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| Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, Charleston, SC |
Marquis de Lafayette: “Charleston is one of the best built, handsomest, and most agreeable cities that I have ever seen.”
For years, my wife and I have heard about the great city of Charleston, South Carolina from our friends, and through the Travel Channel, while living in Pennsylvania. In fact, back around 2018 or so, one of my wife’s coworkers recommended the city after her trip to the city.
She extolled the virtues of that city, especially after her visit to the Charleston Tea Garden, the only tea garden in North America. She brought back a delicious peach tea bag from the tea garden for us to sample, and we were intrigued ever since! When our pack (my wife, myself, and Toby, our Pomeranian) made the reservation to stay 3 months in Murrells Inlet area, we had to check out the city!
Charleston was founded in 1670 as a port city, and it is famous for its cobblestone streets, horse drawn carriages, and pastel colored elegant historic homes along the waterfront and the French Quarter. Fort Sumter, is famous for its role as the place where first shots of the Civil War rang out.
We knew during our planning phase to Charleston that we were in for a treat, but we didn’t expect the city to be as phenomenal as it is! We had visited another famous southern city, Savannah (Georgia), but the size of the city was what differentiates the two cities.
Due to the immense size of the city and things to do around the city, we decided to visit the city on multiple occasions. The drive from our rental in Murrells Inlet to Charleston takes about 2 hours via Highway 17.
The highway passes through idyllic seaside towns like Pawley’s Island and Litchfield, then through Georgetown, known for the waterfront area and historic homes. Stretch of highway past Georgetown opens up to sparsely populated areas dotted with nature preserves and ancient forests.
As the sparsely populated areas gave way slowly but surely to suburbs of Charleston, we noticed a dramatic uptick in traffic. By the time we passed through Mt. Pleasant, it felt like we were back in the suburbs of Philadelphia!
For our first trip to Charleston, we wanted to try a local vegan restaurant in downtown area. My wife ordered when we were about 20 minutes out from the restaurant so we can time it just right for the pickup.
We arrived on time to see our food was prepared and ready! The restaurant, Gnome Cafe, is a bright and airy restaurant along President Street. When I walked in to pick up the food, tables were already half full, at around 11 a.m.
I ordered the ‘chicken’ sandwich with French fries while my wife ordered the ‘bulgogi’ stir fry. We headed towards the waterfront area, passing brightly colored historic homes and stores (and plenty of visitors), so we can eat while enjoying the scenery.
Her food was ok, but mine was excellent. My vegan sandwich actually tasted like chicken and fries were really good (and huge portions)! We ended up eating the leftover fries the next day.
After finish eating our food, we suddenly got worried about the parking situation. We weren’t sure if it was ok to park where we were parked, so we ended up going around the block to see if there was any public parking. After not finding one, we ended up in the same spot we had just left.
We spotted a police cruiser parked near the same spot, so we asked where we can park for about 2 hours, and to our delight, the friendly/helpful officer told us the spot along the waterfront was perfectly fine. After getting our parking situation taken care of, we ventured out to experience the city!
Here are our recommendations for top attractions near the city of Charleston:
- Joe Riley Waterfront Park
This was the first place we visited, as it also happened to be where we ate our lunch. After parking our car, we headed towards the waterfront. The views were absolutely magnificent!
Joe Riley Waterfront Park is named after former mayor Joseph P. Riley, and it is located in one of the most expensive areas in Charleston. The park features walkways, promenade, water fountains, and is a haven for bird watchers.
We immediately noticed people enjoying the park even though it was a rather chilly and windy day in January. After giving Toby some water and treats, we started towards the fishing pier located on the southern part of the park.
We saw a large group of tourists with a local guide, learning about the history and culture of Charleston. After eavesdropping for few seconds, we stopped at the fishing pier for a moment to enjoy the magnificent scenery!
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| Joe Riley Waterfront Park, SC |
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| View from the fishing pier, Joe Riley Waterfront Park |
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| Beautiful views and walking paths |
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| Just loved the bare naked tree trunks! |
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| Some of the historic homes, pastel colored! |
As we looked back towards the houses, we marveled at how brightly colored many of the houses were. It was very similar to places like Miami, and we absolutely loved it.
After enjoying the pier for several minutes, we took the walking path and headed north. The park really opens up as you head north. There are beautiful landscaping along the waterfront, with benches for contemplating.
Toby was excited to be at the park. He at times pulled us, begging us to run faster, to keep up with him. We haven’t seen him enjoy a new park this much in some time, and we were happy for him.
The inner part of the park reminded us of Central Park in New York City with its tree lined walkway providing a nice cover from the heat during hot summer days. Even the way the benches were laid out, reminded us of Central Park.
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| Joe Riley Waterfront Park |
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| Toby’s windswept hair! |
We walked slowly taking in all the different stimuli at the park. We loved the expansive views of the waterfront with views of the iconic Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge. We loved the different waterfowl and seabirds.
We stopped at where the giant water fountain, designed like the pineapple, was located. It was definitely one of the focal points of the park that has many focal points!
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| Pineapple water fountain |
As we got near the concrete promenade, we saw several young men were weaving and creating crafty items like roses, made from sweetgrass. They were really neat to see.
The promenade has some neat features, including a swinging bench, Water Taxi dock, and fantastic views of the waterfront and the city. We had to spend several minutes there, despite the cold! Toby at times, was running on the promenade! He was so happy to be there…
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| View from the promenade |
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| Beautiful promenade at Joe Riley Waterfront Park |
- The Battery/White Point Garden
After finishing our exploration of Joe Riley Waterfront Park, we looked for a public restroom, and we found it inside the Hazel Parker Playground. We were so relieved in more ways than one!
After our pit stop, we headed out to our second destination, the Battery/White Point Garden, which is just to the south of Joe Riley Waterfront Park. We found plenty of parking spots right along E. Battery/E. Bay Street.
The Battery is named for a Civil War-era coastal defense artillery battery, and it features a beautiful promenade along the waterfront. White Point Gardens is a 5.7 acre public park/garden along E. Battery and Murray Blvd.
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| Murray Blvd., the Battery, Charleston, SC |
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| The Battery, Charleston, SC |
After parking, we got out to take a look at the White Point Gardens first. Immediately, we were impressed by colorful, stately homes lining the E. Bay Street. These homes look like million bucks! In fact, I researched homes near the Battery, and many were easily over that price. Wow!
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| This reminded us of the White House in Washington D.C. |
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| The Battery, Charleston, WV |
We simply loved that part of Charleston. It reminded us again of South Beach area, in Miami, with its colorful buildings, vibrant culture, water views, and visitors (us included!). Along the park, we saw many memorials/statues of the fallen, including USS Hobson Memorial and William Moultrie (a general during the Revolutionary War) Monument.
Along the park, we saw many remnants of cannons and cannonballs used during the Civil War. It was fascinating to touch and feel a little bit of history at the park…
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| Murray Blvd., the Battery, Charleston, WV |
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| Cannon and cannonballs! |
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| A cannon along Murray Blvd |
We started to walk along the promenade like most people after finishing our exploration of the park. We loved the views from the promenade. Being at the tip of the peninsula, it reminded us of Battery Park in New York City.
Views were unmatched and the joyous pastel colored historic homes really made for a beautiful walk along the promenade. While we were walking, a nice lady offered to take photos of our pack, which we couldn’t refuse. We thanked her and briefly chatted about Toby and about the city. Ah, Southern Charm is awesome!
Charleston Tea Garden is North America’s only tea plantation, where Camellia Sinensis plants (otherwise known as tea) are grown. Located in the historic island of Wadmalaw, the plantation sits on 127 acres, and is a must see destination for all lovers of tea as well as culture and history.
On a beautiful sunny January morning, our pack took off for the tea garden. The drive would take us past the city of Charleston, along Route 700. I was so excited to be driving on a brand new road on our way to the garden!
The drive past Charleston is magical. The roads seem to be something out of an old time movie, with its lack of traffic (at least that day), beautiful scenery (of bridges, marshes, and small villages), and trees along the roads creating a canopy along parts of Route 700 as we got near the plantation.
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| Route 700 South |
When we arrived, we were greeted by the sign at the entrance. We drove into the plantation and saw how immense the place is. There appeared to be miles and miles of tea plants just sunbathing in the morning sun.
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| Entrance to the Charleston Tea Garden |
We continued on to the visitor parking area to eat our lunch before checking out the place. My wife made vegan fajitas and they were superb! We gulped them down, then started our exploration.
Following the sign to the visitor center, we made a pit stop at the restroom. We couldn’t help but notice fragrant smells of peaches, raspberries, and mangos wafting through the air nearby. We loved the smells even if we were standing next to the restroom!
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| Visitor center, Charleston Tea Garden |
We made our way inside to the visitor center but noticed pets were not allowed. Each of us went inside (one at a time, so one of us can stay with Toby) to check out the gift shop and various tea flavors. We bought two packages of peach flavored tea (our favorite), one for us, and the other for our good neighbors upstairs.
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| Peach tea bought from the gift shop |
We walked around the front of the visitor center and took a look at the huge oak trees in front of the visitor center as well as the historic marker about the garden. We also walked around the planted tea plants neatly laid out across from the visitor center. What a sight!
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| Trolley wasn’t running during our visit |
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| Gigantic oak tree |
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| Tea plants! |
- Mount Pleasant Memorial Waterfront Park
Located under the Arthur Ravenel Bridge, Mount Pleasant Memorial Waterfront Park is the crown jewel of Mount Pleasant, featuring a beautiful concrete promenade, the River Watch Cafe, a fishing pier, and plenty of lawn for families to enjoy. I found this place via Google search for a ‘scenic parks near Charleston’, and it did not disappoint! Wow, what a park!
We stopped by this park on the same day we visited the Charleston Tea Garden, as it was on our way back home. We were so glad we did, as this was a phenomenal park. We parked in one of the parking spots near the visitor center, and used the restroom, which was incredibly clean and modern.
We headed toward the pier and already we fell in love with the place. The views are majestic! The perfect combination of modern, man made structure of bridge, buildings, promenade, sprinkled with nature is what makes this park just about perfect!
There are neat paintings and statues along the pathways to the fishing pier/promenade. They are so whimsical!
We took a moment near the cafe to fully embrace the new stimuli. There were many seabirds resting along the marsh area, and we saw people fishing at the pier. The views are expansive, and the bridge isn’t too shabby either!
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| River Watch Cafe with USS Yorktown in the distance |
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| Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge |
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| Promenade/fishing pier |
Once we got on the promenade/fishing pier, we noticed towards north, a huge aircraft carrier, which turned out to be USS Yorktown. A retired World War Two-era aircraft carrier USS Yorktown is moored in Charleston these days as a museum, and it reminded me of the Intrepid Museum in New York City. It was a cool sight!
We walked towards the end of the pier then headed back when we saw what appeared to be two dolphins swimming nearby. It turned out, they were dolphins! They were slowly gliding in and out of the water, effortlessly making their way towards north. We followed them for a good 3 minutes until they disappeared out of view. That was perhaps the highlight of the day!
Honorable mention:
Our neighbors upstairs had recommended we check out the Angel Oak, also known as the “Lowcountry treasure”, located near Charleston Tea Garden. Angel Oak is believed to be about 400-500 years old and it stands 66.5 feet tall, with circumference of 28 feet.
Unfortunately, when we arrived the gate/entrance was closed and we had to take a peek from outside the steel chained fence. Bummer…
We did get a sense of how immense this tree is. When visiting Charleston area, certainly stop by, just not on a Wednesday! Please check with their website for latest information on hours of operation.
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| Angel Oak, SC |
In conclusion:
Charleston was much more than we had imagined prior to our visit. We knew the city would be nice, but there’s something very charming about this southern city, from the pastel colored historic homes/buildings, gorgeous waterfront, to Charleston Tea Garden.
The city grew on us immediately, as soon as we saw the waterfront area. Toby’s excitement about the city he was exploring, was icing on the cake, as he absolutely loved walking and exploring the city with his tiny legs(and paws), strutting and prancing his way into the hearts of people everywhere!
We highly recommend this beautiful southern city. It combines a perfect combination of culture, history, nature, and friendly people, embellished with southern charm!
Thank you all for reading!
Jake
Wandering Money Pig
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