My Van Life: Day 49
Friday, August 27, 2021
McClellanville, SC – Charleston, SC
Guess what?! We managed to sleep through the night in this moderately terrifying place (not comfortably of course, hello swampy South Carolina heat) but we made it through AND like I suspected upon our spooky arrival last night, we woke up and it was absolutely beautiful. When we emerged out of the area it was truly a scene from a historical movie set in the South. The Spanish Moss dripping from the trees formed a beautiful canopy like a tunnel for us to drive through upon our exit. I can hardly believe this scaredy cat is admitting it but it was certainly worth the brief fear we - well, I - encountered last night.
If it didn’t already feel like we’re in the South now it really does I will tell you that. We drove out of the beautiful moss canopy and into town to post up in a coffee shop and work for a few hours. I did a little research on Bring Fido to find a local spot that promised good coffee and outdoor seating, not to mention ample parking for us to sit and relax for a few hours on that Friday morning. Charleston is proving to be a bit challenging when it comes to parking and navigating the narrow city streets but again, what else do we expect in a larger and not to mention older city. We checked out a couple locations that were recommended but unfortunately didn’t appear to have the parking that Google Maps promised they did.
That being said we finally landed on Kudu Coffee and Craft Beer which was not too far from The College of Charleston. The reviews indicated it’s a popular spot for college kids and I can tell you they are not wrong. I felt like I was taking a step back in time, toting my books and laptop to a nearby coffee shop for some schoolwork. We were absolutely surrounded by college aged kids. In fact I think it may have been the first week of school as tons of kids walked by us, backpack in tow headed toward class. Thankfully we managed to find street parking at Kudu (it probably helped that it was early in the morning) and popped inside to order our drinks and morning snacks. Coco was immediately surrounded by pug obsessed employees and got some extra pets before we headed outside to the patio area. It was a beautiful (mainly) covered patio with plenty of shade (thankfully) and filled with, you guessed it, college kids! No I’m joking it wasn’t all college kids but it was definitely primarily students and young working professionals enjoying their Friday morning at Kudu Coffee.
We stayed and worked for a couple hours before deciding to drive around Charleston and explore the town more. That’s when we truly realized how challenging parking could be but of course by that time it was the middle of the day. Adam had a couple calls he needed to take so he dropped me off at the outdoor market in town so I could walk around and explore while he worked. The Charleston City Market is definitely a tourist attraction worth exploring. It’s filled with all the touristy trinkets that you don’t really need but of course you may want to take home and remember your time in Charleston by. It was absolutely packed and moving in and out of the market while wearing a mask, surrounded by lots of tourists was not the most pleasant experience but nevertheless I would still recommend checking it out.
It was nearing lunch time so we decided to find a park to drive to and make lunch which again, proved to be more difficult than we may have originally thought so we drove over to Sullivan’s Island and parked at the Breach Inlet area. Unfortunately by this point in time I was so unbearably hot that to even sit in the van and cook or do anything for that matter was just not happening. We decided to walk along the little beach instead and get some fresh air (it was a tad bit cooler by the water) and give Coco a little walk. It was a super nice little secret beach with ample parking and not too many people trying to escape the Charleston heat like us. Just some older people out in lounge chairs enjoying the sun.
Today was honestly just so uncomfortable. I felt claustrophobic – I think that’s the best way to describe it. I felt like we couldn’t do anything but drive around aimlessly so we would at least have the air conditioning running while the sun was still up. Considering how challenging parking was in town we decided to stay a bit out of Charleston and head to Planet Fitness for an afternoon workout. The good news is by the time I was done working out we had approval from our Harvest Hosts for the evening. We stayed at Fat Pig Brewery which was such a random, hidden little brewery outside of town. They have pretty limited hours so we arrived (post workout) just before 7pm but they closed at 8pm. We ordered a couple beers and sat down to enjoy our drinks while playing Connect Four and Scrabble. Like all of our Harvest Hosts up to this point, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay and were grateful to be able to discover these spots that we may not have otherwise known about. To end the night we ordered a pizza from a local spot (delivery of course) and enjoyed it outside on the patio after the brewery closed up for the evening.