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travel with friends

11 Fabulous Things To Do In Charleston

Every year I take a trip with my girlfriends. This year it was my turn to choose the location, so I picked Charleston, SC. We went in early May and the weather was fabulous – sunny and in the 70’s. Here are 11 Fabulous Things To Do In Charleston.

Street in Charleston. Building with Red door surrounded by baskets of flowers

Photo by Meredyth DeBoer

Rent a House at the Beach

After we picked Charleston, we needed to find a place to stay, which wasn’t easy. Charleston is not a LARGE city by megacity standards. Places within Charleston proper are expensive. And we didn’t find out until we arrived that we were there on a major college graduation weekend, so I’m sure that contributed to the accommodation scarcity and prices!

When we travel together, we like to have our own bedrooms, so we often look for a house to accommodate us house on VRBO. I found a cute little 4 bedroom beach cottage outside of Charleston at Folley Beach, complete with a screened in porch that got a nice breeze. We enjoyed our coffee and the scent of magnolias on the porch every morning. The location was great. It was a 20-minute drive to all the places we wanted to see in Charleston.

Take a Carriage Tour

We started our first day in Charleston with a carriage tour around the city taking in all the historic sites. Doing this first allowed us to get our bearings so that we knew how to get around and see some of the other places we wanted to go.

Since a carriage tour ride is the quintessential touristy thing to do in Charleston, there are numerous carriage tour companies to choose from. We booked ours through Classic Carriage Works.

We booked an early in the day tour in advance, but we could have easily waited to book the tour when we arrived. Although we would not have had our choice of times, we probably would have been able to get on one within an hour. One advantage of going on one of the early tours is that you have a better chance of finding a place to park your car for the day since downtown parking is VERY LIMITED.

There are several types of tours you can choose from, depending on your interests. We took the Charleston History Tour. There is also a Civil War Tour or Slavery to Freedom Tour. Private tours and adults-only tours are also offered.

We had a super fun (and handsome) tour guide who gave us an hour tour through the historic district where we saw lots of homes (including Patricia’s from Southern Charm) and historic churches. Did you know that Charleston is often referred to as the “Holy City” because of all the majestic steeples and spires you can see as you drive through town?

Photo by Harriet Hollingshead

After our tour, we took a short walk over to the Charleston City Market, which is a historic open-air market where slaves used to take their wares to sell. In addition to touristy things, they have crafty and handmade items, a great lemonade stand and clean restrooms.

Have Brunch at Poogan’s Porch

Next on the list was brunch at Poogan’s Porch! OMG, was that wonderful! I had the BEST Bloody Mary made with Dixie Black Pepper Vodka, Charleston Mix & pickled okra, followed by an appetizer of Fried Green Tomatoes with Peach and Blueberry Chutney and a main course of Shrimp & Grits. You don’t get much more Southern than that.

And lest I forget the biscuits….

Other favorites: Pogan’s Salty Dog, Pulled Pork Benedict & French Toast.

Restaurant Tip: Many of the most popular restaurants in the city are open daily for brunch. Great option if you can’t get a dinner reservation or just want to go to brunch.

Go Shopping on King Street

We spent the afternoon on King Street – a LONG street for shopping. One end has unique high-end boutiques, antique stores, and art galleries. The other end has more of the luxury retailers you’d see at home.

Visit the Cemetery at the Unitarian Church of Charleston

Photo by Meredyth DeBoer

The cemetery at the 2nd oldest church in Charleston is a beautiful spot with gravestones dating back to the 1700’s. The pathways are maintainted for visitors, but the plots and grave markers have been given over to nature. Vines, shrubs, and trees grow among, around and through the cemetery. Ghost Tours of Charleston even offers a tour of the cemetery at night!

Rainbow Row

A street with beautiful homes in a rainbow of colors. One of the prettiest streets in Charleston.

Photo by Meredyth DeBoer

Charleston Tea Plantation

The Charleston Tea Plantation is not a plantation in the “Gone With the Wind” sense, but an actual working plantation where they grow tea. In fact, it’s the only place in the US where tea is grown.

The plantation is picturesque with huge trees and a nice picnic area. They have a large gift shop with many different varieties of hot and cold tea to sample. If you are interested in how tea is cultivated, take the 45-minute trolley tour. We had a delightful tour guide and the tour was most informative. If your time is limited and you are not SUPER INTERESTED in tea, I would skip this.

Middleton Place

Middleton Place is the home of the oldest landscaped gardens in America. When you visit, you will see 65 acres of formal landscaped gardens, and get a look at 18th and 19th-century plantation life with costumed craftspeople and historic animal breeds in the plantation stableyards.

When I heard about the gardens, I thought of flowers. There aren’t many flowers, but it is a gorgeous place with big trees, ponds, creeks and sculpted bushes. There is so much to see and do, I wish we had started our day there.

We enjoyed walking through the gardens:

Seeing the animals:

And the authentic look of plantation life they offered:

Man splitting wood in 18th century costume

Photo by Meredyth DeBoer

If you go to Middleton Place, make it the first stop of your day. There is so much more to see and do there than we were able to do, including a tour of the original house.

Dinner at Wild Olive Cucina Italiana, Johns Island

Dinner at this lovely farm to table restaurant features house-made pasta and dishes made with primarily locally sourced food. Pasta and seafood are outstanding!

Breakfast or Lunch at Lost Dog Café, Folly Beach

A little breakfast and lunch place off the beaten path featuring all your breakfast and lunch favorites – bagels, biscuits & gravy, eggs benedict, sandwiches, salads, and wraps. My favorite – Blackened Salmon BLT Wrap with grilled blacked salmon, fried green tomatoes, crumbled bacon, romaine, and Cajun mayo. This wrap is HUGE. You could definitely split this with someone.

Dinner at The Fat Hen, Johns Island

Authentic French Cuisine in a casual, family atmosphere. Delicious steaks, seafood, Southern fare. Get the Flounder Nicoise and don’t’ miss out on the Bacon Cheese Grits.

We had such a wonderful time in Charleston. I wish we had had more time. Put this on your list of the best girl’s trip destinations!

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June 10, 2018 3 comments

Outer Banks Girls Trip 5 Fun Things to Do | OBX | Lunch at Aqua | Wright Brothers National Memorial | Currituck Beach Lighthouse | Wild Horse Adventure Tours | Dirty Dick's Crab House | Outer Banks Vacation | Outer Banks Travel Guide | Outer Banks, NC | Things to do in Outer Banks

Travel

Outer Banks Girls’ Trip | 5 Fun Things To Do in Outer Banks, NC

My Outer Banks Girls’ Trip started a little differently than many of the trips I take with my favorite travel buddies. Harriet & I tagged along with Cassie who was babysitting her precious grandson in Norfolk, VA for the week. He was a doll and didn’t deter us one bit from having a blast and laughing until we peed our pants (one of the “perks” of middle age)!

The Outer Banks of North Carolina (or OBX as the locals call it) are only about a 1 ½ hour drive from Norfolk. An easy day trip for Harriet & I. Here are the 5 fun things we experienced in this beautiful part of the country.

Wright Brothers National Memorial

Our first stop was at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kitty Hawk, NC. The memorial that honors these two brothers who experimented with flight in the early 1900’s and eventually succeeded is a National Park. It costs $7 per person to get in and your admission ticket is good for 5 days.

Although the actual museum is under renovation until Fall 2018, there is plenty to see on the grounds:

Reproductions of the Wright Brothers’ camp buildings
Replicas of their 1902 Glider and 1903 Flyer
The monument commemorating the Wright Brothers’ achievement at the top of Big Kill Devil Hill

History and aviation buffs will enjoy a trip to the Wright Brothers National Memorial.

Aqua Restaurant and Spa in Duck, NC

View of the Sound from Aqua

Down the road a bit is the charming little town of Duck, NC. Filled with restaurants and cute shops, this is the place we decided to stop for lunch. We enjoyed cocktails and fish tacos that were fresh and wonderful while overlooking the breathtaking views of the sound. I loved their Tito Fresco cocktail so much, I made my own version when we got home. Check it out!

Currituck Beach Lighthouse

The Outer Banks are known for their beautiful lighthouses. The one closest to Duck was the Currituck Beach Lighthouse. This gorgeous lighthouse made of red brick is 162 ft. tall and was first lit in 1875. Visitors can climb up the 214 winding steps to the top for panoramic views of Currituck Sound, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Currituck Outer Banks.

Wild Horse Adventure Tours

Have you seen the great pictures of wild horses running together along the ocean’s shoreline? Seeing wild horses in action is the idea behind Wild Horse Adventure Tours and it was one of the main reasons we ventured to the Outer Banks.

Wild Horse Adventure Tours offer a 2-hour long tour along the beach and through the dunes of the Outer Banks in open air Hummers, designed to give you the best views of the OBX Wild Corolla Spanish Mustangs.

An experienced guide will drive you along the beautifully untouched beaches and through the dunes, where you will see these wild horses in their natural habitat.

Although it is rare to actually see the horses running along the beaches, they are gorgeous and majestic, no matter what they are doing.

We booked the day ahead, which is a good idea. There are a number of wild horse tours in the area. We saw some of them in lots of different vehicles – including the back of a pickup! That looked uncomfortable! Take the Wild Horse Adventure Tour and ride in the Hummer. A 2-hour ride in the dunes in an uncomfortable vehicle would make for a long afternoon….

Dirty Dick’s Crab House

We ended the day with a huge seafood dinner at Dirty Dick’s Crab House. We had seen signs for Dirty Dick’s along the highway all day and just had to see it for ourselves. Since I have a juvenile sense of humor, I couldn’t wait to post the drink napkin they gave me that said “I got my crabs at Dirty Dick’s” on Facebook.

Anyway – I had a seafood platter of delicious, fresh seafood and the most wonderful AUTHENTIC Key Lime Pie I had ever tasted. Dirty Dick’s is also open for breakfast and brunch. It was packed on a weeknight – a sure sign of good food and a great reputation!

If your travel plans take you anywhere near OBX, be sure to take in a few of these sights! We’re so glad that we did!

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5 Tips for Traveling With Friends

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July 18, 2017 19 comments

Travel

5 Tips For Traveling With Friends

One of the perks being on this side of 50 is having time to travel with friends. Every year, I try to take at least one trip with just my girlfriends. On occasion, my husband and I will take a trip with another couple. Here are some tips on traveling with friends that I have learned along the way that ensure everyone has fun together AND that you are still friends when the trip is over!

5 Tips For Traveling With Friends

Everyone participates in the planning

Whether you like every minute planned or prefer a more “take it as it comes” approach, there are lots of things to research when planning a trip – airfare, car rental, accommodations, restaurants and sites to see. Make sure everyone in the group has an area to research then come together and make your plans.

Travel with people with similar spending styles

Some people, out of necessity or desire, travel on the tightest of shoe-string budgets. Others are able to spend extravagantly and not think a thing about it. These two vacationers should NOT travel together. There’s nothing worse than traveling with someone who is spending money on all the most expensive restaurants and experiences when you have to watch your budget. And vice versa, if you have the money to spend, it’s no fun having to scrimp on every little thing just because your fellow travelers can’t afford to travel in the style you prefer.

Appoint someone to keep track of expenses

In most restaurants you can get separate checks. But there are times on a trip when one person will cover the cost entire cost of something, such as a a tank of gas or tickets to an event. Appoint someone who is good at math to keep track of expenses and then tell everyone what they owe at the end. That way, everyone pays an equal share of the expenses. Even if you don’t mind picking up the tab for a cup of coffee or something that you think is small – document it. Those small charges can add up. And you may be with someone who feels the need to reciprocate, but really can’t afford it.

Everyone doesn’t have to do everything together

There are lots of sites to see and things to do on a trip. But have the understanding that everyone doesn’t have to do everything with the group all the time. There will be different energy levels and different interests. As long as one person doesn’t inconvenience the entire group, be sure everyone knows that they have the freedom to go with the group or do their own thing.

Plan for everyone to have a little space every day

Even the best of friends can get tired of talking and being together all day. On a recent trip, we rented a house and each had our own bedroom, so it was easy to get a break from each other for a little while every day. Even if you don’t have your own rooms, plan time for a cup of coffee, a walk or just sitting in the hotel lobby by yourself for a while every day. A break will do everyone good and you’ll enjoy your time together all the more.

Trips are a great time to get to know your friends better and grow closer as a result! I have so many great memories of trips with my friends. Keep these tips in mind and you’ll look forward to many more travels together!

5 Must-See Places In Nashville

I LOVE travelling with my girlfriends and try to do a “girl’s only” trip every year. This year, four of us got together and chose Nashville as our destination. Here are my 5 Must-See Places in Nashville.

5 Must-See Places in Nashville

This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. If you purchase a product through my link, I may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. I so appreciate every click-through and purchase! Every little bit helps to keep My Side of 50 up and running.

The Bluebird Café

The Bluebird Cafe features songwriters performing their original songs

The Bluebird Cafe, Nashville, TN

The Bluebird is a small, “hole in the wall” place in the middle of an unassuming strip center. There are two shows a night that feature songwriters performing acoustic sets of their own songs.

Reservations for Tuesday-Saturday are taken ONLINE only and never more than a week ahead of time. Sunday and Monday shows are first-come, first-served. The night we were there, we heard legendary songwriter Charlie Peacock who had written hits for Amy Grant and the Newsboys (hello 90’s Contemporary Christian Music) and three up and comers – Matt Wertz, Andrew Ripp and Jake Ousley. The music was great and the whole listening experience is one that you don’t often have the opportunity to experience outside of Nashville.

Lower Broadway

Boots on Lower Broadway

Lower Broadway is the home of many famous honky tonks featuring live music all day and night. There are many great bands playing in places where there is no cover. You can just buy a drink and listen. Keep in mind that the musicians make money only when people tip them, so be sure to throw $10-20 in their tip jar on your way out. When you think about it, where else can you hear live music for that price?

We found that the weekends on Lower Broadway are pretty crowded and by about noon, it’s hard to find a seat in the bars. If you can visit Lower Broadway on a weekday, it’s much less crowded, you’ll get a seat and the music is still good!

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

This beautiful museum highlights the history of country music from its roots to the modern sound we hear today. There are many exhibits playing musical clips from country music’s earliest days. Memoriabilia such as Carl Perkins Blue Suede Shoes, one of Elvis’ cars, complete with TV and bar, Keith Urban’s guitars, and Taylor Swift’s costumes and props from her Red tour are included. One of my favorite exhibits showed a video of how TV embraced country music. Clips included Tennessee Ernie Ford and Minnie Pearl, Jimmy Dean (Big Bad John), Glenn Campbell, Hee Haw and Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell sisters. I remembered seeing all of them on TV when I was growing up.

The Country Music Hall of Fame features Carl Perkin's Blue Sued Shoes

Carl Perkin’s Blue Suede Shoes at The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

The Grand Ole Opry

The Historic Grand Ole Opry in Nashville

The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville

The Grand Ole Opry has been a live radio show for 90 years. A show at The Opry is not like a typical concert. The 2 1/2 hour show is structured in 30 minute segments, each with it’s own host, several performers and commercials from their sponsors. This is the place to get a wide variety of musical entertainment.

The night we were there featured artists from the past, blue grass pickers, square dancers, country stars from just a few years back like Ricky Skaggs and Crystal Gayle, young performers making their Opry debut like Clare Dunn and current headliners Montgomery Gentry.

Ricky Skaggs, one of the many performers at The Grand Ole Opry

Ricky Skaggs at The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville

Allow plenty of time to arrive and get seated. The Grand Ole Opry shares a parking lot with Opry Mills Mall and is next door to the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center. Parking is limited and traffic is heavy!

Centennial Park

If the weather is nice, be sure and visit Centennial Park, a beautiful 132-acre park in the middle of Nashville.

The centerpiece of Centennial Park is The Parthenon, a beautiful full-scale replica of the Athenian original. Inside the Parthenon is Nashville’s Art Museum. Centennial Park is a lovely place to walk around and enjoy the outdoors.

The Parthenon, and exact replica of the one in Athens, is the centerpiece of Centennial Park in Nashville

The Parthenon at Centennial Park in Nashville

Nashville is a lovely city with so much to see and do. The people are friendly and it’s relatively easy to get around.

By the way, LYFT and Uber are great ways to get around Nashville. Why?

You don’t have to worry about finding your way around.
Parking downtown, where a lot of the sites are is scarce AND expensive.
The drivers are very knowledgeable about great places to see and eat.
And since Nashville is a big music town, you are likely to meet all kinds of people in the music biz who drive for LYFT and Uber on the side! We met up and coming musicians, songwriter and producers. And not just from country music, but from every genre – really cool.

And if you’ll be trying LYFT for the first time, just download the app and enter my code (5042) for a discount on your ride. Here’s the discount code: 5042

Want to drive for LYFT? Apply here.

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Have you ever visited Nashville? What were your favorite places?

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Check out 5 Great Places to Eat in Nashville

5 Tips For Traveling With Friends

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March 17, 2016 62 comments