Traveling Angler Tuesdays: The Charleston Five

My lovely girlfriend and I went on an epic road trip a few months back and we ended up in lovely, historic Charleston, SC for five days.

We really loved it: the food, hospitality and fun were all in abundance.

There's something special about historical port cities and towns. They give me a good feeling. Halifax, St. John's (Newfoundland), Seattle, Montreal, Portland (Maine), Vancouver, Belfast (Maine) and Charleston have each given me that vibe over the years. I can't put my finger on it, but part of it is definitely the architecture. Or maybe the fresh sea air. Who knows? I like it though.

Note: Sorry Saint John (New Brunswick), Sydney (Nova Scotia), but you're a little ways off from making this list. Keep chasing that rainbow, though!

Here's my list of five must-sees/dos if you're heading to the Holy City for a visit (plus a bonus tip for affordable accommodations right in the heart of Charleston):

1. South Carolina Aquarium

There's a reason I put this at number one: the SC Aquarium is AWESOME! Snakes, albino alligators, sharks, a big-ass eagle, lots of fish, lots of things to see. Expect to spend a couple of hours wandering around to see everything, but allocate more time if you plan to take in a show at the 4-D Theatre.

Bonus: if you happen to get skunked fishing for redfish, like I did, at least you can see them up close at the Aquarium. Just don't expect to be allowed to grab one for a grip & grin...

Web: scaquarium.org
Location: 100 Aquarium Wharf  Charleston, SC (map)

No hero shots allowed!

2. Sullivan's Island
There's a beach. And there's Fort Moultrie, an old-timey fort in service for over 170 years. Fort Moutrie was manned through many major incidents of modern history, including the Revolutionary War, the 'War of Northern Aggression' and up through World War II.

Sullivan's Island beach. Not Fort Moultrie.

And Sullivan's is also home to Poe's Tavern (more on that below), too.

There's also kite-surfing lessons, which is awesome if you like watching people slam face-first into water and/or sand at high velocities. I know I did.

Location: map

3. Lowcountry Fly Shop
Scotty D and the gang at Lowcountry Fly Shop have an awesome shop & know their shit. Everything you could ask for, for both fresh & saltwater, is at the shop. Loads of tying materials, too.

Lowcountry also runs a guide and charter service. Scotty's a workhorse on the poling platform. He put me into lots of fish, too (I just messed things up a lot). Getting to see a part of the Charleston region from the bow of Scotty's flats boat was a definite highlight of my trip.

Note: Fishing in Charleston? Work on casting short-shots. Seriously. Fifteen to thirty feet. That means five to twenty feet of fly line out of the tip. Choose your rod wisely. I'm already mentally preparing for my return trip. And yes, Charleston reds do seem to be smarter than Louisiana reds...

Pop in for a visit, buy some flies, book a guided trip, ask where to eat/drink...ask if Scotty still has my sneakers...you can do it all at Lowcountry Fly Shop. A mandatory stop for the Traveling Angler whilst in Charleston.

Web: lowcountryflyshop.com
Location: 280 W. Coleman Blvd, Mount Pleasant, SC (map)

Big-ass bridge. Scary with a kayak strapped to your roof rack. But Lowcountry Fly Shop is over there...

4. Hominy Grill

I'm not a souvenir guy, but I keep this on my fridge.
That must say something right there.

This was conveniently located around the corner from where we stayed. We ate there twice. We had plans to go again. It was that awesome.

A trip to the South isn't right without eating Southern food. It's truly the food of the angels. Perhaps big-boned angels, but angels nonetheless.

The first meal we had at the Hominy Grill was the big nasty biscuit with fried chicken breast, cheddar cheese and sausage gravy. With grits, cornbread and sweet tea.

If one was to eat Southern-style, it's full-ass or no-ass. And eating that leads down the path to full-ass after a while, I'm certain. It was delicious. My mouth is watering right now.

The second time in, we had breakfast. I was considering the big nasty again (yes, it's on the breakfast menu, too) but opted for the egg biscuit. Something about biscuits in that part of the world really makes sense. With grits on the side, once again.

I like grits. And sweet tea.

Damn it I'm hungry.

Note: I started making grits here. It took a small but coordinated search to find authentic grits in Atlantic Canada, but I did it. That's what I do. I find stuff. I'm good at it, and often receive a substantial sum of money to find stuff. Interested in me finding stuff for you? Hire me. Seriously.

I regret not making the third trip as we were planning to buy the Hominy Grill Recipe Book when we went back...but I just noticed they have recipes on their webpage. Win.

Web: hominygrill.com
Location: 207 Rutledge Avenue, Charleston, SC (map)

5. Poe's Tavern
Located on Sullivan's Island, Poe's Tavern has the best damn fries and burgers we had on our road trip. Bar none. Just go. You won't regret it.

Note: Special thanks to Cameron over at TFM for recommending Poe's Tavern as well as the SC Aquarium for our adventures!

Web: poestavern.com/sullivans-island/
Location: 2210 Middle Street, Sullivan's Island, SC (map)

6. Affordable Accommodations in Historic Charleston (BONUS)
This is your money-saving tip for this post. And a call for people to think about prioritizing when you're on vacation.

Here's an exercise: Go to Expedia and search for hotels in "Historic Charleston."

Spendy, right?

Enter Not-so-Hostel, located walking distance to everything in "Historic Charleston." A private room, shared bathroom and next to the old-timey Southern veranda for sippin' mint juleps. That was mid-summer, I might add.

Note: Hostels, in the eyes of North Americans, get a bad rap, mostly due to the inconsiderate dirtbag hippies. Some people don't like shared bathrooms, either. I say get over yourself. Use the bathroom and get outside to see stuff. And it's funny that many of the same people that bitch & moan about staying in a hostel will also bitch & moan about the high price of a hotel room. Figure your shit out, people.

And I'm not saying all hippies are inconsiderate or dirtbags. I'm saying the inconsiderate dirtbag kind of hippies really ruin a lot of shit (especially if you're in a band and you steal booze from the people who promoted your show...you f**kers know who you are). The extremely condescending "yippies" (hippy + yuppy), typically found wearing Patagonia clothing and driving Subaru Outbacks* are annoying, too, but at least they don't ruin shit like the inconsiderate dirtbag hippy does.

* - I'm considering buying a Subaru Outback, but it's due to mileage/storage/reliability combination. Seriously. How's that for irony? No plans for a Patagonia soft-shell anytime soon, though. But Patagonia does make apparel of excellent quality. Just sayin'.

My girlfriend and I were trying to keep our accommodation costs on this road trip as low as possible. We were aiming for a budgeted cost of $50 per night. We did a few overnight drives ($0/night, except extra coffee/Red Bull), a few nights in campgrounds ($20-$40/night), a few hotels ($109-$145/night) and four nights at the Not-So Hostel in Charleston...at $60/night.

That's not a typo: we spent five days/four nights in Historic Charleston for $240 total, cheaper than many hotels charge per night in the summertime in Chucktown.

A side-benefit of staying at the hostel was being within walking distance of lots of restaurants and activities, so no burning gas while we were there, either.

Wandering around Charleston, eating delicious Southern food, going fishing with Scotty D. seeing the SC Aquarium and the other fun we had wouldn't have been possible if I didn't happen to come across the Not-So Hostel's website. We wouldn't have been able to spend five days in the Holy City at regular hotel rates. The rates are too damn high.

Web: notsohostel.com
Location: 156 Spring Street, Charleston, SC (map)

Fancy hotels are nice, but if it came down to sleeping in a king-size bed or seeing Becky hold a baby alligator...

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Traveling Angler Tuesdays launched June 26th, 2012 on mattrevors.com. My mission is to prove the concept of fly fishing travel abroad is not just the realm of old rich dudes and magazine writers & photographers. Keep checking back regularly as I share tips & tricks to get you to fly fishing locales you dream of going to. To see past articles & tips, click here.