The 2020 holidays sure were different. Understandably, neither of our families wanted to host Christmas. Having a large gathering indoors isn’t the smartest thing to do during a pandemic after all. So, Nisheet and I decided to take a road trip and put some miles on our new Subaru Forester. We were itching to get out of the house, but we wanted to do it as safe as possible. So, we loaded up with a bunch of hand sanitizers, masks, and Lysol spray, and we planned an itinerary that would keep us (mostly) in the great outdoors. The first stop on our tour was Charleston. We spent 2 days there, and it absolutely blew us away.

Day 1

We started our first day off wandering the northern section of King’s Street. Although some of the buildings look old, the area feels modern and hip. There are tons of trendy shops, cute restaurants, and delicious coffee shops.

After parking our car, the first order of business was getting some good coffee. For that, we popped into the Kudu Coffee shop. Their coffee was top notch but the best part was their backyard garden complete with a small fountain that provided a nice and relaxing ambiance. After finishing our coffee, we decided that we needed some breakfast. So, Nisheet led us to Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit. Callie’s is really hard to miss as there will most certainly be a line out the door visible from a few blocks away. Because of social distancing, the line looked enormous, but it moved really quickly. At no time at all, we were in the tiny little biscuit shop. We ordered a biscuit with sausage, egg, and spicy pimento cheese. The biscuit was perfectly flaky, and the spicy pimento cheese added a nice twist to the classic breakfast sandwich. Yum!

After breakfast and some more strolling around, we headed over to the visitor center. I read that they were hosting beautifully decorated Christmas trees, and since we were so close, why not? I wasn’t expecting much, but we were completely blown away. The “museum” was full of fun tidbits and interesting facts about Charleston organized in a neat timeline. What I thought would be a quick 15 minute walk through turned into a couple of hours of learning all about the city. Did you know that Charleston was originally called Charles Town in honor of King Charles II and that the city is also known as the Holy City due to the many spires that dot the skyline.

And, what I had read about the Christmas tree were true! They were so fun, and they were all for a charity or organization. My favorite was a tree full of flamingo decorations.

  After absorbing all of the history, we were ready to explore the city some more. Since we knew we had another full day here, we took our time walking around. We leisurely checked out all the cool looking shops and wandered down all the cute alleys. One of our favorite shops was a candle store called Candlefish where you could get a custom made candle with your favorite fragrance.

Eventually, we made our way to the Historic Charleston City Market. The historic market has been in operations since 1788. You can find local craftsmen selling everything from hand made Sweetgrass baskets to hats to paintings to soap. Imagine a huge Sunday market under one long roof. It is definitely worth a visit if you have never been but it isn’t somewhere I have any desire to go back to. Everything seemed overpriced and very touristy. Having said that, it is still worth a stop to see and talk to the Sweetgrass basket weavers who have been selling their intricately designed handmade baskets for generations at the City Market.

After speeding through the market, we headed over to the Joe Riley Waterfront Park to enjoy the last little bit of daylight. The pier was really cool, and we got to watch a huge cargo ship pass by. But my favorite part was the Pineapple Fountain. Not only is it just a wonderful looking and pleasant sounding fountain, but it brings back a lot of memories. My great aunt used to live in Charleston, and she would bring me here to play when I was a kid. And, then there was that time I got in trouble… but that story is for another time.

By this point we were famished. We had split a biscuit for breakfast and were running on coffee fumes. So, we headed back towards the car. Along the way, we were treated to a beautiful display of Christmas lights. We hadn’t seen many decorations up until this point, so it was nice to finally start seeing the Christmas spirit in the city.

For dinner, we went to The Tattooed Moose. I mean, how can you not go to a place with that name? It was a laid back bar with the ultimate Christmas decorations, delicious sandwiches (go for Mike’s Famous Duck Club), and a good selection of local beers. And, there was live music too! I imagine that during normal times this place is absolutely packed, but during 2020, they only had a few tables inside which was fine by us.

Day 2

We started our second day in Charleston at the Angel Oak. To be honest, I was unsure if a tree should be on itinerary. I’ve seen a lot of large trees in my life. Plus, the tree wasn’t even in Charleston. It was a 20 minute drive away on Johns Island. But, the instant we got there and parked our car, we were in awe! The tree isn’t just giant. It is ginormous! It was so cool to trace a branch as it descended to the ground, tunneled through the dirt, and popped back out again and again. Majority of the tree was covered in green moss that protected it from the elements and made the tree look even more magical. Some of the branches were so long that they had to use wooden stilts to hold them up. Pretty darn neat. And the admission was free!

After spending some time at the Angel Oak, we of course went back into Charleston. We didn’t have a specific itinerary and spent the day wandering around. Nisheet planned out a self-guided walking tour containing the biggest mansions in the city. So, we walked down street after street with the most amazing houses and made up stories of what the people’s lives must be like. Eventually we made our way to the Ashley River and then looped back along Murray Blvd towards the Battery.

The Battery is a neat little park at the tip of Charleston where you can see the various forts across the water. There aren’t many displays describing any history, but there are plenty of canons and canon ball piles for kids to play on. And there are also tons of carriages on the streets, beautiful old houses, and a nice boardwalk along the water.

After the Battery, we continued just wandering around. We saw one of Charleston’s top tourist attractions; the Rainbow Row which is a row of beautiful colorful houses. Then we headed to the public pier, and finally to the Heyward-Washington House.

And after the sun set, we continued walking around to see the Christmas light. It was absolutely magical seeing the historic houses decorated and all lit up.