I think I’ve mentioned this before, but Atlanta was not on my radar as an American city that I ever wanted to visit, much less somewhere that I wanted to use as a base for my travels. Ryan’s job down in Georgia was a completely unexpected adventure, but it has given me a really cool opportunity to explore some of the Southern US.
The first place that we visited outside of Atlanta was Charleston, SC. Praxis, the program that Ryan is currently a part of, was hosting an informal graduation for the last class in Praxis, and we were invited along.
“What are your thoughts on going to Charleston for a weekend?” Ryan asked me one day.
I immediately responded, “I’m down.”
No second guesses there.
For those of us from the north, Charleston is this dreamy, southern city from the civil war times that seems to have stopped in time. What more could you ask for?
On the plus side, Charleston is only 5 hours driving from Atlanta. #win
Ryan and I got on the road about midday on a Friday to make our way to Charleston, and by the time we stopped for lunch and battled rush hour traffic, the drive was about 6 hours long.
It was dark when we arrived in Charleston, so it was hard to get a feel for the city, but we did get to drive over the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge on our way to our AirBnb in upscale Mount Pleasant. The bridge is an architectural work of art, and the entire time we were driving over it, I was loudly exclaiming “this is the coolest bridge I’ve ever driven over!!”. But seriously, it is.
We made our way from beautiful Mount Pleasant into the heart of downtown for dinner with the Praxis group, before heading out to the harbour to take in the water at night. It was pleasant, but I had underestimated the November weather.
Truth be told, I was freezing. And I didn’t have a jacket.
I had foolishly thought to myself while packing, “I’m going to South Carolina in November, and I’m Canadian. I don’t need a jacket.”
Don’t get me wrong – it wasn’t that cold. The breeze coming off the water was brisk though, and it was definitely weather worthy of a light, windproof jacket.
On our 2nd day in Charleston, our first and only full day in the city, we started the morning off with coffee and a drive down to Sullivan’s Island to walk on the beach and have brunch with some of our new friends. Sullivan’s Island was like something I’ve only ever seen in a painting or a photograph. The houses were all summer cottage style, painted with beautiful pastel colours and raised up to avoid the soft earth and marshy landscape surrounding them.
We wandered along the make-shift wooden ramps that led us down to the beach, where we wandered along taking in the sights, the sounds of the waves meeting the sandy beach, and the smell of the salt water. I’ve never lived close to the ocean, so it’s such a treat for me when I have time to stop and take in the ocean. I am always humbled by the majestic and powerful nature of the ocean, and it was no different this time.
From Sullivan’s Island, we made our way back through Mount Pleasant and across the bridge once more on our way into the heart of Charleston. We walked through the city centre, taking in the old buildings, and admiring the impressive houses. I’m a huge fan of coloured houses, so I was really enjoying taking in the brightly painted houses around us, with their wrought iron gates out front, and large pillared balconies.
Charleston has basically been preserved from the Civil War times, and that is very apparent when you walk around the city. The main street that runs through the city centre has modern restaurants, coffee shops, and luxury shopping, like lululemon, all housed within old buildings that have most certainly been renovated on the inside, and perhaps only refurbished on the outside. It was a pretty cool experience, and I felt myself in awe as we turned each corner, discovering more ivy covered mansions the further we walked.
We ended our tour of Charleston at the university where we zipped in to watch Founder and CEO of Praxis, Isaac Morehouse, speak. When Ryan had first proposed the idea of seeing him speak, I wasn’t super into it, but the time it came to the talk, I had been told enough times how great of a speaker he was and I decided to attend. I was not disappointed, and in this moment, I realized that it is extremely important for me to find a balance when I’m traveling between seeing and doing things, and simply taking in experiences.
I really encourage my fellow travel enthusiasts not to get caught up in the idea of ticking things off a bucket list, or packing their travels tightly with too much stuff; yet, I often catching myself doing this. I have FOMO about something that I don’t even know about. I get nervous that I’m not going to do something amazing and I’m going to miss out. This mindset can be dangerous, because while you’re busy worrying about what you might miss out on, you are probably missing out on something. Just saying.
Following Isaac’s speech, we made our way out for dinner and then out for drinks, tying off the weekend with all of the new and amazing people that we met. We had the opportunity to experience another new restaurant and bar, and I felt like I was leaving Charleston with nothing but good impressions.
On Sunday morning, we took a drive through Mount Pleasant to discover the Libertarian section of the suburb, and after snapping a couple photos of John Galt Way, we headed downtown to grabbed brunch at Hamony Cafe (which is delicious and worth the wait!), before getting back on the road to make our way back to Atlanta.
We hardly skimmed the surface with Charleston, but I really enjoyed my time there, and it’s definitely going on my list of places in the south to revisit!