East Coast Road Trip: Charleston to Boston
Rainbow Row, Charleston, SC
East Coast Road Trip:
Charleston, SC to Boston, MA
Feb. 4-Feb. 7, 2022
You can also find the Vlog on YouTube (see below!).
To hear about an adventure consisting of: an east coast road trip from South Carolina to Massachusetts, the best southern biscuits we’ve ever had, our first time exploring the city of Charleston, a rainy afternoon in Philadelphia, and margaritas in Richmond – keep on reading!
The military gave Lucas orders to report to Columbia, South Carolina for 4-weeks so in early January, we drove our car 18 consecutive hours, so that way he had a vehicle to use during his training in SC. January brought some epic snow storms (including the one that closed down I95 in Virginia for nearly 30 hours!), so to play it safe we hurried over to SC as quickly as we could to squeak by between two predicted snow storms. I stayed in South Carolina for less than 2 days before flying back to Massachusetts.
After 4-weeks of staying home alone with Sherbert, it was finally time to fly to Charlotte, North Carolina to help Lucas drive the car back to MA. But this time, instead of driving 18 consecutive hours, weather allowed us to take our time so we planned a few fun stops along the 3-day trip!
Day 1: Krispy Kreme Headquarters + Charleston, SC
Charlotte International Airport (CLT)
Krispy Kreme Headquarters, Charlotte, NC
King Street, Charleston, SC
A light snowfall made my Uber ride to the airport a little more exciting than I anticipated, but we made it safely on time. This was my first time flying out of BOS through Delta Airlines (instead of Alaska Airlines), so I arrived early knowing that I was going to be in a terminal that I wasn’t familiar with.
TSA PreCheck allowed me to fly through the security line, cutting down what looked like a 45-minute wait to 10 minutes. Whenever this happens, I tend to celebrate by waiting in a different 20-minute line for Starbucks shortly after ;)
After ordering an iced coffee to wake me up, as well as a cup of ice for my water bottle, I was ready to camp out at my terminal gate. While airport lounges are always tempting, I actually prefer booking early flights because airports are usually empty (and much quieter!) on weekend mornings. I was able to find a corner seat next to an outlet and enjoyed my time waiting by listening to new podcasts that I’ve been waiting to listen to!
Has anyone else learned how to find joy in travel days too? Comment below!
Because of the light snow in the morning, our flight was delayed about 45-minutes, which wasn’t a big deal. Before I knew it, 2.5 hours flew by, and I was landing in sunny Charlotte, North Carolina!
Lucas picked me up with Bojangles in-hand because he knew that I’d be hungry after landing around lunch time (bless him!). If you’re not familiar with Bojangles, it’s the southern equivalent for fast food fried chicken sandwiches like KFC (but to be honest - it’s so much better because their biscuits are fire!).
For dessert, we drove 15 minutes from the airport to pick up fresh donuts at Krispy Kreme Headquarters! Did you know that their headquarters was in Charlotte, NC? I had no idea until I found out a few days before this trip so I was stoked to pick up some of our favorite donuts! We live in Dunkin Donut territory, so Krispy Kreme is nowhere in sight in MA.
With our road trip treats ready, we drove 3-hours east to our hotel destination for the night: Charleston, South Carolina. This was our very first time seeing Charleston, but we definitely hope to return in the summer! We’ve heard nothing but great things about the beaches and the southern food, so we were excited about our little sneak peek into what the city has to offer.
We checked into our hotel that we booked at the very last minute, and then hurriedly made our way to King Street in search of dinner. Most restaurants had all of their tables booked for the evening (which totally made sense for a Saturday night!), but many still had bar seating available for first-come-first-serve.
We stumbled upon a restaurant tucked away in the cutest alleyway, Coast Bar & Grill. I chose a delicious plate of shrimp + grits, while Lucas tried their scallops and mashed potatoes. We also had oysters and blue crab ceviche for starters, and yummy cocktails as well.
We learned very quickly that the people in South Carolina are SO friendly. We enjoyed our evening just casually chatting with a couple seated right next to us, and learned a lot about the area through them! We have a whole laundry list of things to see and do for our next trip to Charleston now!
Day 2: Morning Adventures in Charleston, SC + An Evening in Richmond, VA
Callie’s Hot Little Biscuits, Charleston, SC
Bitty & Beau’s Coffee, Charleston, SC
Rainbow Row, Charleston, SC
Charleston City Market, Charleston, SC
Canal Walk, Richmond, VA
Day 2 consisted mostly of our morning adventures in Charleston before another long drive. We started the day early because we wanted to be some of the first to order from the famous Callie’s Hot Little Biscuits. We wanted to walk around the Charleston City Market, so we decided to visit the Callie’s location that was located there instead of the one on King Street. There was already a line forming in front of us, but it went by rather quickly.
The smell of warm biscuits just had its way of drawing you in, so we were beyond excited to try them! We ordered the bacon, egg, and pimento cheese biscuit sandwiches, and we also ordered the trio sampler, which came with three smaller/assorted biscuits. We selected cinnamon, blackberry, and sharp cheddar for the sampler, and they were all DIVINE. The sandwiches were also just as good, but extremely filling, so we decided to split one for breakfast, and saved the other for lunch.
With stomachs satisfied, we made our way towards Charleston’s iconic Rainbow Row. Along the way, we walked past a coffee shop called Bitty & Beau’s Coffee. Unfamiliar to us but wanting a hot cup of coffee to hold in our hands amidst the brisk windy day, we stepped inside to what became one of our favorite coffee shops ever. With words of empowerment and inclusivity permeating the walls, it was a beautiful atmosphere to walk into. A beautiful space with a beautiful mission: it was more than just coffee. Their brand created pathways for people with disabilities - changing the way people see other people.
We were moved by the positive energy (as well as the yummy coffee!), so we sat down to enjoy our coffee before continuing on with the rest of our day.
About 10 minutes later, we arrived at Rainbow Row. If you aren’t familiar with Rainbow Row, it’s a series of 14 colorful historic row houses on East Bay Street, all painted bright pastel colors. Given that it was a windy Sunday morning, there weren’t that many people there yet, so we quickly took our photos before the day warmed up and the Sunday church attendees rolled out of service.
We walked back to the Charleston City Market to pick up some treasures (sweaters, jam, and postcards!), then got ourselves mentally ready for the 6-hour drive to Richmond, Virginia.
Our drive consisted of brown grass, plenty of trees, many podcasts, and carpool karaoke (from just me lol). We rolled into Richmond when the sun was just starting to set. After checking into our hotel, we decided to reward ourselves with nachos and margaritas! We found Casa del Barco along the Canal Walk, and their mango margaritas, chicken nachos, and roasted corn hit the spot!
Day 3: A Rainy Afternoon in Philadelphia
Independence Hall & Liberty Bell, Philadelphia, PA
HOME, Massachusetts
Day 3 was rainy and of course, much colder, which is to be expected as we continued to drive up north. It was about a 4.5 hour drive from Richmond, VA to our next stop, Philadelphia, PA. Our original plan was to spend another day and evening in Philadelphia, but in all honesty, the rainy and cold weather deterred us from extending our stay. We both agreed to visit Philadelphia another time, and instead, we decided to push onwards back home to MA that evening.
With that said, we did still spend an hour in downtown Philadelphia to stretch our legs. We also really wanted to see Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. Admittedly, we wanted to see these sites 70% for American history, and 30% because they were the filming locations of National Treasure… ;)
Philadelphia was a great halfway point for the 9+ hour drive from Richmond, VA to Boston, MA on Day 3. With 4.5 hours down, we had 5+ hours left to go from Philadelphia back home to MA. After many toll roads and tunnels later, the sides of the freeway started to become white with snow, and that’s when we knew we made it back home to MA.
Annnd that's a wrap!
If the military had given us more advanced notice as to when Lucas would be returning home, we would’ve definitely extended this trip to about a week or more. We only saw a very small part of what we wanted to see this time around, but of course, when it comes to military time, you just have to make the most out of what you’re given. The good news? I think we did just that!
What a fun experience driving along the east coast - eating new foods and seeing new sights! Already excited to explore even more on this side of the country!
Cheers to road trips, warm biscuits, and new sights!
Gen
