Charming Chucktown

Charming Chucktown Charleston, SC

Charleston, SC Our travels took us from Figure 8 to the beautiful southern town of Charleston, South Carolina. This town is the epitome of southern charm and grace. Voted most polite town in America 11 years and running. Joel and I were very eager to sample some of this famous hospitality. Charleston holds a special place in my heart as my sister went to university there and it holds some fantastic memories. I really wanted Joel to develop the same sort of fondness for the place that I had. Let me just say that Charleston did not disappoint. She rolled out two picture perfect, blue sky days that made all of the sights really stand out. Our hostel was basic and with a really slanted porch, but pretty close to the historic part of town. In the 2 days that we were there, we must have walked 15 miles. We strolled down to the battery, walked up and down King Street and schlepped our way to every museum in the city. Joel really enjoyed the walking, so much so that he purposely left his wallet at the hostel just so we could walk 20 minutes out of our way to get it. Our days were spent wandering the picturesque, cobblestoned streets of Charleston. We visited the Fort Sumter museum to top up on our “War between the States” history, the Charleston market place and finished off with a visit to the somewhat shocking slave trading museum. After a long day of sightseeing, we were in some serious need of sustenance and refreshment. We sampled some tasty southern cuisine. Joel is loving American food sick and has eaten his weight in hamburgers and chicken wings. I must say that he is not too big a fan of American beer. We have been trying different microbrews, but Joel just can’t get into them. In his words, “They taste funky.” We managed to have a hysterical last evening at our local gay bar. We met a man named Colonel Sanders who was very inebriated. He almost gave away his secret 11 herbs and spices. There was the 43 year old that looked 12 whom Joel carded. The next gay senator from South Carolina (and probably the only ever) with the strangest Southern accent I have ever heard, decided to buy us all a round of shots. Always the outgoing person, Joel only offended one person that night. To be fair, the guy was wandering around asking Joel if he rode kangaroos to work. Our stay in South Carolina ended with a quick stop on Hilton Head Island. We had lunch at the Salty Dog Café and went for a dip in the Atlantic at Hilton Head. Again, this was to relive a few happy memories of family holidays spent on the island. South Carolina really showed us a wonderful time. Let’s hope that Savannah, Georgia is able to show us her good side as well.

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