NYE in Charleston, SC

So for those of you who may not know, I am a New Year's baby and since my hubs and I have been together we have gone out for NYE. Some years we stay in town but others we go somewhere. This year we decided to head south to Charleston.

I love Charleston! I spent my freshman year of college there. In that year I fell in love with the city. It had been about six years since the last time Ken and I went, so it was nice to get back. Also it is so easy to get lost in the day to day with jobs, kids, activities, etc... that you forget to take time for each other, which made this a very nice treat for both of us.

Ken and I love to try new restaurants not only in Charlotte, but also in the places we are visiting. As mentioned before he likes to research the ins and outs of wherever we are going and he always comes up with good places to try. He also looked in to what to do in Charleston for NYE and found this awesome NYE party on the U.S.S. Yorktown, that was all inclusive.

We arrived in Charleston on Sunday and it was around lunch time. We went to Shem Creek in Mt. Pleasant just over the bridge at a place we like to eat for good seafood called Red's Ice House. It is right on the water and has nice dock-seating when the weather is beautiful. I'm a shrimp girl so I didn't try anything new, but went with fried shrimp. I am sorta picky with fried shrimp, no-one can cook it like my paw paw, but their fried shrimp isn't bad. The breading is just right and it isn't heavy. Ken had a fish sandwich which he really enjoyed. Some of the other menu options include low country boil, chicken wings, and oysters (when in season). I have included the link to their menu as well.

After lunch went checked in to our hotel. It was just what we were wanting, nothing too expensive, close to downtown as well as near the Yorktown. We were about 10 minutes from downtown and 5 from the Yorktown. Around 3 p.m. we went to go pick up our bracelets {tickets} to get into the party the next night. Afterwards we went and walked downtown for about an hour. We started out in the market area and then made our way to King's Street for some window-shopping. I had been searching for some new boots and found the perfect ones on sale!

That evening we went to Coast Bar and Grill. This was probably (excluding Red's Ice House) our favorite place we ate. We couldn't get a reservation, so when we arrived we were told that the earliest time they could seat us would be 9:15 p.m. Luckily, one thing this restaurant offers is a community table. I love it when restaurants have this as an option. It allows you to sit down {first come, first serve} almost immediately and it can lead to some pretty interesting conversations with people around you. This was certainly the case for us. We sat across from two women from Philadelphia and we had the best conversation. Started out about the Eagles in the playoffs and what we all do for a living. One of the ladies was an educator and she was interested in some of the things we do in the South. They also recommended a dish Ken was debating about whether to get it and based on this lady's recommendation he got it - the crab encrusted tilapia. I went with a manicotti stuffed with blue crab and shrimp and it was delicious. It was light and just enough to get you full without feeling stuffed, which is a good thing because the chocolate cake we had was worth not only the calories, but also the feeling of being stuffed.

The next day, we decided to go for brunch and went to Poogan's Porch. It's located right next to another favorite restaurant of ours Husk, which was booked for New Year's events while we were there. Poogan's is in one of Charleston's many old buildings. The food was great. We had a small serving of the biscuits and gravy (not like my momma's) that was yummy. I also, thanks to my sister insisting that I try them, love trying most restaurants restuarants version of shrimp and grits. While I personally think my recipe is the best, Poogan's wasn't bad. It had just the right amount of seasoning and was really tasty. However I think the star of our brunch was Ken's stuffed French toast. I have never in my like seen a serving of French toast as large as it was. He loved it!

After brunch we started walking toward the Battery. This day was very foggy and overcast so we knew we wouldn't see much but thought a walk would be fun. We started walking in that general direction and we passed the Calhoun Mansion. I mentioned to Ken how I had always wanted to go into the house. My reason was I knew how significant the name Calhoun is to not only the South Carolina, but also the South and I assumed it was named after John C. Calhoun {his ideas and beliefs heavily influenced Southerners during the time leading up to the Civil War}. Anyway, we went to see how much the tickets were and thought that it was reasonable {it's $17 per person to tour the house}. Upon starting our tour we were told that this wasn't John C. Calhoun's house but that his son married the daughter of the man who built it and inherited it after her father died. The house is unique because it is a Gilded Age mansion {think the time period in which the Biltmore in Asheville, NC was built.} Side note the man who built the Calhoun Mansion was actually good friends with George Vanderbilt {according to the tour}. The most interesting thing about the house is that it is a private residence and the current owner lives there. In taking the tour you actually see his bedroom. He is also a collector of Gilded Age antiques and was looking for the perfect house to display all of his treasures, and there is a lot! There is so much in the house that it can feel overwhelming, I don't know how he lives with so many treasures. The many gems compete with the beautiful architecture and craftsmanship of the home. I am so glad we went through. I wish we had pictures to show you but they were not allowed, so I included the link to the mansion so you could see some of the rooms.

Afterwards we wandered around the city some more. We walked down Rainbow Row and was surprised at how much construction was going on now. My guess is the houses suffered damage from the flooding in the last year or so are being fixed. We grabbed a small snack and walked to the giant pineapple fountain, to eat and look at the water.

Before we went to the NYE party on the U.S.S. Yorktown, Ken took me to a birthday dinner at Blossom in downtown Charleston for dinner. We enjoyed the appetizer that we had there, the crab and artichoke dip. Ken had the blackened catfish and I went with the fried chicken with green beans, mash potatoes and creamed corned. To be honest, I was underwhelmed by my dinner option. It was different and not in a way that I particularly enjoyed, but still nice to try as you may love it. However Ken really loved his dish. My suggestion, should you decide to eat here, is to stick with the seafood.

The party on the Yorktown was super fun! There were a wide range of ages at this party. The highlight reel I would create would definitely include the couple who were in their sixties doing their version of shag. The hotel had a shuttle to and from the party, which you could book in advance which was convenient. The party was all inclusive, so appetizers and drinks were part of the package. The apps were a nice treat since I didn't eat much of my dinner. What was also nice about this event is it had three separate stages, preforming different types of music around the boat. So you could find something you enjoyed no matter your taste {unless you wanted Glenn Miller like the couple on our shuttle home, who were disappointed}. Some stages had go-go dancers and another had an arial acrobat. You could walk through some parts of the ship as well to enjoy the history and since it is a aircraft carrier, it has several airplanes throughout to see. Side note - I couldn't believe I was on the ship almost all evening before I realized it was the Yorktown from WWII, which was surprising since I teach World History. Overall it was a fun night! We got there around 9 pm and couldn't believe how fast 3 hours went. Ken loved the many photo opportunities throughout the ship, as well as the photo booth. The only downside to the night is you really couldn't see the fireworks. They were shot more on the battery side of Charleston and the Yorktown is located near the Cooper River Bridge.

We really enjoyed our couple of days in Charleston. I particularly like how this city makes you slow down. Outside of having plans for dinner, we didn't have a schedule to follow and just allowed ourselves to wander and enjoy the city and each other's company. For me this was the best gift for my birthday. One on one time with the hubs, good food and no plans!