Charleston

Last Thursday, Drew and Jennifer had to attend an annual regional meeting for Dan Ryan Builders in Charleston, SC. For them, the meeting culminated in the receipt of a bonus check - definitely worth the trip - and, always on the lookout for adventure and an excuse to visit family in Georgia, I tagged along for the ride, too. We left really early on Thursday morning and arrived in Charleston with just enough time for Drew and Jenn to change and grab some lunch before heading to their meeting downtown. I spent the rest of the afternoon working remotely [and, let's be honest, napping] in our hotel room, which was just over the bridge from Downtown Charleston. While we weren't smack dab in the middle of the city, our hotel was really nice since it was recently renovated, and it was an absolute steal compared to other rates in town.

When business was finished, I joined Drew and Jenn at a bar/restaurant downtown to smile and shake hands with their coworkers, then Drew and I headed off in search of dinner. Just as we were getting dangerously close to the desperate kind of hungry that makes it difficult to think clearly or kindly, we stumbled upon Fire Street Food, a tiny place with a reassuring number of college students and twenty-somethings sitting at little tables along one long bench seat.  I had a Fire House Salad and Gang Leuring (yellow curry), and Drew had Koar Mee (stir-fried noodles); whether because the chefs were awfully authentic or because we were starving or because I've been deprived of curry since leaving Spicy Thai behind in Provo, the food was perfect. It turns out there is one other location - in Savannah - good to know. After dinner, we headed back to our hotel room and watched the Olympics from the comfort of our king-sized bed with a million fluffy pillows.

In the morning, we had breakfast at the restaurant in our hotel, which was fine, but not spectacular. I would have preferred a simple bowl of cereal, but this was no ordinary continental breakfast. In fact, a sign at the door insisted that "Gentlemen Must Remove Hats" - it was mostly amusing, but also a minor inconvenience for Drew's unwashed, uncombed hair... After eating and packing up, we picked Jenn up from her hotel where the rest of the DRB employees were staying with plans to see the city before heading to Georgia. Mother Nature wasn't entirely cooperative given that Charleston was under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning that morning. Working from the advice of the maître d' at Jenn's hotel, we headed to the waterfront to see what were supposed to be the best views in Charleston.

It was so.very.windy, so we didn't get far before the cold and sandy spray made us turn around in search of more sheltered entertainment. We headed towards City Market, an [indoor] market with local foods and crafts and whatnot, taking in as much of the scenic route along the way as we could.

Before we got to City Market, it started raining pretty hard, so we tucked the camera away at this point. We eventually made it, damp but no worse for the wear, and spent the next hour or so wandering around the booths. I found some really neat wood-cut ornaments at one booth, so Drew and I finally started a tradition of collecting something (a Christmas tree ornament or something that can be made into one) everywhere we visit. Given the rain and the fact that everyone else walking around downtown had the same idea for staying dry, City Market was pretty crowded and a little suffocating, so we moved along to Tommy Condon's, an Irish Pub we passed on the way back to the car, and found more fantastic Charleston food. When we were finished with lunch, the rain was coming in waves, but with a 2-hour parking limit running out, we had to brave the elements. After walking a few blocks together, Drew ran back to the car and left Jenn and I waiting in the entryway of a business across from a rather sketchy corner store. Drew found the car just fine, but with our luck, it wouldn't start. Jenn and I decided to patronize that sketchy store, mostly just to justify using the bathroom and waiting inside, out of the rain. Before long, Drew got the car started - it was just a bad battery connection, so some wiggling did the trick - and we were rescued.  

Jenn and I were both born in Charleston, but other than that important life event, I had zero [remembered] experiences with Savannah's sister city before this weekend. Charleston really does remind me of Savannah in a lot of ways, with an extra helping of Southern charm and refinement (and perhaps an slightly stronger air of social snobbery). We really loved the city - the relatively little that we saw of it, anyway - and definitely plan to visit again whenever fate and fortune (and hopefully next time, Mother Nature) see fit.