charleston, south carolina + our stay at the beas nest.

A few weeks out from our Charleston trip, and I have too many good things to say about this amazing place. What I was remarking on, right away, is the weather. We arrived January 1 in Charleston… an often bitter time in New England. And whenever I go some place, I’ve said this before, I’m always imagining what life would look like were I to live there. Not sure I could ever fully give up seasons, sweaters, and, honestly, the East Coast, Charleston feels like a very happy medium. In the same week, I could bust out my flip flops (in January!), and also wear a sweater and sit comfortably in front of a crackling fire at night. Now that’s pretty perfect. This trip came to be sometime in the fall when, for the tenth time at least, my incredibly generous friend MaryJo told me over bagels with our little ones, “Go to the Bea’s Nest!” This was her (and her family’s) vacation home in Isle of Palms. I decided it was time to finally take her up on it. I’d seen the beauty of the place on her Instagram and always wanted to go, but it was never the right time, blah blah blah.I’m so glad I finally took her up on it. The Bea’s Nest is just the most incredible property. There’s beauty around every single corner. It’s actually hard to take it all in at once. You have to do it in small segments at a time–it’s just beauty overload for your eyes, I’m telling you. We loved it so much. In an effort to save money, we were going to drive (about 30 hours, round trip). Then Steve found a pretty great deal on Jet Blue, under $300 a ticket. Done. That made it about 5ish hours door-to-door. We invited my sister and her family along, but neither of us told our kids we were doing so. These kid cousins are crazy about each other, and don’t see nearly enough of each other. Surprising them this way was my favorite part of the whole thing. Upon arrival, we got some to-go wraps for our hungry kids and had them eating them by the pool when my sister and her family showed up. Total shock all around. How did we pull this off?! Am I seeing things?! they wondered. I have it all on a video, still to come. It was the best. Seriously, just imagining them totally surprised the next day kept me up at night the night before we left. Giddy.  Charleston is as beautiful a city as there is. The architecture is stunning. Gorgeous brick and then beautiful stately pastel-colored homes. Palmetto trees lining King Street, and Christmas decorations still on proud display on the the houses. I rarely see a mix like that–Christmas plus warm weather? I loved it.  I just think… I could live in Charleston.I can’t remember the order of events, but we spent some time in Charleston, of course, and had great success at the Brown Dog Deli. The sandwiches were fantastic (just look at the menu; I want to take inspiration from it for sandwich-making from my own kitchen!). The pig n’ fig won them some sort of Best of Charleston award. Steve loved the chipotle chicken pita so much he ordered a second. Go there for lunch!   Crispy Christmas decorations on their last leg. Sad reminder of the history here.   Look at these faces. Love love love them. Also loved giving them a few days to run around outside without jackets on since it’s a long, cold four-ish months.   I mean, look at these homes!Stumbled upon Bennie + Coco and wanted everything. Bought nothing. Self-restraint (also, not cheap. But man, some beautiful pieces.) The Hauf kids meditated outside while the Hunt kids were like, “Huh? what’s this absurdity?”  These cousins played hard for the week we were there. I actually missed my boys at the end of the trip because I never saw them–they were always off with their cousins!Nights around this fire, hanging out and having a glass of wine. Maaaan. It was the life. The Bea’s Nest is a property that you just don’t want to leave. It’s true–we had to force ourselves to even go to Charleston for the day. I’ve never even been, but the allure of staying at the Bea’s Nest is strong. Add to that, Isle of Palms itself is such a sweet destination. We drove a golf cart around the island, had super inventive tacos at Papi’s, watched the sunrise from the beach, and had one of the best dinners I’ve had in a long time just over the bridge at Sullivan’s Island–Obstinate Daughter. Steve gettin’ reeeeally into Papi’s street corn.And about ten minutes after this photo was taken, I was getting really into the brussels sprouts and King’s Honey cocktail at Obstinate Daughter. I order brussels sprouts nearly anytime they’re on the menu, but these were truly the best. The best ever. They had farro in them, a few peanuts, a drizzle of balsamic, and black truffle oil. Plus they were fried but like really lightly fried. Ever have fried brussels sprouts where you know there is not an ounce of nutritional value left in them they’re so crispy? These were not that.This door was so often open, warm breezes coming in. It was heavenly. We went to Patriot’s Point one of the days we were there and I highly recommend it. The huge aircraft carrier USS Yorktown with beautiful views of Charleston.  There was a lot of saluting.  Serious saluting.  And less serious saluting. On our second to final day, we headed to Boone Plantation. It came highly recommended by MaryJo and with good reason. This was one of my favorite days. It’s still a working farm, the tours of both the home and the slave quarters are interesting, informative, and difficult. Each of the slave homes has its own history and some of it is incomprehensible. The Avenue of the Oaks. Wow. Driving up this long road, slave quarters to your left, the house in front of you, and the trees swaying all around was haunting and beautiful. I always struggle to find the words to describe really moving experiences, especially as they relate to a history like slavery. This was one of them though. This was Ally’s summer home in the Notebook. I’m a sucker for movie trivia like that–especially from one like the Notebook.  The slave cabins are self-guided and you could easily do a whole day on the grounds. Spending almost a week with my sister was so nice. We’re in a pretty good groove, right now, the two of us. We just celebrated 12 years together. 12! years! That’s unbelievable to me. And I’m grateful to say he’s my best friend. So many ups and downs, but at the end of the day, I’m really glad we picked each other. And continue picking each other, every day.  Sunrise! Benefit to winter sunrises… you don’t have to be up at the crack of dawn for them!  Sad face because the cousins weren’t here for it. But then they came!  That was a rose cider I was drinking and it was GOOD. Also, outside dining in January feels really indulgent. The Notebook theatre!Okay, to sum it up: notable places we visited…

FOOD //

Obstinate Daughter / Sullivan’s Island
Papi’s Taqueria / Isle of Palms
Brown Dog Deli / Charleston

MaryJo recommendations that we didn’t get to try–Lewis BBQ, Husk, Darling Oyster, Callie’s Hot Little Biscuits…

Basically, stroll downtown Charleston, pick a spot, and enjoy! There were SO many awesome looking places.

DO //

Patriot’s Point
Boone Plantation

Things we didn’t do but saving for next time…

Angel Oak
Charleston Aquarium

For info on the Bea’s Nest, message my friend MaryJo on Instagram!

Please leave comments with any of your own recommendations!

P.S. Lindsey was in MN on a retreat where her cousins live while we were there–so we just had William along for the trip!