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Kahns Krazy
05-12-2009, 10:51 AM
I'm thinking about a long weekend trip to Charleston SC. I've only been there once, and it was basically for dinner- didn't even stay overnight. It seemed pretty cool.

I'm thinking later August.

Any of you have any experience/suggestions/places to stay away from ?

XU-XHI
05-12-2009, 11:07 AM
I was in Charleston last summer. A local directed me to the Shem Creek area just outside of downtown. There are a number of restuarant/bars in the area along an inlet where you will see plenty of boat traffic and the occasional dolphin looking for scraps from the shrimp/fishing boats. I went to a place called RB's and had a fine meal and various libations. Hhere is info on Shem Creek (http://www.charlestoncocktail.com/shem_creek.html). Also, lots of history in the area such as Fort Sumter or a tour of the USS Yorktown (http://www.mtpleasantguide.com/)(Aircaraft Carrier) which is near Shem Creek. Have Fun!

xu95
05-12-2009, 11:53 AM
I took a day trip to Charleston one year when we were on vacation in Hilton Head. Had the wife and kid though, so bar suggestions won't be coming from me.

xu95

nuts4xu
05-13-2009, 09:54 AM
I have been there a few times, and I will be in Charleston the last week of August for a convention for work. I like the Folley Beach, Sullivan's Island, and Isle of the Palms the best. I have stayed downtown, which is fine if you are looking for history. But I prefer to stay closer to the beach and travel into town.

Bar wise, I have to admit, the names of the places are a little fuzzy. I went to one bar downtown, walking distance from my hotel and the old slave market, that featured jello wrestling. That place was pretty sweet, but I have no idea what the name of the place might be. I heard "jello wrestling" and never paid much attention to anything else after that.

xudash
05-13-2009, 10:47 AM
You really can't miss there. It IS the old south.

Couple suggestions:

You absolutely should try 82Queen:

Since 1982, 82 Queen has served Charleston’s most authentic Lowcountry cuisine. Executive Chef Steve Stone uses only the freshest ingredients indigenous to the Region. Recipes from this area were greatly influenced by immigrants from Europe, West Africa, and the West Indies.

LOCATION: 82 Queen is located in Charleston’s historic French Quarter, on the Queen Street, between King and Meeting Streets.

DASH: Although 82 Queen is within walking distance of the major hotels in downtown Charleston, if guests don’t want to walk, daily shuttle service around historic downtown Charleston is provided by DASH from most major hotels.

The DASH bus stops by major hotels in the downtown area every 20 to 25 minutes from 6:30am to 10:30pm ($2.00pp for an all-day pass, or $1.00 pp one way).

It's no wonder Conde Nast Traveler named Charleston as "one of America's Top Ten Destinations." In the center of this historic splendor, 82 Queen… a welcome compliment to Charleston’s charm and grandeur.

Another great pick is Magnolia's:

185 E Bay St, Charleston, SC 29401
843-577-7771
FAX: 843-722-0035

DOWNTOWN. This very modern and elegant restaurant has been a favorite of both locals and visitors for years. The friendly staff serves up sophisticated and sumptuous Southern dishes and desserts that are far too good to pass up. There's a vibrant bar scene here, so plan on coming early and, perhaps, staying late.

msj61
05-13-2009, 12:09 PM
We stayed at Folly Beach the last 2 years....loved it. It's about 20 minutes from Charleston. Folly's got a sort of "hippie-hideaway" feel to it. There are a number of local restaurants and some small shops, everything is within walking distance, and it isn't touristy at all. Also, the bar across from our condo (Roadhouse Cafe) had 50 cent beers everyday from like 2-6pm.

In Charleston, there is a really good seafood joint by the name of Hyman's. It's always extremely packed though. Bubba Gump was a fun family restaurant. We also liked Wild Wing Cafe (33 or so different wing flavors). The only bar that I remember in Charleston was Wet Willies. Seemed to go over well with all the females in our group. I thought it was awfully overpriced.

GoMuskies
05-13-2009, 12:43 PM
Magnolias is excellent, as was Slightly North of Broad (it's been awhile, so I'm not certain it is still there). Stay at the Mills House downtown.

Kahns Krazy
05-16-2009, 03:28 PM
I went ahead and booked it. I was mad I waited since tickets went up about $30 each, but there are still some great airfares to be had.

XU-PA
05-16-2009, 05:00 PM
A good friend lived there for a long time, says River Dogs B-ball is good fun

http://www.riverdogs.com/schedule/calendar/

Snipe
05-16-2009, 09:37 PM
https://secure.reservexl.net/wwwimg/img/tours/1437-1.jpg

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles/Photography/Images/POD/a/antebellum-mansion-92307-sw.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2378/2112115231_8aa0c61b25.jpg?v=0

http://z.about.com/d/gosoutheast/1/0/N/E/-/-/7_Charleston_Area_1890_chvb.jpg

Since you are going, I would rent a car and drive around the historic district. I would want to walk along The Battery District and just take in the sights. That is what I would do for a day.

The city was founded in 1670. They have some of the oldest and most unique collection of structures that you will ever see in the United States of America.

The first shots of the Civil War were fired there at Fort Sumter. A lot of history will surround you if you are into it.

Olsingledigit
05-17-2009, 08:13 AM
We have a second home in Pawleys Island, 1 1/2 hours north of Charleston (I am there now). We visit Charleston all the time. I concur that 82 Queen St. is one of the best places in town to eat. If you are a seafood and southern food lover have the shrimp and crawfish jumbalaya. Fabulous.

Another great restaurant is The Pennisula Grill along market street. BTW, the market was never a place where slaves were sold. That was done further down on the waterfront and is not marked well - thankfully.

My advice is to stay downtown at one of the hotels in that area. The history is off the charts great. Take one of the horse carriage tours. You cannot choose whichone (they are assigned to help the traffic flow) but any of the four give you a great sense of the city.

My advice is not to rent a car for the downtown history - it is in walking distance. Take your comfy shoes. Be sure to take the credit card for the wife. King Street has some great shopping. Lots of tours of some of the old mansion are available.

You would need a car to get out to the place where the Yorktown Aircraft Carrier is in dry dock. Great tour. You can also catch the tours to Ft. Sumter at the same place.

Kahns Krazy
08-24-2009, 09:43 PM
Just got back. Had a great time. Saw a lot of downtown and stayed a couple days at the Wild Dunes resort. Booked the rooms through Hotwire. First time using that service and I have to say I was quite pleased with the hotels they put me in.

Nuts, it just occurred to me that you're probably at the same convention that another friend of mine is at.

There's a rooftop bar on the Vendue Inn that has great views. Hit Hymen's seafood, a great wings place, a bar in a converted church, did a bunch of walking through the historic district, strolled through College of Charleston's campus. Good city.

My only complaint that with that many horse drawn carriages in a town that hot make some of the more popular streets smell like horse piss.

nuts4xu
08-24-2009, 10:06 PM
I am here now, and had lunch at Hyman's and dinner at the Charleston Crab House. I am staying at Charleston Place Hotel, and it is an old hotel, but right in the heart of old Charleston. I am playing in a golf outing at Patriot's Point tomorrow morning and i have enjoyed my time here. I had lunch at Tommy Condon's on Church Street yesterday.

My sister used to live here and recommended the three places I mentioned. I had something called "she crab" soup yesterday as it is supposed to be something famous here. I thought it was bland but it is filled with crab meat. I was told she crabs are native to this area and that some people die for the stuff. I guess you have to be here to feel that way, as I had to load up the soup with salt and pepper for it to even have taste.

I knew you were going on vacation, but never thought to ask where. Its a bummer because I would have loved to finally get that beer with you we have been talking about.

If your buddy was at the same convention, and attended all the meetings today, he will likely remember me. I was the guy who stood up to ask a question to the keynote speaker, Coach John Calipari. I acknowledged I am a Xavier fan, and he told me he was Sean's cousin. I said I am well aware, and he replied "this guy probably hates me too". I then said it was my understanding Coach Miller had made up his mind to remain at Xavier, but changed his mind in the middle of the night after Coach Cal had talked to him. I asked him what he said to Sean to convince him to leave after he had already made up his mind to stay at Xavier. He said "that's family business" which got a huge laugh from the mostly UK crowd, then continued to explain how opportunities come around only so often. He also talked about how he contacted Bobinski and endorsed Thad Matta after Skip left, when we were looking for a coach. Finally he said Coach Mack is a great guy, and we will continue to win as we have always done.

I walked out of the meeting (like a stalker) and caught up with him walking down the hall. I then told him we would love to play him and UK. He said he wanted no part of Xavier and won't play us. In my opinion, his speech made very little sense and he has no future as a motivational speaker if that is what he plans to do with his life.

Hope you had fun while you were down here. The wing place is great, I ate there last time I was here. I love this little town and wish I was here longer. I have heard the ghost tours are pretty good, as this town has been around so long it is not such a stretch to think ghosts roam these streets and haunt some of the homes in the area.

Where did you stay?

Kahns Krazy
08-25-2009, 07:10 AM
We spent one night at the Vendue inn, which is right off East Bay on the other side of the market from where you are. Then we went out to Wild Dunes for 2 nights. The Vendue was a surprise. Included breakfast and an afternoon wine and cheese reception, plus priority access to the rooftop bar.

I thought you might be down there, but we were out on the beach Saturday and Sunday. We came in Sunday night for dinner. The Wild Dunes had some "BMW Resort Drive" program going on, so I got a free Z4 sDrive 35i. Nice car for a loaner.

We hit up Tommy Condon's for drinks Sunday night also. That's a cool spot. I like the plaque halfway up the wall that marks the Hugo waterline.

xeus
08-25-2009, 07:36 AM
If your buddy was at the same convention, and attended all the meetings today, he will likely remember me. I was the guy who stood up to ask a question to the keynote speaker, Coach John Calipari. I acknowledged I am a Xavier fan, and he told me he was Sean's cousin. I said I am well aware, and he replied "this guy probably hates me too". I then said it was my understanding Coach Miller had made up his mind to remain at Xavier, but changed his mind in the middle of the night after Coach Cal had talked to him. I asked him what he said to Sean to convince him to leave after he had already made up his mind to stay at Xavier. He said "that's family business" which got a huge laugh from the mostly UK crowd, then continued to explain how opportunities come around only so often. He also talked about how he contacted Bobinski and endorsed Thad Matta after Skip left, when we were looking for a coach. Finally he said Coach Mack is a great guy, and we will continue to win as we have always done.

I walked out of the meeting (like a stalker) and caught up with him walking down the hall. I then told him we would love to play him and UK. He said he wanted no part of Xavier and won't play us. In my opinion, his speech made very little sense and he has no future as a motivational speaker if that is what he plans to do with his life.



nuts, you are the man!

Lamont Sanford
08-25-2009, 08:10 AM
nuts, you are the man!

Agreed. Good work nuts! Coach Cal is a fraud.

Kahns Krazy
08-25-2009, 09:34 AM
If your buddy was at the same convention, and attended all the meetings today, he will likely remember me. ..?

He is, and he does. Called it a 'great question'.

wkrq59
08-25-2009, 02:30 PM
I second Olesingledigit's Yorktown tour suggestion. Took it with my young-adult son several years ago and it is well worth the effort. The entire area oozes with history and even a driving tour is memorable.

XUglow
08-25-2009, 04:02 PM
I did a ghost tour in Charleston. It was fun, and I got to tell my ghost story. I was touring McRaven in Vicksburg, MS. It is reported to be haunted, but we were just touring it like you would any old antebellum house. My 21-year-old daughter and I were lagging behind the tour looking at some toys on a shelf in one of the upstairs bedrooms. We realized that the tour had moved on, so we turned and saw the tour guide in the hoop skirt headed down the stairs to the kitchen, so we started to follow. When we got to the top of the stairs, we noticed our tour was still upstairs down the hall, so we went to join them. Miss Muskie asked me where I had been, and I told her about lagging behind and seeing the "other" tour guide going down the steps, etc. Our tour guide announces that she is the only guide on duty and that I must have seen the ghost. that wanders the halls.

OK, so I am thinking BS on this story, but our hostess is actually terrified because she says the ghost is not nice at all. The gal finishes the tour, but she is shaking like a leaf the whole time, and she breaks down into tears at the end of the tour and leaves with us and locks the house door behind her. She tells us that she has seen the ghost before but only looking out of this one bedroom window, and she points up at the window. Of course, we all look but no one is there. The hostess hops in her car and drives off leaving us out on the grounds to wander around. While we are looking around, this woman from Illinois screams and points at the window. We all look up and see a woman looking down at us from the window before she turns and walks away. The hair on my neck stood right up.

I think that they set us up and did it brilliantly. The other people in our party are not so sure. The only thing that is for sure is that no one on the tour stayed around any longer to find out. Whether it was fake or real, it was pretty damn exciting.

xudash
08-25-2009, 05:10 PM
I did a ghost tour in Charleston. It was fun, and I got to tell my ghost story. I was touring McRaven in Vicksburg, MS. It is reported to be haunted, but we were just touring it like you would any old antebellum house. My 21-year-old daughter and I were lagging behind the tour looking at some toys on a shelf in one of the upstairs bedrooms. We realized that the tour had moved on, so we turned and saw the tour guide in the hoop skirt headed down the stairs to the kitchen, so we started to follow. When we got to the top of the stairs, we noticed our tour was still upstairs down the hall, so we went to join them. Miss Muskie asked me where I had been, and I told her about lagging behind and seeing the "other" tour guide going down the steps, etc. Our tour guide announces that she is the only guide on duty and that I must have seen the ghost. that wanders the halls.

OK, so I am thinking BS on this story, but our hostess is actually terrified because she says the ghost is not nice at all. The gal finishes the tour, but she is shaking like a leaf the whole time, and she breaks down into tears at the end of the tour and leaves with us and locks the house door behind her. She tells us that she has seen the ghost before but only looking out of this one bedroom window, and she points up at the window. Of course, we all look but no one is there. The hostess hops in her car and drives off leaving us out on the grounds to wander around. While we are looking around, this woman from Illinois screams and points at the window. We all look up and see a woman looking down at us from the window before she turns and walks away. The hair on my neck stood right up.

I think that they set us up and did it brilliantly. The other people in our party are not so sure. The only thing that is for sure is that no one on the tour stayed around any longer to find out. Whether it was fake or real, it was pretty damn exciting.

Geezus! I just got some major chills reading your post. As you think back on it what is your recollection of the 'other' tour guide? We're you close enough to her where she would have normally turned to acknowledge you? I imagine it was a well executed set-up as well, but, living just north of St. Augustine at the beach at present, there is a lot of the ghost stuff that goes on in that ancient town - and St. Augustine doesn't have to sell itself from that angle.

Pablo's Brother
08-25-2009, 07:13 PM
If your buddy was at the same convention, and attended all the meetings today, he will likely remember me. I was the guy who stood up to ask a question to the keynote speaker, Coach John Calipari. I acknowledged I am a Xavier fan, and he told me he was Sean's cousin. I said I am well aware, and he replied "this guy probably hates me too". I then said it was my understanding Coach Miller had made up his mind to remain at Xavier, but changed his mind in the middle of the night after Coach Cal had talked to him. I asked him what he said to Sean to convince him to leave after he had already made up his mind to stay at Xavier. He said "that's family business" which got a huge laugh from the mostly UK crowd, then continued to explain how opportunities come around only so often. He also talked about how he contacted Bobinski and endorsed Thad Matta after Skip left, when we were looking for a coach. Finally he said Coach Mack is a great guy, and we will continue to win as we have always done.

I walked out of the meeting (like a stalker) and caught up with him walking down the hall. I then told him we would love to play him and UK. He said he wanted no part of Xavier and won't play us. In my opinion, his speech made very little sense and he has no future as a motivational speaker if that is what he plans to do with his life.

Nuts: you have big balls filled with booze and jello! You may be a stalker - but you are "our" stalker. You know Coach Cal had to partake in some illegal recruiting activities just to make himself feel better after talking to you. Did he ask you to take the SAT for some of his boys? Way to represent. BTW, how many beers did you have?

XUglow
08-25-2009, 09:16 PM
Geezus! I just got some major chills reading your post. As you think back on it what is your recollection of the 'other' tour guide? We're you close enough to her where she would have normally turned to acknowledge you? I imagine it was a well executed set-up as well, but, living just north of St. Augustine at the beach at present, there is a lot of the ghost stuff that goes on in that ancient town - and St. Augustine doesn't have to sell itself from that angle.

I knew at the time that the "other" tour guide was not our tour guide. Her hair was long and down. Our guide had her hair up. The other guide had on a long dress that wasn't very fancy. Our guide had on a dress that looked like she was going to a ball. The other guide didn't make a sound and didn't look at us. She hurried down the steps as well. At the time, I remember thinking that she was upstairs, realized that a tour was going on, and was scooting down the stairs to get out of the way. A lot of these mansions have fifty-minute tours that start every 30 minutes or so, so I just assumed that she was going to run the 2nd tour. When we were leaving, the sign said clearly that tours started "on the hour" or one per hour and not 2.

I just looked up McRaven, and get a load of this quote, "...I have truthfully told the owner of McRaven, Leyland French, 'If you deeded this house to me with the stipulation that I must live in it, I would not take it." -- Charles Sullivan from The Haunting of McRaven

nuts4xu
08-25-2009, 10:26 PM
Way to represent. BTW, how many beers did you have?

It was the middle of the afternoon, so I barely had any. I had 2 Fat Tires for lunch at Hyman's, but that was it. I was pretty clear headed.

SlimKibbles
08-25-2009, 10:27 PM
Back in March of '04, I drove to Charleston to check out the city and meet with a couple of the professors at C. of C. and Charleston Southern about grad school. I stayed in a La Quinta Inn in the North Charleston area. I actually watched the XU-Texas Sweet 16 game from my hotel room. I have no idea if that area has changed, but I wouldn't stay around there. It was a little rough. There was a ghetto McDonalds nearby and I swear there were drug deals going on in the parking lot of that La Quinta at 3 AM. It sure sounded like it anyway. Stay downtown or in the Mt. Pleasant area.

Xpectations
08-26-2009, 06:35 AM
nuts, you are the man!

Indeed he is. I tried to rep you, Nuts, but couldn't. I'll have to buy you a beer at the next game instead.