Charming Charleston - Day 3

Morning Internet!

Hopefully you are caught up on my last two posts about my trip in Charleston. (If your aren't here's the links for day 1 and day 2.)

When I went downstairs to get breakfast Monday morning, we noticed that the fountain in the hotel courtyard had a layer of ice on top! It was 26° F, with the "feels like" at 23°, making it the coldest day of the whole trip, and the coldest weather I've ever experienced. Seeing a frozen fountain was one of the coolest, *pun intended, things ever! I also really geeked out when I realized I could see my breathe as I talked. It is extremely rare for that to happen in South Florida!

One spot of downtown we hadn't explored yet were the shops on King Street. It was too early to go inside the stores, so we hit up the Marion Square park first. While walking through it, my dad found a bunch of fallen leaves! Again, I got super excited!

Our last group lunch with the rest of the family was at Fleet Landing. We had a great view of the port from our table. (Even saw a pod of dolphins swim by!) Plus our waiter Ryan was hilarious and very punctual anytime we needed something. But the highlight was their Key Lime Pie. Now, I've tried a ton of key lime pies throughout my life. And I think I know what makes one a great, average, or just plain gross slice of pie. This one at Fleet Landing definitely makes it to my top 3 favorites. Great texture, perfect balance of sweet to sour, and a nice crust. With an added drizzle of raspberry sauce, this was my favorite thing I ate on the trip.

After saying our good-byes to the rest of the group, my immediate family and I got in the car and headed for the Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. Boy oh boy this place is STUNNING.

 These leaves were HUGE! There were more even bigger than my head.

I loved how the late afternoon sun was peeking through the trees and Spanish moss...

From the top of this observation tower, we could see that part of the river below was frozen from the cold weather.

After a few hours exploring Magnolia, we hopped in the car and drove back to the hotel. The sun was setting beautifully behind us, and I couldn't resist taking a shot.

TBonz Gil & Grill is really close to our hotel, so we ate our last dinner there. Every time we had walked by Kaminsky's during the trip, there was always a line of people waiting outside to get dessert. Both places are right next door to each other, so we were able to order a treat made at Kaminsky's right from our table at TBonz. Without having to wait in line, and our waitress brought it right to us.

We woke up super early the next day to pack up the car and drive home. During the drive south, on the east side of the road I watched the sun rise, and on the west I looked at the light snow that fell during the night. (It had been about 20 years since I last saw snow!)

That brings me to the end of my trip. I had an absolute blast wandering in and out of Downtown Charleston, and want to come back another time (when it's not so cold!) It was great to see a bunch of distant family members I had never met before, and I hope to continue these new relationships. There were definitely a lot of "bucket list" things I was able to see and do. So I made sure to take a ton of photos to help remember those moments.

As always, thank you for reading my blog! I hope to continue my journey in the blogging world and I'm excited for the next few things I have planned! If you have any requests of things you'd like me to write about leave a comment below! I'm always open for suggestions.

xx

-Lala

P.S. - The weather is just starting to warm up again here in South Florida, so I see a lot of beach days coming up in the near future. I'm looking forward to finally getting back to the sea, swimming around with all my fishy friends again!