A short drive from Charlotte to Columbia and we were at our next stop to visit Dan’s friends Blackmon & Courtney, their baby son Ridge, Jason, Boans and Matthew.
After a tour of the University of South Carolina, it’s lovely campus and amazing professional standard sports facilities we had a tour of the beautiful State House and brushed up on our American history. After, we had some dinner at 1801 Grille and I had my first chicken fingers with Alabama white BBQ sauce which was fantastic!
Dan’s friends had then organised for us all to attend the USC college basketball game in the comfort of a suite. It was great fun, I had my first grapefruit beer and happily the Gamecocks won!
After a much needed hangover cure for the boys at Waffle House the next morning, we headed down to Charleston.
Unfortunately the cold and rain had well and truly set in by now, so we didn’t see the city in its greatest light but we had a couple of fantastic lunches, first at 167 Raw, a tiny, hipster, seafood restaurant where we had a selection of oysters, clams, shrimps, clam chowder, scallop po’boy and lobster roll. The lobster roll was amazing but the scallop po’boy was out of this world! Highly recommended if you’re in the area and can get in. (They don’t take reservations)
After a rainy walk around the beautiful Magnolia Plantation Gardens and House, our next lunch stop was Leons, a hip oyster and chicken place which again had gorgeous food including spicy fried brussel sprouts! A beer in the Bay Street Biergarten with Dan’s friend Heather topped off the day before we headed back to the beautiful home we had been kindly lent by Dan’s friends Susanna and Aimee.
Tiredbuthappytravels 