Our final day in Charleston was on Sunday. Originally, we were planning on touring a plantation but my mom expressed interest in visiting the South Carolina Aquarium where they have a sea turtle rescue program. So we nixed the original plan for the new one!
We started our day around 10:30 with brunch at Virginia’s on King. I did not take any pictures here (why?!) but I had a delicious mimosa and my mom and I shared a huge cinnamon bun. I also ordered an omelet that was so, so good. Afterwards, we took a Lyft to the aquarium and spent a few hours exploring all of the different exhibits. The sea turtle exhibit was everything we wanted it to be. There were a few injured turtles swimming around in pools (they’ll be released back to the wild when they’re healed). We even got to use this interactive tool that took us through all of the different tests the aquarium does when they get an injured sea turtle to assess its condition.
The other exhibits were also very cool. Most of the animals at this aquarium have been rescued and are too injured to be released back into the wild. I love a mission like that! We saw a bald eagle, a pair of frolicking river otters, birds, fish, sharks, and more sea turtles. At the end of our visit, we got to feed sting rays! It was only $5 to feed them and it was very fun/weird. (There’s a video on my Instagram with my mom feeding a sting ray so you can see what it’s like!) It’s very slimy and slobbery!
After spending a few hours at the aquarium, we headed over to Rainbow Row. We kept seeing images of Rainbow Row when we were at the market the day before, and my mom thought I really needed to experience them in all their beautiful glory. I’m so glad she did! Rainbow Row is a cluster of Georgian row houses, some of which date back to the early 1700s! (They were originally built in the 1670s but a fire destroyed most of them until they were rebuilt.) The term Rainbow Row was coined because of the beautiful pastel colors they were painted in the 1930s and 1940s.
We meandered our way through Charleston after our rainbow excursion. We stopped into a bar for a mid-walk drink, and we would later learn during our ghost tour that it’s the most haunted bar in Charleston! Unfortunately, no ghost sightings or weird happenings for us.
Then, we finally found our next exciting destination: Buxton Books! I mean, if there’s an indie bookstore within walking distance of my hotel, I must find it, right? Yes. This was a fairly small indie and they were having an author event that day so it was really busy. (I wasn’t familiar with the author – Victoria Benton Frank – but I think I have read at least one novel by her mother, Dorothea Benton Frank, who has since passed away.) I left with a few books (Yellowface by R.F. Kuang and Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan) and some stickers.
After our bookstore excursion, we continued our walk back to our hotel but did take a gelato pit stop, which was much needed! (The gelato wasn’t great—it was kind of gritty?—but it was fine for what I needed it to be.) And then it was home sweet hotel room, finally! I was so happy to plop my sweaty, smelly body on my bed!
We didn’t have a huge chunk of time before our dinner reservations, especially because I wanted to take a shower before we went out, so I mainly read my book and played games on my phone before getting ready.
We had dinner at Well Hung Vineyard, which was mainly chosen because of its close proximity to the ghost tour location. Our plan was to share this delicious-sounding pesto pasta dish along with a flatbread pizza, but the server informed us that they were all out of pesto and couldn’t serve us the pasta dish. Wah! Instead, we both ordered pizza but my mom’s was almost inedible for her, so it was a big, ole wash. (I enjoyed my pizza a lot, however!)
And then it was time for the ghost tour! We opted to do a carriage ghost tour rather than a walking one because we are princesses who wanted a tour that didn’t involve a ton of walking. Ha. I really enjoyed doing the ghost tour this way, though! The tour guide told us that the horse who was taking us around the city was a former Amish mule who was used to doing much more laborious tasks than walking around with a carriage. (I’m choosing to believe him!) I’ve said before that the best ghost tours also function as history lessons and our tour guide did such a great job at marrying both subjects. I felt like I learned a lot about the city but also was sufficiently creeped out by some of the stories.
The ghost tour was about 45 minutes long, which was the perfect length. We finished around 9 p.m., headed back to our hotel, and packed up. Our flight back to Tampa was leaving in the morning!
Thoughts on Charleston: I really enjoyed visiting Charleston! I don’t know if I would ever visit it again, but I’m glad we picked this destination for a quick weekend trip for my mom’s birthday. Most people compare Charleston and Savannah and I must say that I much prefer Savannah. (That’s a city I could visit over and over and over again.)
NOTES
- Where we stayed: Francis Marion Hotel in downtown Charleston
- What we ate: Virginia’s on King and Well Hung Vineyard
- What we did: South Carolina Aquarium (price varies depending on the day, but adults can expect to pay between $31-$38), Rainbow Row (free), and Old South Carriage Co. Haunted Carriage Tour ($50 for adults, $40 for children 4-11)
Oh, I want to go on a carriage ride for a ghost tour, too! That sounds like so much fun!
I’m glad you had fun and enjoyed your time away with your mom!
The carriage ride was so pleasant! It was a fun way to enjoy a ghost tour!
What a fun and delightful visit for you and your mom! And thank you for setting me straight on my other comment about the markets not being related to slave trading! I was totally misinformed and having that corrected does improve my view of the city of Charleston. I still MUCH prefer Savannah, like you. I felt it had more charm and I liked that it wasn’t full of chains and such – like the downtown was more quaint/cute. And I just loved all the squares with benches for sitting, etc. But Charleston is a cute spot and I’m glad I visited it – I just don’t feel the need to ever go back.
Gah, Savannah is so amazing. I need to go back – I haven’t been in so long! Their downtown historic district is such a vibe.
I enjoyed my time in Charleston but, like you, it’s not somewhere I feel the need to return for any reason!
A ghost tour in a carriage? That sounds… neat! (Although I am a wimp and probably would have been scared by the ghost stories LOL)
So happy you had a great weekend with your Mom celebrating her birthday. There’s definitely fun stuff to do in Charleston.
The ghost stories definitely got a little much at times! It helps that I don’t really believe in ghosts, haha, so I just pretend the ghost “sightings” are completely fictional. 😉
I JUST finished Yellowface, it was so good and weird! Psychological, totally unexpected at every turn, and will leave me thinking about it days later if not weeks. Interested to see what you think when you recap it!
Good to know! Hopefully I’ll get around to it soon!
“Hi!” I’m Ally. I found you via J and am immediately feeling at home here. I identify as an Enneagram 9, an introvert, and a Highly Sensitive Person, too. PLUS Charleston is one of my all-time favorite vacation spots. Your photos are wonderful and taking me back. Thanks.
Hi Ally! Thanks for visiting. 🙂 And we have the same personality traits – I love that so much! I’m off to check out your blog now.
I’ve never been to South Carolina at all, but your pictures are amazing. I love love love the aquarium, esp the turtles and the eagle. I love a zoo or aquarium with a purpose like that. We really enjoyed the aquarium in Maui for that same reason.
I took a ghost tour once in Salem, MA, which was pretty lame. I think a historical tour would have been better, this was more ‘someone said they saw a ghost here once’ type of thing. Maybe we just got a bad guide.
Oh man, I feel like a ghost tour in Salem could be so interesting! That sucks that it was lame. The guide can really make or break your experience, for sure.
This is hilarious because Savannah felt like such a bust for me and we looove Charleston. To be fair I didn’t stay overnight in Savannah but it had been so hyped up I was…expecting more?
Rainbow Row is so pretty. I visited the Charleston aquarium several decades ago, but it’s been a long time. We’re big fans of walking the Ravenel Bridge and the beaches on Sullivan’s Island.
Beautiful pictures and the supper bust for your mom aside, sounds like a lovely day!!
Different strokes for different folks! I love all the picturesque squares in Savannah and Forsyth Parks is one of my favorite places of all time. I enjoyed Charleston a lot, but if I had to pick a favorite, it would be Savannah.
Ha! It’s so funny you mention the stingray thing – right before I read this I was looking at an aquarium and it mentioned that as an experience you could do there, AND our nephews petted one Friday and told me it was slimy! LOL!
Rainbow Row is so beautiful! About how big was it? A city block or two?
I feel like your meals were really hit or miss on this trip! What a bummer!
I love ghost tours for that reason too – the history is great!
Thanks for the trip re: Charleston vs Savannah!
Stingrays are so slimy! But also really smooth?! It was fun to pet them.
Rainbow Row is about a city block so not too far; it was fun to meander!
I also went to Savannah on the same trip (again, years ago) where I went to Charleston. I can barely remember either one of them! But I’ll take your advice and prioritize Savannah if I get the chance. But, this day sounds great. I also don’t believe in ghosts, but the tour sounds fun. And, I love the stop in the bookstore (you’re reminding me that I really want to read Yellowface.) Glad you guys had such a good time!
I think these two cities can really meld together if you visit both of them on the same trip, which is what a lot of people do! I prefer Savannah myself, but Elisabeth liked Charleston way more, so YMMV.
Thanks for sharing all of the details! I’m sorry your dinner was derailed (seriously, they *ran out of pesto*? It’s summer! They should have it coming out of their ears!), but the ghost tour sounds fun. I did a Jack the Ripper tour with my family in London years (actually, decades) ago and it was scary and fun. Now, I’m not sure I would go alone. Maybe if I were traveling with someone. 🙂 Glad you were able to celebrate your mom and have a nice time.
Ohhh, a Jake the Ripper tour in London? That sounds amazing!