Pralines and Crunches: Charleston Diaries

We just returned home from a long vacation to Charleston, South Carolina. I have always been enchanted with the South. I like everything about it, from the accent, to the memories of Scarlett O'Hara, to coconut cake and grits, the cheesy kind. Best of all, the people are friendly, the atmosphere is relaxed, the ocean is so close, and it's warm year round. We were in a rented house on the Isle of Palms, which is just outside of Charleston. Since the weather was not beach friendly on a few of our days there, we've made a few excursions into town, visited the South Carolina Aquarium on Charleston Harbor, USS Yorktown, Fort Sumter, South of Broad, and the Battery Park.

The house we stayed in was on the ocean and had a pool. But who needs a pool when one has the ocean?

The first morning was warm and sunny and we spent it in the ocean.

In the evening, Alexis practiced her ballet moves on the beach

Beautiful sunset

On one of our walks on the beach we found a crab who was missing a claw. We released him back into the ocean, hoping he'll grow another.

Hominy Grill is a local Charleston landmark. We enjoyed the food and the atmosphere so much that we ended up eating dinner here on two different nights.

Butternut squash soup. It had a distinct hint of ginger. Delicious with toasted almonds.

Pickled shrimp. I had to Google it on my phone as I was reading the menu. Turns out it's a Southern specialty. It was an appetizer, which served as my dinner one of the nights at Hominy's.

Hummingbird cake at Hominy Grill.

Homes on South of Broad

Battery Park

Arthur Ravenel Bridge, which you need to take to get to Isle of Palms from Charleston. It's a beautiful construction.

USS Yorktown. The kids met a veteran on board who commissioned the ship 71 years ago. It was fascinating walking around the ship and learning about World War II.