When Dave and I planned our 2017 travel, Charleston wasn’t really on our radar. As the year progressed, though, we found ourselves aching for a long weekend getaway for just the three of us, and I threw out the idea of taking the short drive (just about four hours) to Charleston for our anniversary. The timing ended up working out flawlessly, and I can honestly say it’s a trip I’ll always remember. I hadn’t realized how special being on a vacation with Charlie would feel, or how refreshed and rejuvenated I would be after spending a long weekend out of town, in a place that never fails to inspire me. Here’s a (photo-heavy :)) look at what we did!

We arrived on Saturday afternoon, got checked in to our hotel and let Charlie roll around, enjoyed the hotel’s wine and cheese happy hour, and then went to Brown Dog Deli (thanks for the recommendation, Abby!) to grab to-go sandwiches for dinner. We ate on a picnic blanket in a lovely park we had passed–lovely enough that I spotted Lucy Cuneo shooting some fabulous wedding portraits nearby :)

On Sunday, we walked to Mass at St. Mary’s (fun fact: it opened in 1839 and was the first Catholic church in the Carolinas/Georgia) before heading to brunch at Cannon Green. I’m a huge fan of all things Easton Porter Group, and had been to the restaurant when I spoke at a conference a few years ago, but hadn’t eaten there. We were pleasantly surprised to find that brunch there was pretty casual, and Charlie spent the meal happily in the perfectly on-brand green high chair! Our food was fantastic (Dave had a BLT, I had french toast custard, and we split a side of roasted potatoes), and the portion sizes were just right.

Our plan for the rest of the day was simply to explore and soak in the city! It was a gorgeous day, so we walked down to Rainbow Row, relaxed on the rooftop patio of Skinny Dip Charleston (more on that next week), and grabbed a snack at Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit in the Charleston City Market. Our last stop of the day was Caviar and Bananas, and since Charlie had fallen asleep in his stroller, we took our time there, enjoying drinks and a charcuterie board before getting my go-to C&B salads for dinner (spinach, strawberries, hazelnuts, goat cheese, and apple cider bacon vinaigrette–yum!).

On Monday, we ventured out of the city to nearby Sullivan’s Island with two missions: to eat at Obstinate Daughter and introduce Charlie to the ocean! Obstinate Daughter came highly recommended by Emily, and we loved it just as much as she did. The atmosphere was upscale, but relaxed, and we’re pretty sure they were playing one of our favorite Pandora stations (Johnny Cash radio). Our first dance song actually came on at one point and I embarrassed myself getting all teary-eyed, naturally right as our server came to take our order…hey, it was our anniversary weekend after all ;) Back to the food–we split a pasta and a pizza dish, and both were incredibly fresh and delicious.

Out of all the fun things we did that weekend, taking Charlie to the beach was our absolute favorite. We had planned to sit there for awhile, but it was pretty windy, so instead, we spent about ten minutes dipping Charlie’s toes into the waves and taking pictures. He was apathetic about it, but to Dave and me, it felt magical! These pictures are also some of my new favorites. Those legs!!

Back in Charleston, we went out on a long walk, hitting a few spots on my list: Black Tap Coffee, Mac and Murphy (an adorable little paper goods store), and Sugar Bakeshop. En route back to our hotel, we stopped at Charleston Beer Works for a drink outside. As a bit of an anti-climactic end to the day, we grabbed dinner from Five Guys! Charlie was getting fussy and we decided it would be happier for everyone if we had dinner back at our hotel rather than trying to brave a restaurant. Gotta do what you gotta do :)

Tuesday was our actual anniversary! After breakfast, we took a walk to The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist for daily Mass. The cathedral was beautiful, and being there felt like such a perfect way to thank God for these two years and all the blessings that have come with them. After church, we walked through White Point Garden and down the Battery, swung on the swings at Waterfront Park, and then went back to our hotel to check out. With our car packed, we headed out on one more outing for lunch before hitting the road. We really wanted to try 167 Raw, but were disappointed to find that their tiny space didn’t have room for a stroller. Dave suggested we try Poogan’s Smokehouse instead, and as you can see from that glorious skillet of goodness below, it was a hit :)

I have one more post about our trip coming up, specifically covering the coffee shops we visited–we hit a new one every day! :)