Charleston/Savannah 2007

While I do not claim to be a travel expert by any means, I hope that you find some of the information in this post to be helpful.

DeeDee and I went to Charleston, South Carolina for two days and went to Savannah, Georgia for one. We drove from Tampa straight through to Charleston in about 7 hours. The goal was NOT to drive straight through, but we ran into some obstacles in getting accommodations for the night. Basically, there was no room at the inn. Just so you know, once you take the turn off I-95 to Charleston, there are not too many places to stop …. for ANYTHING.

I will mention that it worked out well. We had planned to take a walking tour of Charleston at 11am. Since we were already in the city, we were not pushed for time in getting to the tour’s starting point. We parked at our bed and breakfast, the Governor’s Inn, and walked over to the front steps of Market Hall (corner of Meeting and Market Streets). After a few minutes, we were met by our tour guide, Tommy Dew. Tommy took us on a tour of historic downtown Charleston. His explanations starting in the Colonial period through the current restoration were fascinating. He tells the story from a southernor’s perspective. To say that the tour was informative, would be an understatement. It was truly eye opening. Needless to say, I recommend his tour. Make sure you reserve your spot.
The Governor’s House Inn (circa 1760) is a U.S. National Landmark. We stayed in the Rutledge Suite (Room 1) and the Laurens Room (Room 3). Both were fantastic rooms. I particularly liked having a private porch outside my room. Man, talk about luxury. More Photos.

Eating lunch the first day in Charleston was a hit or miss prospect. I really surfed the web (for the month prior to taking our trip and I have the bookmarks to prove it) trying to find a nice mix of low country cuisine with other types of fare. We just happened to walk past 82 Queen. I thought it was perfect for a later than normal lunch. You have a choice between sitting out in the courtyard or at an inside table. We opted for the table away from the 90 degree weather. I loved it. Had the Southern Barbequed Shrimp and Creamy Grits with Melted Cheddar Cheese, Apple Smoked Bacon and Fresh Scallions. Oh My!!!

The following day we visited the Magnolia Plantation and the Middleton Place . The two plantations plus Drayton Hall are located within a few miles of each other. I liked both the plantations. The gardens were very different. The Middleton was much more formal and I enjoyed the house tour better than the Magnolia Plantation. We ate lunch at the Middleton Place restaurant (mostly due to convenience) which was a mistake. Charleston has a lot of fine dining options. Don’t waste a meal by eating at the Middleton.

By the way, we did have a fantastic steak dinner at the Oak Steakhouse. The building was constructed in 1850 and was, apparently, an old bank building before undergoing a major, $3 million renovation. The steak was excellent. I had the Cajun Blackened New York Strip. Mmm… mmm.. good. The ambience was very good and interesting. The wine was fantastic (Witness Tree Pinot Noir). Man, Oregon is putting out some outstanding wine. The Gorgonzola Cottage Fries were indescribably good.

Charleston has many historic homes to visit and tour. We opted to see the Aiken-Rhett House and the Nathaniel Russell House. Both are worth visiting. The Aiken-Rhett House provides you with an MP3 player (for tour narration) and headphones. I particulary liked this type of tour because you could walk around at your leisure and stop the player at anytime.

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