Sunday, May 20, 2018

Visiting Folly Beach and Dowtown Charleston, SC

A Relaxing Trip To The Beach


I'm back after spending several relaxing days visiting Folly Beach and downtown Charleston, SC. I have lots of photos to share with you, so I hope you will indulge me! My friend, Sharon, and I had planned this trip months ago and we enjoyed ourselves so much!


Our time spent at the beach was both beautiful and relaxing. The overall weather on our trip was rainy and stormy but it seemed as if whenever we went out to do something, the rain stayed away until we returned to our condo. Grateful for this blessing!


We asked a lady on the beach to take a photo of us together. As you can see, it was quite windy. 


The beach wasn't crowded at all which was quite nice. There were lots of birds to photograph.... 


Birds flying in formation over the water...


And, swarming these folks who were feeding them!


The waves were mesmerizing to watch.


And the sky stayed a pretty blue for us while we lounged. 


We ended our beach day at a "locals" type restaurant which is not only historical, but very unique. This restaurant  has been serving folks since 1946. Click on the link if you want to read the history.


The structure both outside and in is rustic.


Folks continued to stream into the restaurant the whole time we were there. It is quite popular! I chose the crab cakes which was the least fried option I could find on the menu. This sign pretty much sums up the overall food experience. 



Another cute sign on the wall. Sorry for the blurriness.



We spent the next day enjoying downtown Charleston and I experienced my first horse drawn carriage ride through the city.



This is "Buddy" the horse who pulled our carriage. We were told that Buddy is 12 years old and weighs well over 2,000 pounds! In his earlier life, he was an Amish work horse working from sunup to sundown. Now, he works one week giving carriage tours and then gets two weeks off in which he is taken to a farm where he can run in open pasture. I think they wanted to make sure we were told that the horses are treated well. 


The carriage ride was a great way to see the beautiful architecture of Charleston. Shooting pics from the carriage made for some interesting angles, though!


The colors of these "Rainbow Row" houses are so pretty! I've been to Charleston several times before, but I never tire of seeing them.


And, I absolutely love the window boxes I saw there!



I loved seeing the ancient trees and it was interesting to hear, once more, about the history of the city.


We walked down to the Waterfront Park and enjoyed the views. There were also swings under the covered part of the walkway. 


We could see Fort Sumter where the first shots of the Civil War were fired. 



And we enjoyed resting and conversation close to the beautiful fountains at the Waterfront Park.  And, yes, I did dip my toes in the pineapple fountain. (You were allowed on the top two steps). 


And, no matter where we were, it seemed like the wind was whipping through our hair!


We also visited The City Market in downtown Charleston which was filled with many different vendors.


I found two really pretty tops there which I'll be sharing with you in future posts. You know I had to do a little shopping on this trip!


It just seemed there were great views no matter which way we looked on this trip. 


But, my favorite view of all, is always the beautiful beach. I never tire of it!  We had a great condo on James Island which was my first experience with an Airbnb. I highly recommend Filipa's place on Airbnb if you want to stay near the Folly Beach side of Charleston! Now, it's back to the normal daily routine of home. And, I did miss the Mr. and Cassie Cat while I was away. But, I'm filled with wonderful memories of friendship and fun visiting Folly Beach and downtown Charleston! And, so grateful to Sharon for being my travel buddy!


I guess you can tell I loved this beach trip! So, tell me, what's new with you?  Hope you'll take a moment to share. 

Until Next Time,
Debbie

4 comments:

Sharon said...

Debbie, you captured our trip beautifully. It's nice for me to read your post and have a summary of our trip with great photos! It was a perfect ladies' getaway!

Debbie Styles Life said...

Yes, it sure was, Sharon!

Karen said...

Oh my! One of my favorite places on earth! I have even eaten at Bowen's Island Restaurant!!! Folly Beach is such a charming beach town and the beaches are gorgeous. These pictures are like taking a vacation for me. Charleston is a wonderful place - so much to see, so much history, gorgeous homes, the Market, the restaurants...it's a repeater vacation for me because there is always so much to experience. Your beach photos are perfect Debbie! Couldn't you just sit there all day long and stare at the water? I will be going back several times to look at your pictures! I really miss this place and realize now it's time to go back! Folly is 3 hours from where my grandson lives so we've made it a day trip, but definitely much more time is needed when you add in fabulous Charleston! Thank you for sharing your pictures! As I said, I'll be looking at them more than a few times!

Debbie Styles Life said...

So glad that you enjoyed my post about the beach, Karen. That's fun that you have been to some of the same places! I hope that you get to return to Charleston/Folly Beach and enjoy the scenery soon!