We arrived in Charleston a month ago on July 14 and left the next week for Minnesota.  We’ve been back four days, but now we have a car with us so we are seeing more of the area.  We love what we’ve seen!

Above is the beach we are going to on Isle of Palms.  There are a number of different beach areas but we found this one about 10 miles from us near Mount Pleasant.  It has six miles of beaches.  Dogs are allowed on the beaches there with a leash any time of the day or night and even off leash from 5 am until 8 am.  We found a street to park on, away from the crowded tourist area with all the beach stores, etc.  We walked from here to the other side of the yellow house in the photo down a beach access path to the ocean. 

T

he beach houses here are beautiful.  Each is unique, but all have wrap-around porches on each of their 2-3 levels.  This is a year round resort community with no real down time for tourists.

Of course, Charleston is mainly known for its historical homes, Fort Sumter where the first engagement of the Civil War took place, plantations and various other battle sites.  When we first arrived here, we walked and rode our bikes through the historical area examining the plaques on many of the houses.  Battery Row is an area where huge mansions were built between 1809 and 1920.  One house still has the remnants of a Confederate cannon that exploded and landed in the house.   The landscaping is lush and the houses are meticulously restored.   There is a style of architecture called the Charleston Single House dating back to 1721 where the houses were built sideways to the street.  When we first noticed them on Church Street, we thought it was odd, but later learned they were built this way to  keep the houses cool, as the prevailing southwest winds would sweep the houses end-to-end.  There are also nearby plantations to visit, where the first settlement was in 1670.

What else do we like about Charleston?  The list is long and varied.

There is a dog park right next to the marina.  It’s a large open tree lines park, part of which is used for soccer games with a small children’s playground.  Around 7:30 am, a group of about 5-10 dogs and their people meet.  As is usual with dogs off leash, they play for awhile and then simply lie down and rest.  Daisy is a people dog, so while the others are resting, no longer interested in chasing her, she makes the rounds of the people begging for their attention.

I found a great yoga studio called Holy Cow.  It’s on nearby James Island.  Finding a good Hatha yoga studio is always a problem for me as we travel from place to place and this one is similar to Stillwater Yoga where I went in Minnesota. 

I also found a hair stylist who cut and colored my hair well, although it was more expensive than I am accustomed to paying.  The best cut and color I’ve had was in the small fishing village of Carrabelle, Fl.  There was only only small shop in town with one stylist.  I paid the same price for a cut and color that I paid for just a cut here.

The shopping is great.  The downtown area near us has streets lined with upscale clothing stores, museums, and even a market like you’d find in the islands.  Of course there are scores of good restaurants, delis, bakeries, sandwich shops, and coffee shops.  There seems to be a Starbucks every few blocks in the downtown area.  There are three within a five minute walk from our marina.

Food shopping is also great.  Harris Teeter is the local southern chain and it’s a nice mix between a Publix and a higher end gourmet type store like Kowalskis in MInnesota.  One is two blocks from our marina so even without a car, grocery shopping is easy.  There are lots of Whole Food and other health food stores in the area.  Every Saturday there is a Farmer’s Market in a large park a few minutes walk from where we are located.

Did I mention the weather?  A few days ago, while at a Starbucks, one of the baristas was talking with us and it turned out she was from Superior, Wisconsin, across the bridge from where we grew up in Duluth, Minnesota.  Many of the residents of this area are transplanted Yankees.  She told us what she loves about the weather is that, unlike most of the southern states you get four seasons here.  The winter is short and not very cold, the spring and fall are beautiful, and the summer, while hot, is not any more miserable than other southern states. 

We are here mainly to be north of the hurricane zone, but of course that is impossible.  As I write this, Hurricane Bill is headed toward the East Coast.  We have a “hurricane hole” close by where we can motor up a river about 20 miles inland to a well protected area.