The Lowcountry is the saltwater, marshy part of South Carolina near the Atlantic Ocean and the location of our latest trip. We stayed four nights in Charleston and explored Savannah, Folly Beach, Hilton Head Island, Sullivan’s Island and more during our short stay.

Saturday-Downtown Charleston

We began our stay by taking the shuttle to the Holiday Inn Express & Suites-Charleston Airport-Convention Center in North Charleston. We arrived before check-in time, but we were able to check in early without issue.

Our first stop was at Rusty Bull Brewery for a late lunch. I had to try out the pretzel and beer cheese and a beer. I chose the Bock Off and enjoyed it, along with the pretzel, grilled cheese and fries.

The sunshine that we enjoyed as we got off the plane abruptly ended and a rainstorm came in fast. Rainbow Row went from groups posing for pictures in front of brightly colored houses to empty streets. We sought shelter under a large tree while the rain dissipated.

We walked from Rainbow Row to our next stop, the Pink House. The Pink House is one of the oldest houses in Charleston. It was built in the late 1600’s or early 1700’s. We kept walking from the Pink House to King Street. I had read that there are shops that should be checked out when visiting Charleston. Initially there were only shops that were of no interest (think Louis Vuitton). I looked down at Google Maps and noticed Off Track Ice Cream nearby. The ice cream was amazing (I had strawberry)! After a nice treat, we went to the Charleston City Market. There were a variety of items for sale, but nothing that I had to have. Feeling quite tired after an early morning and flight, we took an Uber back to the hotel.

Sunday-Magnolia Gardens, Folly Beach & Angel Oak

We had a big day on Sunday for my mom’s birthday that started with breakfast at the hotel and then a shuttle ride to the airport to pick up a rental car for a couple of days. I had reserved a mid-size SUV and was a bit surprised to find that the only options were Jeeps. I struggled to get in and figure out how to do simple things, like rolling down a window, but it was still nice to be able to drive instead of paying for expensive Uber rides.

Our first stop of the day was Magnolia Plantation & Gardens. We purchased tickets that were good for the garden and grounds, but not the house tour. The gardens were planted in the 1840’s by Rev. John Grimké Drayton for his wife. The gardens have been open to the public since the 1870’s. Many of the camellia and azaleas were in bloom during our visit in late February. We also saw several alligators on our stroll through the gardens. Thankfully they were just lounging around and not lunging at us (an odd fear of mine). We also went by the Audubon Swamp Garden for just a bit. In addition to the house tour, there is also an exhibit “From Slavery to Freedom” that we didn’t have time to tour.

We headed to Folly Beach for lunch at Woody’s Pizza & Pub. My parents shared a veggie pizza and I had a salad and a slice of cheese pizza, all of which was greatly enjoyed. We sat outside in the shade, which felt slightly chilly at about 55 degrees. Oddly enough, our next stop was the beach and the temperature felt quite different. So different to some that there were people in swimsuits. I had intended to go to the Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve, but we made it close and found that you had to find a parking spot, which could prove to be difficult, and then walk .4 miles each way.

After Folly Beach, we headed to Angel Oak. Angel Oak is considered to be the largest Live Oak Tree east of the Mississippi River and is hundreds of years old. I was surprised to learn that it opened at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday (or had an open time at all), but once we got there it made sense. The tree is huge at 65 feet high and a circumference of 25.5 feet. Our trip was right before tourist season picked up, but parking was at a premium. The tree attracts a lot of visitors and there weren’t many parking spots.

Our next stop was at Fleet Landing for mom’s birthday dinner. I read ahead of time that restaurants booked up quickly, sometimes months in advance. We had a reservation at 5:00 and a lot of other people did too. They waited until 5:00 to start seating people and it took a while for our turn. We ended up with a table in the heated patio, with a view of Charleston Harbor and Fort Sumter. Mom had the scallops, dad had a plate of sides, and I had pasta with vegetables. I enjoyed the local IPA recommended by our waiter, Bound by Time from Edmund’s Oast Brewing Co. Mom was given a free dessert for her birthday. We headed down to the waterfront park to see the famous pineapple fountain and then walked to Kaminsky’s Dessert Cafe, where I had the Red Velvet Cake. It was delicious.

Monday-Savannah & Hilton Head Island

On Monday we drove to Savannah. Our first stop of the day was at Forsyth Park, after driving by the Gingerbread House. The park is 30 acres and includes a famous fountain that was installed in 1858. We walked around a while before heading to park near The Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist. From there dad walked to The Book Lady Bookstore and mom and I went to Chippewa Square. Chippewa Square is perhaps most famous for Forrest Gump’s bench scenes.

After lunch at Six Pence Pub, we headed to Leopold’s Ice Cream. Leopold’s is often on lists of top things to do in Savannah and it didn’t disappoint! After our pit stop for ice cream, we headed to Bonaventure Cemetery. I almost immediately felt an allergic reaction from some unknown tree or plant. It was also a bit buggy, so we didn’t stay too long before heading to Hilton Head Island.

The entire trip was a present for my mom, but I added a sunset dolphin tour as something to open on Christmas. We had just enough time to eat an early dinner at the Main Street Island Pub and an extremely short time at the beach before the tour began. We had an hour and a half on the boat. We saw dolphins right away in the “creek.” It was much more like a river than a creek. The captain told us about the birds and wildlife in the area and navigated us towards the ocean. We had a short stop, where we got out and stood amongst the oysters and clams. I would highly recommend this excursion to anyone in the area!

Monday-Charles Towne Landing & Sullivan’s Island

On Monday we headed to Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site. Charles Towne Landing is on a marshy point off the Ashley River. English settlers landed here in 1670. There are a total of 664 acres to take in on seven miles of trails. We started in the Animal Forest, where they have animals that used to live in the area, at the time when it was newly settled by the English. There were red wolves, bison, elk, deer, mountain lion, and other animals. Red wolves are the world’s most endangered wolf, with around 15-17 in the wild, all in North Carolina. Dad and I continued to walk around to explore the historical areas and then caught a ride to see the gardens.

In the evening we headed to Sullivan’s Island. Dad and I took the opportunity on our final trip to a beach to dip our toes in the water. It was a chilly experience! We drove by Fort Moultrie and through Mount Pleasant before returning to North Charleston. We ended our trip with a meal at Rusty Bull Brewing, just as we had begun our trip.

Points & Miles

We used points and miles for our flights and hotel. I used 15,803 Southwest points for my flight and added my mom as my companion. Our hotel cost 74,000 IHG points. We saved $1,018.14 on the flights for mom and me and the hotel. Mom used some of her Southwest points on dad (they aren’t included in the total cost saved as I forgot to document it at the time).

Review

We had a great time on our trip to Charleston and the surrounding area. Mom’s birthday was packed with fun and was the best day of the trip. We walked 20,000 steps that day and it wore me out a bit, but it was worth it! We also really enjoyed the sunset dolphin tour. I would love to go back and spend more time on the islands, but definitely not in the summer heat.

Benny stayed home for this trip since we were flying, but there were multiple dog-friendly activities. I noted that some of the beaches had signs about when dogs were allowed and dogs are welcome at Charles Towne Landing, except for the Animal Forest. We also saw a doggy treat station in Savannah. If we ever go back on driving trip, Benny will go along for sure!