From Dallas, TX to Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA -- Part 1

For our one year anniversary, Kel and I decided to take a trip over to Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia. I had always heard such great things about both of these places- the food, the houses, the beaches, etc.- so we thought it would be the perfect destination for our big celebration! We flew into Charleston on Wednesday and then drove down to Savannah (about 1.5-2 hour drive) on Friday night and stayed there until Monday afternooon. Here is a summary of what we did for fun, where we ate, what we ate, and where we stayed!

Charleston, South Carolina:

• Where We Stayed: 

• Best Western (located only 5 minutes from historic downtown Charleston)

• Where We Ate:

• BLU Restaurant & Bar on Folly Beach
• What we ordered:
• Artisan Greens- baby greens topped with spiced walnuts, North Carolina apples, and a roasted shallot vinagerette
• Shrimp & Grits- grits mixed with stewed peppers and onions, tasso, and lobster saffron cream
• Stuffed Squash- locally grown squash stuffed with an array of different cheeses
• Fresh Catch- swordfish on top of ground asparagus (very yummy) served with locally grown sauteed vegetables
• This was a very romantic restaurant, we ate out on the patio right in front of the ocean!

• The Wreck of the Richard & Charlene
• What we ordered:
• She Crab Soup
• Fried Green Tomatoes
• Broiled Flounder- flounder dressed with cooking oil, oregano, salt & pepper served with red rice, cole slaw, hush puppy, and fried hominy square
• Key Lime Pie (YUMMY)
• This place was definitely a hole in the wall but had good, fresh seafood and it overlooked Shem Creek in the Old Village of Mount Pleasant.

• Magnolias
• What we ordered:
• Fried Green Tomatoes- also included smoked jalepeno and cheddar grits, country ham, and tomato chutney
• Wadmalaw Field Greens- baby greens topped with a lemon-lingonberry vinagerette and crumbled blue cheese
• Parmesan Crusted Flounder- served over carolina rice and creek shrimp pirloo with sweet corn, tomato and asparagus salad, lump crab, and a lemon beurre blanc.
• VERY GOOD FOOD! We ate here for lunch!

• Upper Crust
• We went to visit some friends, Grant & GraceAnna Castleberry, in Beaufort, SC on Friday night before we headed down to Savannah and they took us to this yummy pizza place! Check out their blog at http://www.grantandgraceanna.blogspot.com/
• What we ordered:
• Large pizza with half crumbled sausage and sliced tomatoes (nice choice Grant!) and the other half Homemade Roasted Red Pepper (homemade roasted red pepper sauce with chicken, spinach, and sliced tomatoes).
• We went back to the Castleberry's house and had a Smores dessert that GraceAnna made and it was FABULOUS! GraceAnna, I would love to have this recipe! :)

*NOTE: The food was rich and came in large portions so Kel and I shared all of our meals which cut the cost!*

• What We Did For Fun:

• Folly Beach- walked around the beach at sunset and then went to eat at BLU
• Boone Hall Plantation- absolutely BEAUTIFUL! One of the oldest working plantations. This is also where part of the movie, The Notebook (Allie's summer house), was filmed. We made sure to pick up some homemade ice cream before we left :)
• Downtown- lots of beautiful mansions to see, including Rainbow Row, churches, College of Charleston, and various historical sights
• The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina
• Fort Sumter- where the first shot of the Civil War took place
• Martins Point Plantation - we tried to find the house Noah built in the movie, The Notebook, but were unsuccessful :(
• Charleston RiverDogs baseball game- the Riverdogs are a Class-A affiliate of the New York Yankees

Savannah, GA post will be up soon but in the meantime here are a few pictures from our time in Charleston (the remaining pictures will be posted on Facebook if you want to see more)...