Immediately after arriving in Charleston, we walked to a southern food and barbecue buffet. So. Much. Food. And we went back for multiple plates plus dessert…
While in Charleston we went walking around the historic downtown area, bike paths, and then tried to read in the park for a while. Andy just spent his reading time dealing with some rental property issues, though.
After exploring downtown Charleston, we drove around to see some things outside the city. We saw the Angel Oak, which is a humongous live oak and did a short hike in the Francis Marion National Forest.
We also spent half a day at the Magnolia Plantation, Gardens, and Audubon Swamp Garden. The plantation itself was meh, but the walk around the old rice fields was amazing! It wasn’t even mentioned on any signs, but we stumbled upon it. There was a ton of wildlife, including some really close alligators!
The swamp garden was pretty awesome, and had sections completely covered in duckweed so the water looked like grass.
After Charleston, we drove to Congaree National Park, which feels like it was just randomly thrown down in the middle of South Carolina. We camped there for two nights, which we haven’t done for a while. While there, we watched the Geminids Meteor Shower for about 30 minutes from inside our car. It was easily the best we’ve ever seen! We saw more than 30 shooting stars, including the biggest one we’ve ever seen!
While in Congaree, we did the River Loop hike. We were disappointed to discover that it doesn’t even go along the river but we did see some wild pigs romping through the forest.
After Congaree, we left to head home and end our almost 4 month road trip!
Highlights of Charleston and Congaree National Park
- Geminids Meteor Shower
- Audubon Swamp Garden in Charleston
- Bessingers BBQ Restaurant in Charleston
We have really, really loved having you back in your home meridian 🙂 and can’t wait to see everything that’s next!