trip report 3/12 to 3/16

Arrived from Philly at 1100. Went to visitor center (parked in their garage for $1 for 1/2 hr). Got some maps/coupons but I had done all my research beforehand on here! Lunch at Hominy Grill..waited 10 mins. Had my first shrimp and grits (delish). Went to Palmetto Carriage Ride (awesome!) Learned/saw a lot! Went to Harris Tweeter grocery store on East Bay and picked up munchies. Checked in @ Mills House. Parked in attached garage on 4th floor which attaches to MH. $13/day or valet for $20/day. Wrote separate review on MH but overall would recommend for excellent location, ease of parking, 2 restaurants right outside the door. Dinner at Hanks at 645 with reservation. Good but we weren%26#39;t blown away. Then we walked the streets ';South of Broad'; after dark. ';SOB'; is $$$ residential and is beautiful day and night. Also nice is walking the streets between the MH and East Bay, day and night.

3/13: got up early and walked the waterfront park and battery; went to Nathaniel Russell House (very nice, interesting, concise tour); lunch Poogan%26#39;s Porch (great fried green tomato BLT, if you like goat cheese--had to go there b/c of the history with the dog); afternoon: Cypress Gardens in Moncks Corner (paddled a boat around a swamp...great if you are a nature lover); pre-dinner drinks at Chai (on King), dinner @ Basil (delicious, fresh thai food). Walked more at night!

3/14: Magnolia Gardens 1045 to 330. Wrote separate review. Overall recommend if you have about 4 hours and enjoy nature/being outside. Dinner: pizza delivered from Mellow Mushroom----unfortunately, not impressed, would not recommend; 7pm Old Jail tour by Bulldog tours--interesting and fun...not scary...go after sun sets! Also...it is cheaper if you get tix there....ordering online you have to pay $2 service charge per tix. After that, walked to market st and got ice cream and milkshake from Kaminsky%26#39;s.

3/15: 1000 boat ride with Captain Gresh from Reel Screamers. He took 4 of us on his small boat out of Folly Beach to Morris Island. He spoke of the oyster beds and the significance of the light house. We got up very close to dolphins and he told us about the different birds in the area. We walked on Morris Island for an hour and collected sand dollars. Definiely recommend if you are the out-doorsy type. This is not a harbor cruise! We then ate at Taco Boy in Folly Beach which was yummy and fresh. Went to see the Angel Oak on JOhns Island (worth a peak if you are over there). Back to Charleston and drove to Magnolia Cemetery. This is beautiful and I could have waundered around longer! Dinner at Virginia%26#39;s. Would have loved it (great waiter, nice atmosphere) but everything over-salted!!

Walked to waterfront pier and sat on swing.

3/16: Looked forward to MH brunch but didn%26#39;t realize it wasn%26#39;t until 1130. Missed bfast which stopped at 1000. Ug! Ate at IHOP near airport and everyone was very satisfied with their meal!!

My favorites: walking the streets, day and night, that are South of Broad, and East of Meeting; carriage ride (everyone loved); Cypress Gardens; Magnolia cemetery; boat ride; Taco Boy and Basil for flavorful food; Poogan%26#39;s Porch

Negatives: hotels and parking are expensive; Mellow Mushroom

Wish I would have had some time to check out the shops on King...antique shops near MH!

Great trip!! Thanks to everyone who supplied me with info prior to my trip!

trip report 3/12 to 3/16

Nice report - thanks for taking the time to write back and let us know what you did, what you liked and what you didn%26#39;t like.

We used to like Mellow Mushroom ';way back when'; but now Monza%26#39;s and Andolini%26#39;s, La Pizzeria, Brixx in Mt. Pleasant get our pizza dollars.

Thanks again for a great report! :)

trip report 3/12 to 3/16

Thanks so much for your trip report. It sounds like y%26#39;all are the outdoorsy types and you had a great time!

I%26#39;m curious about your Mellow Mushroom experience. We finally tried it about a month ago and I thought it was fantastic! Do you think yours would have been better had you eaten inside and not had it delivered? Perhaps I like MM a lot because they serve all three Coast Brewery offerings there. The Coast IPA is my favorite beer ever (and I lived in Germany for over 7 years!).

Monza is pretty good, but for my money, EVO is the best pizza in the lowcountry. It%26#39;s convenient for me as I work just around the corner, but since it%26#39;s in olde North Charleston, it%26#39;s not convenient to downtown Charleston.

I%26#39;ll put in my 2 cents about Mellow Mushroom - which is ';hit or miss'; for us. My favorite pizza has to have a paper-thin crust, crispy, and with the proper balance of very tangy tomato sauce vs. cheese. If the pizza joint has a jar of oregano on the table (or available to customers without asking), that is a very good sign. Even better if they have garlic powder. Truth be known, MM has met most of these criteria, but other places (like Andolini%26#39;s) has greater ';consistency'; b/w pizza chefs.

I think you can tell where I grew up on my pizza description!

msdn