Schaicks in Charleston

 Welcome to part 2 of the family vacation! If you missed Savannah, keep scrolling...

After we left Savannah, we headed north into South Carolina. There were lots of swamps and alligator signs... and Sam did a little fishing. The only alligator we saw was sadly dead on the side of the road! 

Our first views of Charleston after a bus and walk down to the battery: Fort Sumter! More on that later. 

The perfect sunny backdrop for Rainbow Row. 

Exploring the battery, beautiful old homes, and green spaces. 

I've never wanted a home covered in well-manicured ivy until this trip! It is truly amazing what you can do without a threat of winter.

Exploring King Street at dusk

And we had to stop for the infamous Jeni's ice cream for dinner! We were all raving about our flavor choices (I think the "sunshine" I had was maybe the best I've ever had?) and now I'm kind of mad we didn't go back. 

Our first full day in Charleston: the boys went fishing and Mom and I did some shopping on King St. Blue Bicycle Books delivered with our search for Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil! 

I had heard great things about the downtown staple, Candlefish. They have a smelling library with only numbered scents; they want you to smell them and tell their associates what you like and they will help you find your favorites, instead of you coming with pre-conceived notions of scents you already like. It was really cool and their staff was the nicest! I obviously came home with a few. 

More exploring of King Street. We stopped for some incredible cupcakes at Sugar Bakeshop and enjoyed them in our air conditioning. 

That afternoon we did one of my Charleston "must-sees" which was a ferry out to Fort Sumter. I think we all underestimated how cool the experience was going to be. In additional to its historical significance, it was a very hot day and the boat ride and ocean breeze were very much appreciated. 

The fort was clearly destroyed in the Civil War (many times over) but what's still standing was cool to see. 

The views of the city were pretty cool, too. 

I would give our National Park host a 10/10 for sharing the history of this place and navigating the challenging conversations of race and the civil war. He led a group of volunteers taking down the massive American Flag as it was the last tour group of the day, and shared his thoughts on how we can grapple with racial divides, including the little known fact that slaves built basically the entire island and fort that we were standing on. The fort was owned by the federal government, aka the "Union" when the war erupted, was quickly taken over by the South, and was defended for years as a protection for the Charleston Harbor. Such an interesting history! 

On the way back to Charleston I took the quintessential dad joke snack opportunity. 

The next day we made our way downtown to the Charleston Market. It was massive and a combination of indoor and open-air market booths with all kinds of goodies from sweetgrass baskets to candy, puzzles, souvenirs, artwork, and jewelry. 

Brunch stop at Callie's hot little biscuit! These were divine and the nitro cold brew was perfect for another hot day of strolling. 

Another beautiful day of sunny skies, palm trees and spring flowers. It definitely felt like a vacation! 

We stopped a guy from Wisconsin to take our photo 

And on our last night we stopped at a barbecue place Sam had been recommended. Everybody left with full stomachs of brisket, and for me it was some excellent mac n cheese and a hearty portion of the best bean salad I've ever had! 

Can't wait to visit and eat my way through Charleston again sometime!