My Van Life: Day 50

Saturday, August 28, 2021

Charleston, SC – Kingsland, GA

The good thing about these Harvest Hosts locations is they’re often significantly quieter than other random rest stops or Walmarts that we’ve been staying at while passing through town. That being said I woke up feeling so very grateful for another amazing Harvest Hosts stay thanks to Fat Pig Brewery. Last night while we were enjoying dinner - remember that pizza delivery enjoyed under the twinkle lights on the patio - I did a little research on local walking tours. When we were driving around Charleston yesterday I noticed quite a few walking tours and figured it could be a fun way for us to see the city, get a little exercise in and learn more about Charleston before moving on to our next destination. Of course I went immediately back to my trusted Bring Fido app and an AirBnb experience popped up offering an amazing walking tour of Charleston. Sign us up! And that my friends is exactly what I did...

We met our group and tourguide at the Waterfront Park area just before 10am this morning. Just over 3 hours and 3 miles later, we both felt like experts on the city of Charleston and its vast history. (Although please don’t ask me to relay any fun facts to you as that was a whole lot of information and it’s likely going to take me a while to process.) I am so happy we decided to take this walking tour. Our guide Cooper was absolutely phenomenal and so knowledgeable. He’s obviously been doing this for a while and he knows and loves his city! (Rightfully so!) I was honestly blown away by the depth and breadth of his knowledge. The whole time I just kept thinking how does one remember all that information?! I’m also glad that we made the call to do the 10am tour versus the 2pm option. By the end of the tour (around 1:30pm) it was absolutely sweltering hot once again. However, our tour guide, Cooper, did a great job of keeping us in the shaded parts of the streets which I was extremely grateful for. Coco also managed to keep up with us and the tour group the entire time. By the end she was definitely panting and ready to head back to the van and pass out but nevertheless I was so happy she was able to join us and get some extra exercise in this morning. Plus I’m sure she learned a thing or two as well. How could you not?!

Following our tour we walked around the corner to The Blind Tiger (a location our guide recommended) and waited about 20 minutes for a table. Again, another dog friendly location, thank you Charleston. The restaurant was absolutely packed (lots of young people and large parties) but we were able to get seated and enjoyed dining out back on the shaded patio. That is until the sun moved ever so slightly and it was no longer as shaded so we sped up our eating and headed back to the van quicker than we originally anticipated. Nevertheless, it was a great (and historic!) restaurant and one I would certainly recommend visiting. It didn’t feel too touristy but it's obviously a favorite for locals and visitors alike. I will say they had a very small menu with only a handful of items but Adam thoroughly enjoyed the burger and I ordered the caprese panini which was actually better than I would have expected. Other than that not a whole lot on the menu (especially for this non meat eater) that I would have ordered but we both enjoyed it and headed back to the wonderful air conditioned van after that.

We really saw and experienced all the wonder of Charleston in our walking tour this morning so we decided to continue our drive. Again, feeling quite trapped and claustrophobic thanks to the heat. Yay. We drove about an hour and a half to Savannah, GA but decided to keep driving south so we can settle in Florida tomorrow and find a place to stay for a few days for the upcoming work week. We loved our time in Charleston, more than I think either of us would have imagined. I would definitely recommend a visit but perhaps not in the summertime. Sounds like the winters are pretty mild though so perhaps visit then? Either way, it’s such a fun city with so much incredible history so be sure to indulge in one of the local walking tours and take it all in. There’s much to learn about this historical destination!