plantations. All of those are readily available if you so choose to visit those landmarks. But, Charleston also has a lot more to offer by way of large beaches, tasty breweries and places to eat. Here’s a rundown of some of the places we visited while in town:
Camping Options:
The final photo with our Helinox chairs before they were stolen :(
KOA Mt. Pleasant - 3157 N Hwy 17 North, Mt Pleasant, SC 29466
Full disclosure, we didn’t do our research on camping for this weekend. We just wanted the ease of having a spot to stay. So, we paid for it. All in all, this is the general KOA experience. Pool, nature trail, tiny lake to fish… and people. We happened to have a less than great experience due to our Helinox camp chairs being stolen while we were away from our site. That’s what we get for leaving our stuff out. Lesson learned. But if you’re looking for a clean, nicely run campground, this is exactly what you pay for.
Buck Hall Recreation Area Campground in Francis Marion National Forest. We drove here to check out if we could score a better spot than what we had at the KOA. Located along the Intercoastal Waterway (including a boat launch), it’s pretty far removed from Charleston. The Palmetto Trail, which is a hiking trail connecting South Carolina’s coastal marshes to its inland mountains is accessible here. The main campground was full, but there was an area for overflow camping that was just basically a field with no privacy. Actually, the main campground was lacking privacy as well. We decided to head back to the KOA after scouting this place.
Beaches Visited:
Folly Beach - This beach is the most popular (read: CROWDED). It’s a super-wide beach, so don’t be scared to walk a while to find some open space. The people-watching is pretty fantastic, if you’re into that. Be aware that parking SUCKS at all the beaches. Get there early, be prepared to pay and walk. We took our Nemo Equipment sunshade and blanket, a cooler full of drinks and snacks, and we were set for the entire day.
Sullivan’s Island Beach - This beach is a little more secluded and less crowded than Folly Beach. There are really no commercial properties or hotels there. Be sure to come prepared with all the necessities for a day at the beach.
Breweries Visited:
Ghost Monkey - 522 Wando Lane Mt. Pleasant, SC
This is a super chill little brewery hidden back in an industrial park. There’s mostly outdoor seating, but the brewery does have a few indoor seats. The patio is very dog-friendly. We had the Summer Spice Ale and the Red Dead IPA. Both were really good (that coming from a non-IPA drinker). Ghost Monkey doesn't have a kitchen, but there is a food truck that looks to be there all the time. More on that in the Food section below.
Edmunds Oast - 1081 Morrison Drive Charleston, SC
This brewery is not our normal jam. There is a really nice, upscale restaurant onsite. We opted to stay in the patio area of the brewing company. There are dog-friendly areas in the patio, but there were not a ton of people bringing pups in. This is more of a brewery to BE SEEN AT. I had the Leather Jacket beer, which seems to still be on the menu at the time of me writing this. Edmunds Oast does have a WIDE variety of beers, which is very appreciated. Not a bad brewery, just not one where we’d go to chill out.
Westbrook - 510 Ridge Road Mt. Pleasant, SC
Just up the road from Ghost Monkey Brewery, is Westbrook Brewing. We passed this one up first because we thought it looked too fancy for how we were dressed. But we got over that after having a couple of drinks at Ghost Monkey. We found this brewery to be unpretentious and quite delicious. 90% of the seating is outdoors, so be aware that in the summer it can get hot. There’s a pretty small menu that’s heavy on stouts (my favorite) and bees with a high alcohol content. We had the Beer To Drink When It’s Hot Outside and Buried Treasure. Also try the Mexican Cake, which came highly recommended from the couple sitting at our picnic table. Apparently, there are food trucks that visit here, but they were not there on our visit. Nevertheless, I’d absolutely visit here again.
Food Eaten:
Dashi - Biggest surprise of the trip. This little Asian-Latin fusion food truck delivered on a fantastic dinner (They also have a proper restaurant in Charleston). We ordered the Thai Wing and the Bao Bun with Pork Belly. If it hadn’t been so hot outside, we probably would have ordered more. Seriously delicious.
Edmunds Oast- The menu outside of the full restaurant consists of pizza, sandwiches and apps. We ordered the Peach Ricotta Pizza, which I don’t see on the menu.. so i’m not sure if we ordered a special? In any case, it was fine. I have a feeling that the full restaurant is probably pretty good from the looks of the pictures and how crowded the parking lot was. For us, this was an OK meal. Nothing to write home about.
Extras:
Congaree National Park - No trip in Brakayla the Vanagon is complete without a trip to a National Park. Congaree is around 2 hours Northwest of Charleston. If you are into fishing, canoeing and kayaking, this is your park. The park is an old growth forest that is full of peace and quiet. All camping must be done in a tent, there are no drive-in sites. Because of our lack of time left in the weekend, we only took a hike on the boardwalk. If you have a limited amount of time like we did, the boardwalk will give you a great overview of what this park is about.
Old Home Tours - When I list this, I’m listing it very generally. There are a million and one kinds of walking tours you can take in Charleston. Ghost tours! Carriage tours! Haunted carriage tours! If you click HERE you can find a small listing of tours around town. All you really need to do is find an old street and take a walk. We took a walk down Church Street and took in the beautiful architecture. May I suggest if you’re thinking about a plantation tour, look into THESE , which highlight the African American experience and aren’t all about slavery (Because for as beautiful as a plantation is, it’s still where the heart of slavery was).
The trip gave us a much needed break from the day-to-day. Let us know if we missed anything good. Might be worth another visit!
-Bink