My husband Zack and I recently celebrated our ninth wedding anniversary on August 15th. In fact, many days in the month of August are special to us as a couple. Our first conversations happened shortly after I moved into my dorm building at MSU in August 2003. And August 21st is our dating anniversary; this week will mark 14 years together, which is absolutely wild!
We’ve been very lucky to commemorate our wedding anniversary with a trip or two in the past. Our first anniversary was celebrated in Traverse City, and our fifth anniversary was marked with a trip to New Orleans. This year, as Zack’s work schedule will continue to get crazier in the months leading up to November, our anniversary weekend seemed like a great time to get away for a few days. It also helps that Margot is old enough to enjoy a weekend away from mama and dada every now and then.
In considering where we wanted to go for this quick Friday-Sunday weekend getaway, we thought about places we’ve been to before and loved, such as New York City and Las Vegas. But after my trip to Portland, Maine earlier this year, it has become clear to me that there are so many cool places to visit around the country that we’ve never been to before.
Charleston, South Carolina has topped Travel + Leisure’s list of the Top 15 Cities in the United States for the last five years. It has felt like the city is becoming a top destination for a quick weekend getaway, thanks to its beautiful architecture, ever-growing food scene, and long history. Also, the show “Southern Charm” is probably the reason why so many young women are flocking there for bachelorette weekends.
For us, Charleston felt like the perfect spot to enjoy our anniversary together. And thankfully, we had some help from friends to steer us in the right direction while we were there. Here’s a rundown of where we stayed, what we ate (which was a lot), and what we did.
Lodging
I wasn’t very familiar with the geography of Charleston before we went, but based on places we knew we would want to eat and visit, it seemed like we would want to be close to King St. As we looked at potential hotel options, we quickly realized that the places we read about in write-ups of the city were all pretty pricy. Airbnb ended up being a great option for us. We found a beautiful apartment on Queen St., just a block away from popular restaurants Husk and Poogan’s Porch and near King St. This apartment had plenty of space for us and very cool furnishings, including a totally updated bathroom. The location ended up being perfect for us, and the cost was less than the hotels in the area.
Eating
Anyone who knows me knows that I love to plan trips around the places we’ll eat and when we’ll eat there. It’s such a part of experiencing a city for me, and luckily, Charleston was definitely going to deliver some fantastic meals.
Based on my own online digging and recommendations from friends, we settled on Husk and Halls Chophouse for our special dinners. I made reservations well in advance; we ended up eating at 8:30pm and 8:00pm at each spot respectively, and while we normally like to do dinner earlier in the day, it made it easier to sneak in some yummy lunches earlier in the day without feeling too full.
But first things first. After we arrived in Charleston on Friday afternoon, we dropped off our bags at the Airbnb and then walked about a mile north to Stella’s for lunch. I mean, how could we not eat at this place? Stella’s is a very cool Greek restaurant located near the College of Charleston’s campus, and we ended up walking past a lot of orientations and move-ins on our way there.
It was tough to decide on what to order because everything sounded fantastic, but I settled on a couple of appetizers: feta wrapped in phyllo with honey and lemon, and grilled octopus.
These were both so delicious! Zack ordered a gyro, which was also really great. I would love to go back to this spot for dinner some time, with lots of people so we could order different things to try!
Our dinner Friday night was at Husk. It was really nice to have the restaurant be so close to our Airbnb, because we spent most of Friday afternoon walking all over town (more on that below).
Husk is located in a two-story antebellum home and exudes southern elegance.
The menu offerings change with the seasons, with ingredients coming from near and far. A very nice touch was this special menu printed for us for our anniversary:
I really enjoyed my dinner: chicken with fruits, including fresh figs. And our dessert, a PB&J Cake, was probably our favorite thing from the meal.
For breakfast on Saturday morning, I made reservations at Poogan’s Porch, located just next to Husk. I was drawn to Poogan’s not only for its proximity to our Airbnb and the ability to make breakfast reservations, but also its reputation for having some seriously good Southern food.
We had a great spot by a fireplace in one of the rooms inside, and Poogan’s was playing the JAMS that morning. We heard “Under Pressure,” “I Think I Love You,” as well as Cher and The Beatles. Per our server’s recommendation, I went with the short rib and potatoes and a fried egg. Zack got the famous shrimp and grits.
And when I asked if it would be crazy to order some biscuits on top of what we ordered, our server told us that biscuits come with. I love this place.
We knew we’d have time to sneak in another restaurant for lunch in between our Poogan’s Porch visit and Halls Chophouse, especially with a later dinner reservation and plans for walking all over town. I debated on a few options, but ultimately settled on Leon’s Fine Poultry & Oyster Shop.
Before walking up to Leon’s, we grabbed some cookies from the adorable Sugar bakeshop to save for later. I saw this place written about online in my early research, and we ended up right near it while we were walking around and shopping. Plus, they were playing “A Pirate Looks at Forty” when we walked in, so it was all meant to be.
Leon’s was quite a walk north from our activities on Saturday, but after reading a lot about it (and its famous fried chicken), it seemed worth the walk in the hot hot heat.
We were lucky enough to get seated within only about five minutes of arriving, because the place was packed! The restaurant is located in an old garage, and the inside was very cool.
I ordered two pieces of the dark meat fried chicken and some hush puppies for us to share. Zack ordered the fried chicken sandwich.
The hush puppies were so good. Zack and I realized that Charleston restaurants have really cracked the code when it comes to butter. Every place had the softest, sweetest butter for their bread and biscuits. I really enjoyed the crispness of my chicken, but it definitely had more of a kick than I was expecting. My lips were on fire.
For dinner Saturday night, we had the most wonderful dining experience at Halls Chophouse. This restaurant came highly recommended by my friend Jen, and ended up being the perfect night out for our anniversary celebrations. Halls is known for their hospitality and impeccable service, and that is exactly what they delivered.
From the moment we walked in, we knew that Halls is a special place. A gentleman opened the door for us and shook our hands, saying “I’m Billy Hall. Welcome to Halls.” Inside, the restaurant and bar area were bustling with people. Billy’s mom was also greeting people, and some younger people I imagine were his grown children were also on hand to greet guests and make sure they were checked in. Billy Hall was working the room, welcoming guests, bidding them farewell, making sure everyone was happy.
Once we were seated, we continued to experience wonderful service, from our server to the person in charge of filling our water to the food runners. Upon learning it was our anniversary weekend, Billy Hall personally brought us two glasses of champagne and gave us many well wishes. Our server also brought us a complimentary dessert at the end of the meal.
Zack and I both ordered steaks; I had an excellent bone-in filet recommended by our server, and Zack ordered a dry-aged ribeye. Our server had explained the difference between wet- and dry-aged steaks, saying that the dry-aging process gives steaks a nutty flavor. Zack’s steak was excellent, and unlike anything we’d ever eaten.
I wish I had more photos of this meal, but it was such a special experience that I didn’t even want to have my phone out to take photos. I can’t recommend Halls Chophouse enough for a special occasion dinner.
On Sunday morning before our flight, we walked over to the Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit located inside the Charleston City Market. This spot came highly recommended by my friend Adrienne, and seemed like the perfect high note to leave Charleston on.
Zack and I both ordered the bacon, egg and cheese biscuit sandwich on a buttermilk biscuit. This proved to be an excellent choice. Or egg-cellent choice?
This biscuit was the butteriest and most delicious ever.
I kind of wished that we bought more to take home, but some things just need to stay in Charleston.
Exploring
There were definitely some sights on my must list for Charleston, but as it usually goes with traveling to new places, we often found little surprises along the way. Charleston is known for its antebellum homes, pastel colors, gas lanterns, and beautiful trees.
A must-see for me was Rainbow Row, which we made our way over to after walking south on King St. following our lunch at Stella’s Friday afternoon. The streets weren’t very busy that day, which made for some good photo opportunities.
I also had all of the heart eyes for different entryways, stairways, and doors. My favorite homes were along the battery and also along some of the smaller streets, like Legare St. and Chalmers St.
Another spot I wanted to visit was The Skinny Dip, a shop my friend Jen also told me about. Along with a boutique on the main floor, Skinny Dip has a wine and coffee bar on its second level, as well as an outdoor patio area. They have frosé, a rosé slushie, which sounded great after walking around in the hot sun Friday afternoon. The shop also has a flower wall made for Instagram photo ops.
Another boutique I enjoyed visiting was Candy Shop Vintage, an adorable shop with a mix of vintage and unique jewelry made in Charleston. The Skinny Dip sells this shop’s Charleston Rice Beads jewelry, and that’s how I learned about them. This shop is close to Sugar bakeshop and some other cute stores, so it was worth the walk up to visit them. The woman at the shop also gave us great recommendations for our lunch at Leon’s.
The shopping along King St. is also a lot of fun, with several unique stores and antique shops mixed in with some chain stores. It was really cool to walk on either side of the street and take notice of the different buildings and all of the colors. I found a couple of cute pieces of clothing for Stella at a children’s store called Pink Chicken.
We also went on a search for the famous pineapple fountain at the Waterfront Park. Pineapples were everywhere around Charleston, and it turns out there is a history behind the pineapple becoming a symbol of hospitality.
I loved this area of town and it seemed to be the busiest spot we visited the whole weekend. The heat and humidity meant all of the kids and even the adults were wading around in this fountain and a nearby splash pad. There were also several shaded areas for us to take a breather and get a break from the sun.
Finally, one of the places we planned on visiting ahead of time was the Aiken-Rhett House, a home built in 1820 that has been preserved as-is instead of restored to how it once was. The Aiken-Rhett House gives a really immersive look at antebellum life in the 19th century, with some of the home’s original furnishings and artwork.
Visiting this particular home was Jen’s suggestion as well. There are several home tours in Charleston and plantations in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina that are also very famous, such as Magnolia Plantation and Boone Hall Plantation. Ultimately, with such a short trip, visiting one closer to town made the most sense. I’m so glad Jen recommended this home tour; the audio tour is self-guided and takes you through the slave quarters of the home as well as the main residence.
In the photos below, you can see the disparity between the slave quarters (the first two photos) and the opulence of the home.
I came away from the tour wanting to know even more about the history of the Aiken family and the home. I would love to visit some of the other homes in Charleston sometime, but I’m so glad we did this tour for our short trip.
In conclusion…
Charleston is a pretty darn magical town, and I can see why it’s easy to fall under its spell. Even though we didn’t run into Bill Murray (and I was keeping my eyes peeled) and we practically melted in the lowcountry heat, I loved seeing a new place with my love.
I hope this recap gives some inspiration to those of you with wanderlust. If you get the chance, get down to Charleston, y’all.
