Charleston: Spring Break in the South - Days 1-2

Spanish Moss always makes me think of old southern cities like Charleston.

UPDATED: 2/5/2023

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In April 2016, we spent 4 days in Charleston with a day-trip to a really cool island off the coast. We actually had to cut the trip a day short because we got sick and so missed seeing a few other sights but still had a wonderful time.

First, a short geography lesson - Charleston is a 17 mile long peninsula sandwiched between the Ashley and Cooper Rivers. At its tip is Charleston Harbor, an inlet just off of the Atlantic Ocean. In the downtown portion, the width of the peninsula is about a mile, with the downtown area in a 4-5 square mile area. In short, it is incredibly walkable. And with so much to see, walking around the city is a great way to go!

Day 1 - Charleston’s French Quarter

South Carolina’s French Quarter is fun to walk around, especially if you appreciate architecture.

The drive from our home in Virginia to Charleston is about 7 hours, so while we got an early start, it was still fairly late in the day by the time we arrived and checked in to Courtyard Charleston Historic District. We were meeting my in-laws there to vacation together.

After getting settled and finding some restaurants that looked good online, we decided to grab a map and go exploring while also seeking a good, Southern meal.

We arrived on a Saturday in early April with nice spring weather. Why we thought we’d find many restaurant options without reservations is anyone’s guess. We wandered to the French Quarter, which started just a short walk from our hotel. The buildings and uneven sidewalks were quaint, and it was a perfect evening for a walk. By the time we got to the heart of things, it was clear that it was a busy night, and then we learned the power was out in the area so several restaurants were closed, and the others had ridiculous wait times. After a while, we were pretty hungry and realized it was time to turn around and wander back towards our hotel in search of restaurants with electricity.

By the time we arrived at Swamp Fox Restaurant, located in the Francis Marion Hotel (Francis Marion’s nickname was “Swamp Fox” in case you were wondering), we had a good 2+ miles of walking in. That hotel was just across Marion Square from our hotel. I mean, a good walk to work up an appetite after a long day in the car is never a bad thing. Wearing shoes that cause blisters, however, is best avoided.

While I no longer remember what we all ordered for dinner, I remember we were all happy with our meals. The restaurant features Southern favorites like Shrimp n’ Grits and Southern twists on other entrees. The atmosphere is what I would describe as elegant club house.

Day 2 - Magnolia Plantation

Magnolia Plantation: the house tour was unexciting but the grounds were worthwhile. (boy there’s a ringing endorsement!)

In the morning we walked just a couple of blocks to Saffron Bakery for breakfast. The food was fine, though nothing special, and our experience was a bit odd. Our server seemed unsure of what he was doing, so there is a chance he was new. The bakery bills itself as a combination of Lowcountry and Middle Eastern fare and had a lot of dessert displays.

Walking back to the hotel, a friendly man said hello to us outside of church catty-corner to our hotel. He was getting ready for their Sunday morning service. (You’ll see later why this came to mean something more later in the day.)

To get to Magnolia Plantation , we had to hop in the car and drive north about 20 minutes. As of this writing, tour tickets are not available for purchase online; however, we didn’t have any difficulty purchasing tickets upon arrival. The home is still owned by the private family who has owned the property for 12 generations. I found the style and architecture of house to be quite unique. The tour lasts 30+ minutes in total, and then we toured the gardens on our own.

One of my favorite parts of the house was the incredibly wide, sweeping porch that has views of all the surrounding gardens and, in the distance, the river. I have never seen such am immense, wide porch before!

Magnolia Plantation boasts large stairs and full wrap around patios.

One surprise to me is that the garden there was in the ‘romantic’ style - more natural and wooded - instead of highly cultivated and managed. The garden is touted as the “last large scale Romantic Garden in the United States”. Some of the features include ponds, picturesque bridges, tons and tons of azaleas. Magnolia Plantation says that it was the first place in the US to plant azaleas outdoors and several plants are varieties that were thought to be extinct before being identified there. So, it really is a one-of-a-kind. Their second most popular plant is the camellia. We found the maps and signage to be a little inaccurate, but it really didn’t matter since we just enjoyed wandering through the woods. We also spotted an alligator in a pond there - our first of the trip but far from our last!

We grabbed lunch at the cafe at Magnolia Plantation and ate it among the resident peacocks at a picnic table. The food was okay for a quick bite but nothing particularly exciting. Next, we headed to check out the Audubon Swamp Garden and trail, which was included in the admission ticket. The trail was really pretty amazing and one of my favorite parts of the day. It has a long, elevated bridge over swamp with trees growing up out of the water. There were a huge number of all types of interesting birds and more alligators, mostly small-ish ones.

A few criticisms of Magnolia Plantation are worth noting. First, be aware that the entrance fee of $20 per adult (as of June 2020) is only an entrance fee. All other portions of the site are add-ons at $8 each (including the house). When we visited the Audubon Swamp Garden was included in our main ticket but now is also $8 additional. This nickel-and-diming is a bit excessive. Secondly, the house has had extensive renovations and additions since the Civil War era and is a more modern house overall than visitors might be expecting. Third and most importantly, in our experience, the house tour did not address or acknowledge the issue of slavery at all. When a member of the party inquired, the topic was brushed off with a comment that it wasn’t included in the tour. There is also now a ‘Slavery to Freedom’ section of the property with cabins of slaves (at an additional $8/person). The sense we got is that the family that has owned the property all these years and the employees there would rather not talk about slavery and are less than happy when it comes up. This is problematic. A fourth note that I can’t personally speak to but have read from others online is that the site is not particularly accessible for those with mobility challenges, so be aware of that, too.

As we headed back to Charleston, we all of a sudden remembered the Charleston church shooting. While we certainly knew about it, we hadn’t actively connected it with the fact that we were in Charleston. And all of a sudden having seen how small the downtown area was, we wondered where Emanuel AME was located and turned to Google. We found out it was the church right across the street from our hotel, the one where the man had waved to us that morning, and, as experiences like that do, it brought an event that felt distant much closer.

To me, it is the epitome of sadness that a city that had so recently experienced violence based on racial prejudice, a former Plantation was still not able to come to grips with its dark past. Sometimes the South is full of pleasant surprises; sometimes it lives up to its unfortunate reputation. I say this as someone who lives in the South myself.

I don’t say any of this to mar the beauty of Charleston and of it being a wonderful place to visit, but these were some of our reflections of the trip that I wanted to include in writing about it.

Back at our hotel, we enjoyed some cocktails on the front porch, chatted about the day, and then walked to Smoke BBQ down the street for a delicious barbecue dinner. Barbecue done correctly is a beautiful thing! In September 2019, Smoke BBQ on King Street closed its restaurant "indefinitely" and cited rising rent. They have plans to offer catering and may open up another location at some point.

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