Sunday Road Trip

On Sunday, I woke up early in South Carolina. While Jake and Carla slept, I read my book in bed so as not to disturb them. Finally, everyone was a awake and had their coffee. Jake lent me a smaller suitcase to use for my birthday trip to Charleston.

We hit he road for what is officially called a "Jake and Carla Style" vacation. Let me explain: Most people would go somewhere and stay in an inexpensive hotel/motel. They would see the sights and probably have a big dinner (that they may or may not like) at a nice restaurant. But, Jake and Carla have worked out an alternative method. Since they rarely go on vacation, they do it up right and stay in a nice hotel. Then, and this only works in so-called "walking towns" (examples in Michigan might be Royal Oak or Plymouth, but not, say, Novi), they walk around, check out some of the sights, stop in a restaurants they choose every couple of hours and order two appetizers that they share.

The result is that you can eat (without getting full) at a variety of place and try a lot of different food and, while you might be disappointed in one or two items, you haven't spent everything on one single disappointing meal. Sounds complicated, but it works for them.

So, we got there in about two hours. I don't want to go into all the historical details, but it a very old, very beautiful town with an active historical board that keeps it that way (for example, "NOTHING old can be torn down except by the hand of God!")

We parked the car in a parking structure (parking is a real problem there with the narrow streets and all the tourists). Then we took a walk. We stopped at Tommy Condon's Irish Pub - our appetizers there were Dublin Rolls (Corned Beef, Swiss & Vegetable Egg Rolls, Fried Golden Brown & Served With Mustard & House Slaw) and Fried Green Tomatoes (with Ranch Dressing & Corn Relish). Both were excellent! Those were the best fried green tomatoes I ever ate (and I used to pride myself on my fried green tomatoes). Then we walked through the oldest market in the US. It was sort of a quaint version of Detroit's Eastern Market, but with narrow buildings that ran the length of several city blocks. In the summertime, all the inside stalls open up onto the sidewalk. We didn't explore it all then, because Jake said we had a 1:00 PM appointment.

So, we walked over past numerous stables (there are a plethora of carriage ride companies that service Charleston) until we got to one where Jake had reserved a four person private carriage ride. Interestingly enough, there are so many carriages (most of them that hold like 10-15 people) that there is a lottery system that gives each carriage one of four districts they can go to. We stopped at an old wooden booth and they gave us a green tag, which meant we could got down to the water, where most of the more elaborate homes are.

The architecture is quite unique the with homes mostly one room wide and long (sort of what we would call a shotgun house in Michigan, but two or three stories high and always with a south facing porch on each level to catch the breeze off the Atlantic in the hot summers.

The driver was very knowledgeable, and I learned about the fire insurance plaques built into the houses, the fire towers (there are two left) built because back when the houses were wooden, fires were catastrophic, the so-called "volunteer fencing" (wooden fences between thick masonry pillars that used to be wrought iron - people would donate their iron fences to the Confederacy to make cannonballs), why only one old church still has bells in the belfry (same reason, donated to the war effort) and so on.

Then we walked back and retrieved the car. We drove to our hotel, Charleston Place. I won't attempt to describe it, but will just post some of the pictures Jake took for me. After I got done oohing and ahhing, we took another walk, this time to Pearlz Oyster Bar, where our appetizers were Gulf Oysters (One dozen raw served with cocktail sauce, hot sauce and mignonette sauce) and Tuna Tartare (Roasted tomato-caper vinaigrette, marinated cucumber & red onion salad, grilled baguette). Both were excellent. I especially like the contrast of the usual cocktail sauce on the oysters versus the vinegary mignonette sauce. Then we really explored the market.

When we tired of that, we walked to Poogan's Porch and had Pimiento Cheese Fritters (Served with green tomato jam) and Scallop and Pork Belly (Served with pickled shallots, arugula puree and barbecue reduction). The Pimiento Cheese Fritters were totally forgettable (they are big on Pimiento Cheese down here) but the scallop was perfectly cooked and, if you have never eaten pork belly, DO IT!

In walking during the early evening, I noticed the Spanish moss on some of the trees. Now, I know how Southerns go on about it, but I have to admit, it was like something out of a ghost story for me!

We walked back to the hotel and took a much-needed break. We played a new game that they got called "Cards Against Humanity" which was hilarious. Finally, for our final meal of the day, we went to the Thoroughbred Club inside the hotel. This time we splurged and got three appetizers: Barbaricina Seared Scallops (Diver Scallops, Sweet and Sour Wild Mushrooms, Pancetta), Hollywood Park Asian Pot Stickers (Rock Shrimp, Pork, Shiitake Mushrooms, Sweet Chili Sauce) and the Chef’s Selection of Artisan Cheese. All three were winners!

We walked out back to the rear fountain. High-end car dealers park their new vehicles around it to entice you. I decided I wanted the Porsche! Just putting that out there for birthday gift ideas for next year, BTW.

We then retired to our respective rooms for the night. I was surprised at how little my legs had been affected with all the walking. But, that oversized tub was calling me... So, I filled it up with warm water and used a little shampoo for bubble bath and soaked in it until it cooled. Then I got up and realized I was all covered with soap (duh) and took a rinse-off shower. [Question to self: How did we rinse off as kids when we always took baths? I don't know or remember. I guess we didn't.]

I dressed in the hotel-provided robe (I skipped the matching slippers) and read on the couch for a bit. But, the big bed was calling me, so I went there after a while. I read until I started dozing and then shut off the lights and went to sleep for real.