Our 15 year old son was one of the top 20% of football athletes that received a coveted invitation to attend Top Gun, an elite showcase camp that also can lead to an invitation to play on the Army All American team. We'll be flying into Charleston the first week of July and want to spend some time visiting what I've heard is a beautiful antebellum city. We'd like to spend a few days there before driving to Rock Hill S.C.

Any advice on places to stay, eat and places to visit would be appreciated. The campfire has yet to steer me wrong so this is the first place I turn for advice.

Thanks in advance.

Oh man....you'll love Charleston! The city just oozes history out of its pores. We usually stay out of town a ways to reduce motel costs. If that is not an issue, in-town motels abound. Eating....Good Lord, good restaurants everywhere. I'd look at Hank's, Charleston Crab House, Bowen's Island (out in the boonies). Hyman's is good but "touristy" . They place engraved plates on tables where celebs ate...I sat in Barbara Strisand's chair, Neil Diamond's and someone elses one time. Wifey sat in Mel Gibson's chair, James Brown's and....John McCain's.

Ft. Sumter is good to visit. Lots of area plantations. Patriot's Point (aircraft carrier Yorktown).

http://www.patriotspoint.org/

http://www.magnoliaplantation.com/

https://bowensisland.com/

PM me if more info is needed. Congrats to your son!!!

Start downtown at the battery, then walk around and enjoy. Many of the houses in the historic district offer tours. As Godogs57 said, tour at least one of the plantations. They are amazing.

You won't run out of stuff to do and see in a week. I love that town. If you enjoy it, there is actually more of Savannah preserved than Charleston. You'll want to take a trip there someday as well.

Give your son a well deserved pat on the back from the campfire, and have fun in the old south!


Oh yeah.....DO NOT leave without seeing the H.L. Hunley, a confederate submarine. That's right, no chit! A confederate submarine!!!!!
https://www.hunley.org/weekend-tour...campaign=branding%20in-market%20expanded

Visit The Citadel too. BAttery is a small area, lots of restaurants and gift shops, lots of history,
Fort Sumter..

I used to like "Craw Daddies", a Cajun restaurant, when I was stationed there- have fun.

Slightly North of Broad for eats. if i could find the matchbook i got there i could give address but it is just north of broad street.
Modern Southern & Lowcountry cuisine served in an airy, 18th-century warehouse.
Address: 192 E Bay St, Charleston, SC

The aquarium there is pretty nice.
In July, though, you may HATE the place due to the humidity. It's awful m

As usual a great bunch of feedback and I truly appreciate you men taking the time to give me some great advice. I've always enjoyed my time in the south, great people, great food and amazing history so what's not to love. The heat and humidity is something I couldn't live with but for a couple weeks I'll survive and with everything to do, see and eat I won't even notice that I'm melting.

We're really looking forward to South Carolina since none of us have been there.

GoDogs...I'll pass along your congrats to my son. He was pretty proud (as was mom since she teared up when he got his Top Gun ticket and I am too). As we get some details hashed out in the next couple weeks I might reach out and have some questions for you.

If anyone is in the area and time allows I'd be honored to buy a couple rounds at anyplace of your choosing.

Thanks again guys!

Also since I'm a hopeless junky any fishing guides for a saltwater trip might be in order. I've left momma and the chirren early mornings on many trips to go fishing and this may be another one of those times that I indulge myself. 😀

You'll like Charleston. I like SC period but I'm moving back to NC, I've begun the process. I miss it too much.

call Cantey Smith (google fishing guides) and he will put you on the fish... spot tails, flounder, sheepshead etc... lots to do down here

82 Queen St is a wonderful restaurant to try.

Charleston has plenty of good fishing opportunities. Georgetown, just a hop skip and a jump up the road has a little bit more fishing. The ACE basin has some fantastic inshore fishing all over the place too.

Tell your friends in Washington goodbye...you might not come back. Tell your son to talk with my buddy Kirby at UGA before he signs on the dotted line in the future! Go Dawgs!👍

http://www.acebasin.net/fishing.html

http://www.kaminskys.com/home


For dessert every night😀.

Skip Hymans. Bad food and worse service. It may have been the only place in Charleston that was a disappointment.

We also enjoyed just walking or driving around and looking at old buildings and homes. Little different there than Wyoming.

Go to the Hunley Museum.

Shrimp and grits. Enough said.....

Go eat anywhere on Shem Creek. I like staying on the Isle of Palms. For a great fishing guide check out Captain Richard Sport Fishing - fished the harbor jetties with him last June and again two weeks ago. He'll pick you up at Johns Island or Shem Creek - great day fishing both time. A great seafood place is The Boathouse at the Breach Inlet bridge between Sullivans Island and Isle of Palms. Ate there two weeks ago and my folks went last week - good seafood. Have fun.

https://www.facebook.com/Captain-Richard-109335155769900/

go to the fort its cool

Yes, it is worth visiting.

Yes! Shem Creek...how did I forget that? Just ate there a month ago. Great food also.

Congrats to your son. That is a big accomplishment and he deserves all the accolades he receives. Congrats to his mom and dad, too.

To keep you from completely melting during the day, take a blue line bus tour of Charleston. The driver we had (both times) was a retired history professor and was an absolute joy to listen to. He really made history come alive and we enjoyed our 2 hours immensely. Oh, and the bus is air conditioned.

Hall's chop house. it's downtown and it's prime beef and its good. It's actually very good. And it's a bit on the spendy side but for great beef, sides, desert and wine, what's not to love there, eh?

Charleston is one of the most charming, historically important cities along the east coast and played a huge role in the Revolutionary War as well as the Civil War. Big military presence and lots of patriotic pride throughout the city. You should be treated to a spectacular 4th of July show if you're there.

Enjoy it all, my friend.

Mike, can you tell me more about this, please? I live in N.C. and was considering retiring to S.C. - maybe that's not a good idea? I'd like to hear your perspective on this. PM me, maybe?

You beat me to it. Actually any low country seafood specialties.

Wow thanks guys. I have to drop the kids at school and help an old lady with a couple chores and I'll be back to write down some notes. We really can't wait and having gone to the Manning camp a couple times in New Orleans in July I know that this northern dweller can survive a week of 104* and 100% humidity. Much more than a week and I would melt away.

Thanks so much everyone and as we get closer or have any questions I'll be bending your ears some more

See it all in Charleston. Well worth a visit.
Be careful driving through Columbia on the way to Rock Hill, that "hole to hades" will be opened up at that time of year...hottest place on the face of the earth, it seems. Once you get to Rock Hill, not much to do there, unless you make the drive into Charlotte, which I don't recommend. Theres a Cabela's at the state line, Carowinds boulevard exit, and Carowinds theme park, if you like that sort of thing. Nichols Gunshop is / was close to Rock Hill, I think they're still open.

My wife and I enjoyed Fleet Landing Restaurant. The food was great and the prices were pleasantly low. It is the old naval station restored as a restaurant. We were there in mid-June and man was it hot and humid. Our next trip there will be in the fall.

Man, if you are from Washington you are probably not going to want to do much outside during the day in July in Charleston. It is humid, hot and very uncomfortable. I live in SC and hate the summers!

Your son will probably struggle in in the humidity while he is performing his drills. If there is a way to get him exposed to a more humid climate ahead of time I would recommend it.

If you can handle Louisiana heat and humidity, Charleston won't bother you. I believe the most miserable place I ever worked regarding the heat and humidity was the Baton Rouge/Lake Charles, LA region.

I spent a lot of time down there over the years. Other than the historical stuff, Charleston itself is not my style. Anytime you get a spot gone tourist and metropolitan, you lose the Southern in it. My favorite three restaurants down there are not actually in Charleston.

Melvin's in Mt. Pleasant for BBQ is #1. BBQ came through this part of the country first. Immigrants to SC perfected it with mustard sauce.

Seewee's is a trip out to Awendaw for seafood. If you want to check she-crab soup off the list, Seewee's is the spot to do it. The Seewee Center probably still has red wolves to look at. Take a gander before they're completely extinct.

Third on the list is Jack's Cosmic Dogs. While the first two were specific to the area , Jack's is just good. Blue cheese slaw dogs and fresh cut fries in peanut oil? Can't beat it with a stick.

There would be a fourth, but Gullah Cuisine closed. There are other soul food establishments in the area, but they tend more toward Southern soul food than representing Gullah food. Still, don't skip one advertising Gullah cuisine if you see it.

Have heard Charleston described as a "clean" NOLA. That's pretty accurate. Bring your checkbook, some of the best restaurants in the SE are there. Competes with NOLA and birmingham for the SE's best eats.

Have spent several big anniversaries there. A long weekend is enough.

Go to the Hominy Grill for brunch. Over by the university.

HUSK was rated the #1 restaurant in the country a few years ago. Worth the $$$. Make reservations.

It's been said but I'll say it again - see the Hunley. There's lots of other stuff, depending on what sort of thing you like.

Plenty of places to eat, too, so I'll suggest one that's a little different. There's a place called Ravenel Fresh Seafood just west of Charleston itself (in Ravenel). It's take-out-only, but if you're looking for a place with good crabs, that's it. You'll need a place to go back to and eat in a messy fashion; we get it when camping on Edisto.

Spend the gas and got to Litchfield beach, Bistro.

+ 1 on HUSK and Ravenel Seafood.....different ends of the cost spectrum, but both have great food. As for Ravenel, it is takeout, but they have a couple tables inside and outside....bring a roll of paper towels! Edit: At Husk, you might consider going for lunch....still great food, but less costly menu.

Go to:

River Street Sweets
100 N Market St
Charleston, SC 29401

www.riverstreetsweets.com

Be sure to buy some Benne Wafers while you're there. You'll love them.

You guys have me even more excited than I was. I'll be making a list and checking it twice just to be sure not to miss out. We love seafood and will definitely be eating our share of it while we're there.

New Orleans in July was hot and sticky but nothing a dip in the pool and siesta couldn't fix. 😀 The Manning Passing Academy was excellent at keeping the players hydrated and I'm sure that Top Gun will too but I will be sure to keep an eye out for that. My son doesn't seem to mind the heat and humidity or the cold and rain just as long as he's playing football. Ahhh to be 15 again.....

Thanks again to all of you for your suggestions, they'll be put to good use.

My wife wants to thank you for your noteworthy suggestions. She was wondering....

What towns outside of Charleston are safe and maybe close to the beach?

Good beaches?

Towns outside of the city that makes for a good home base while we take day trips. I'm not averse to driving, just traffic. 😀

The Mark Clark expressway bridge was down last week - trying to drive was a zoo! Maybe it is fixed now. Isle of Palms is my favorite place to stay, usually rent a house but you can get a condo at Wild Dunes Resort on the north end of the island. My folks like to go to Folly Beach for old times sake (we lived in the area in the late 1950's) while my Dad was attached to the Army ROTC unit at The Citadel). Folly is on James Island, south of Charleston.

love Charleston in the winter, July, not so much.

Was just there for a few days.
Don't know what your interests are, but---
Do not try to drive everywhere, parking is an issue. Park at the visitor's center and take a bus.
The buses are free, there are different routes.
There are buss tours, and carriage tours.
If history is an interest, sign up for a bus tour, there are several.
The tour to Ft. Sumter is recommended.
The market is interesting for shopping and food.
Hyman's seafood is really good. Get the low country she crap soup for sure.
Plantation tours are available.
Oh yeah, the Naval museum at Patriots Point too

Son was stationed at Shaw AFB in Sumter for 3 years. Never made it to Charleston, so cannot give specific locations. However, as noted several times above, try one of the low country boils. Good grub. Never went away hungry. Also as noted above, get your boy hydrated. It will get a "little sticky" in SC in July.

Finally, tell your boy "Congrats" on a significant accomplishment. Best wishes for a good work out / try out. And, congrats to his parents for raising a fine young man. Tough thing to do in the current environment.

This man is in the know except for the BBQ, everyone here knows BBQ is vinegar not mustard, it will do when vinegar is not available. Rodney Scotts BBQ downtown is good, Seewee Resturant is great, it's 3 miles from my hunting club.Isle of Palm and Sullivan's Island both have good beaches 15 minutes north in Mt Pleasant.

Jack's Comic Dog is good, shame Gullah closed, but one of my favorites is The Wreck, lots of locals, cash only and located at Shem Creek,Red's and Water's Edge were good last time I ate there.

From high$$$ to low $

Husk
Magnolias
Hymans
Hanks
Seewee Resuarant
The Wreck of Richard and Charlene
Rodney Scotts
Cosmic Dog

Fort Sumter, Pariots Point has a Viet Nam fire base replica and the MOH museum, and the Yorktown aircraft carrier along with a sub and 2 more naval ships.

Hunley is at the naval Base in N. Charleston .

Osceola's grave at the fort on Sllivan's island.

If you want to fish inshore call Haddrells Point tackle shop, Mike Able and his son are both guides, or call The Charleston Angler and ask for a recommendation, lot'sof guides, can't recommend any but the Ables and Capt. Fritz. I fish myself there with no guide and do very well. Lot's of the offshore boats are tied up with the Governor's Cup billfish tourney right now. Teaser II with Mark Brown is good for deep water snapper and grouper, some dolphin and tuna.

Hope it is a pleasant trip for you and your family, I am sure I have left some things out and didn't agree with everything mentioned here but everyone had great suggestions. Hopefully ya'll will be here long enough to enjoy the hospitality the Low Country has to offer. I certainly appreciate being raised and living there for many, many years until a transfer to the upstate, but return every chance to hunt and fish.

You may want to rent a condo on homeaway. Somewhere like Folly Beach, Sullivan's Island, or Isle of Palms. There really isn't much of a bad area of Charleston that I've found.

One hour north...Pawleys Island. Best beach around. Family owns a house on the water there...Heaven

Made it to Charleston yesterday afternoon. We’re staying at Shem Creek and absolutely love the location. Thunderstorms just moving through now which cooled it down a bit. As we suspected once again we enjoy the southern hospitality and food. Southern women seem to be, in general terms, more put together than their fat slobby northern counterparts. No fat assed mud sharks wearing pajamas walking around with a chip on their shoulder as big as their ass. 😁 I’m sure there’s plenty around but I haven’t seen any yet. Mostly just women in bikinis dancing drunk on the bow of Contenders and Grady’s. Just went to Haddrell’s Tackle and poked around and I’ll be stopping by again next week before heading home. We are only here (South Carolina) for a week for the invitational showcase camp but next year we’ll be spending more time here. There’s just too much to do and see that we won’t even scratch the surface. Next year we might do some house hunting for a winter home. 8 months in Alaska and 4 months here would be about perfect since fishing seems to be what this area is all about.

For those of you that graciously offered suggestions I thank you and I love your beautiful area. While I’m not a hot weather guy I do believe that my wife and I fit in good with the locals and have made friends quickly. Regular people are regular people no matter where you go and politeness is never out of style.

Tomorrow we’re off to Rock Hill and we’ll venture into North Carolina so that the kids can check another state off their list. I don’t think anything is as much fun as traveling and making memories with loved ones.

Haven't been there in years, but Charleston is the "ritzy" south. You ain't gotta go far to find all the fatazz, biscuit eatin', well fare mommas, you'd ever care to see!


Sounds like a great trip! Have fun and good luck to the boy!

Lol....that’s kinda what I figured. I’ve always lived in “ritzy” areas because I have nothing in common with welfare, biscuit eaters. I love the geographical differences this great nation provides and I love seeing that white conservatives are NOT an anomaly. If the liberals want another civil war they’d be in a world of hurt since quiet conservatives are more prevalent than they realize. From sea to shining sea this country will be righted by those quiet, hard working, conservatives. 👍

welcome to SC, just stumbled on this. Reds is great place to eat if at shem creek. You can watch all the women on the paddleboards, just make sure the wife isn't watching lol. If not mentioned previously, go on a few of the tours, ghost, carriage ride etc. If you like history, you'll learn a lot. We were down for a wedding last weekend and I took the family to fort sumter. Hadnt been since I was a kid. Patriots point can take up a whole day if you like military stuff. The Aquarium is nice as well as the military museum. Lots of great stuff to do around Charleston and Georgetown. If in Georgetown, stop at the River Room on front street. Very good food. While in rock Hill, stop in Nichols Store. My buddies inlaws are part owners. Lots of nice hunting and fishing stuff.

Honestly one of the best things to do in the Lowcountry of SC is get in the car and just drive. Roll up and down 17 and check out Hampton Plantation(home of Archibald Rutledge), Old ST James Church, Mcclellanville (where parts of Forrest Gump was filmed, Mepkin Abbey(monks corner), Boon Hall Plantation on 17. As far as beach close to Charleston, hard to beat Folly.

We went out to the old fort that guarded the harbor. Interesting history to it. Ed k

Phoneman, Thanks for all the tips. Just had a late lunch and getting ready to take a drive. We’re going to plan a longer stay next year since this place fits us like a glove. The people, scenery and food are as good as anywhere I’ve been.

I’ll report back a little later but I do appreciate all your informed suggestions.

You should have seen how nice it was 30 years ago, before the invasion.

Headed to Pawley's Island tomorrow....as close to heaven as you can get without dying.

Man this place is awesome! Tiki bars everywhere and everyone has a drink in their hand. No obnoxious or stupid drunks, great food and endless choices. Charleston is the coolest city that we’ve been to and akin to an adult Disneyland. The bigger boats on Shem creek have their lights on and the party is kicking. Staying here in the middle of the fun I thought would be loud last night but it wasn’t. It’s busy tonight being a Friday but everyone is civilized. I haven’t seen any cops nor has there been any reason for them to be here since the adults are acting their age despite getting a buzz on and having fun.

We’re already planning for next year, there’s just too much to do in our short stay.

Knew you'd like it Aces.....

So when do you plan on moving to SC now? I'll be glad to help you out interpreting the nuances of Southern Culture if you need help. Secret handshake, how to scratch yourself properly in a crowd, how to blow gnats off your face with your lower lip pooched just right. Remember the assorted bugs there love fresh meat, especially from far away places. Always....always...when introduced to someone there, begin your conversation with "How's ya mama an dem?".....it breaks the ice, so to speak, when talking with folks. Headed through Charleston tomorrow on the way to Pawleys....I'll honk and wave if I see y'all.

...then you simply have to check out Savannah, Georgia sometime.

Southern folk get an undeserved bad rap.

I’d like to know the secret handshake but have done pretty good so far. We made it to Rock Hill and just getting settled in to the hotel. One thing this western boy noticed is that the scenery doesn’t change much. A 3 hour drive back home could go from temperate rainforest to sub-alpine to desert in that amount of time. Also not much change in elevation which is fine since my head cold prevents me from equalizing. 😁 I haven’t met anyone yet that wasn’t pleasant and polite.

I’ve heard that Savannah is beautiful and that’s on our short list but Charleston/Mt. Pleasant had everything I need and fishing seems to be very popular and accessible which is all I need, ultimately.

I don’t know why the south would get a bad rap since I’ve always felt welcome and at ease in the south. Charleston is definitely a place we’ll investigate more as far as house hunting goes. We could easily spend a part of the year down here fishing and eating (my drinking days are behind me for the most part 😁).

I have always enjoyed traveling this country and this area is so rich with history that the family had to listen to me giving them a history lesson for the last 3 hours as we imagined what privations the Civil War soldiers had to endure.

Thanks again to all that have contributed to this thread and our experience in your beautiful corner of our country. God bless!

I'm glad to hear that you are having fun down here. I'm in Charleston right now myself, just a bit south of where you stayed. I have been fortunate to spend much of my life on the Carolina coast. Like much of the south, it is a special place with special culture. On of the posts above is spot on about the invasion. Things were certainly better several years ago. Too many folks down here now. Charleston is among my favorite places on the coast. I'll keep my favorite to myself!

I just worked there a week a couple weeks back.

Didn't get much time to do anything except work...but did eat at one great place I'll definitely hit again if I'm ever back.

It was called Lolas. Best Etouffee I've had in a very long time.

http://lolaparkcircle.com/

Spent quite a bit of time in the early 70's at the Charleston Navy Base - fast attack submarine... Truly a great place to visit. The restaurants along Shem Creek were outstanding and it was possible to get today's catch of shrimp right off of the boats.

I have wanted to take my wife there on vacation - Middletown (SP?) Place plantation and to Magnolia Gardens. The Hunley is a must as is Fort Sumpter. Hope you are having a great time!