Charleston, South Carolina, in the Rain

In February, I left a steady job in Georgia to move to New Jersey. The end game for me was New York, always New York. It wasn't my first attempt at employment in the city; the latter half of 2018 was spent in New Jersey with the same goal, ultimately resulting in frustration, a move back to Georgia, and a year-long stint at a credit union. But this time would be DIFFERENT. I was no longer fresh out of college, I had a real experience under my belt, something to refer back to in job interviews, some letters of recommendation, a little padding. I had gotten better at the BS and was ready to try it out.

To celebrate leaving the southeast, I decided to plan a solo trip to one of it's crown jewels- Charleston, South Carolina. Why not?! Who KNEW when I'd ever make it back down south, darling, NYC career woman that I was! Things were tense at home and at work; I now had weekdays off with nothing to do in the two weeks between the move besides pack and stare aimlessly at the ceiling wondering whether or not I'd be able to pull it off this time.

Charleston has a lot to offer by way of distractions. It's really a breathtakingly beautiful little city. Beaches, history, shopping, food... Airbnb booked. Off to Charleston I trot...

More like paddle. The weather report predicted rain for the entire trip, enough rain for my dad to call the morning of departure and try to talk me out of going. I rolled my eyes. I had already paid, not only for the Airbnb but a misty morning kayak trip. Sooo, I was definitely going. Furthermore, I had begun to equate the success of the Charleston trip to the success of my northern sojourn. I needed to prove to myself that I could do life, ADULT life, alone-- and this was a litmus test.

I'm happy to report that I failed completely, but hey! If 2020 has taught us anything, it's that... well... errrr... get back to me on January 1st, 2021.

Without further ado, here are my tips on HOW TO HAVE A (GREAT?) SOLO TRIP.

BY A 20-SOMETHING YEAR OLD CHILD.

DAY ONE

WHERE I STAYED: Notso Hostel

This was a cute little hostel in the Cannonbourough Elliotbourough area of Charleston. It is surrounded by cute little resturants and close enough to walk to the downtown area of Charleston, or ride a bike, but also it was closer to Folly Beach which is where I was going to kayak! It was a little hard to find- MAKE SURE if you are using airbnb to click on the location through the app; DON'T just type it into Google or Apple maps yourself. I spent a good extra 10-20 minutes circling a KFC wondering where the hostel was before I tried this.

Parking was in the back and airbnb gave me the code to get in. My key was right on my bed in the Dylan room! There was a kitchen area available to all guests and three bathrooms for showering, etc. I felt very European. You didn't have to actually talk to any concierge or any guests; I really kept to myself while I was there, although I heard some guests convening in the common area. All in all it was perfect for a solo trip, and I paid $161.45 for two nights! ($59 a night plus taxes.) The kitchen offeres free coffee and some oatmeal and snacks to guests, but there is so much good food in Charleston, you probably won't eat it!

There were also a lot of museums around this area, and I was considering checking them out as well. I never did, but I would if I went back.

I would definitely stay here again. You can check out their website here: https://notsohostel.com/home

Left: The door to my room (the Dylan room)

Above: The hostel is filled with artwork and murals. These were in the kitchen common area.

WHERE I ATE

Let me tell you, I had no big plans of where to eat; I figured I would wander around until I got hungry, because there is a lot of good food in Charleston. However, as I began to walk to the downtown area of Charleston, umbrella and rain boots at attention, it began a torrential downpour. And the streets of Charleston FLOOD. You can't really "power through" Charleston rain storms, something I had to learn the hard way. So at about two blocks away (at most) I ducked into a little banh mi place called Bon Banh Mi. I had seen it in my research and was excited to try some.

The people in there were SO friendly and honestly a highlight of my trip. I was the only customer until an older man came in later and we all had great conversation; the man had been in the army and was telling us about all of the amazing food he'd eaten in his travels. I got the Five Spice Ground Pork banh mi on suggestion of the chef.

The chef was so nice and knew I was visiting, so he gave me a couple of places (bars) to check out during my stay: Recovery Room and Trio. I never made it (you'll see why later), but you guys can go if you want. Let me know what I missed.

AFTER I LEAVE BON BANH MI.....

I get hit by a giant puddle by a passing car; I am soaked, my phone is soaked, & and my phone freaks out and almost dies. I freak out and almost die. Turn around, back to Notso... I don't know where I am without my phone map so I'm potentially screwed...sleeping in the cold streets... I go buy rice at Publix. Stick my phone in it. Spend the rest of the night attempting to read "Infinite Jest"by David Foster Wallace in my room. Fail to get lost in it. My phone is acting up all night. It flickers on long enough to email my kayak people (Charleston Outdoor Adventures) and tell them I probably won't make it tomorrow morning... #disaster. Hopefully by morning my phone would be working.

DAY TWO

In the morning my phone is somehow working again!!!! So I email Charleston Outdoor Adventures and let them know I WILL BE THERE! Hallelujah. I was most excited for this part of the trip anyways.

It was about a 20 minute drive to Bowen's Island and there was one other guest on the tour with me. Our guide, Cade, was awesome. He knew EVERYTHING about Charleston and nature, and a ton of stuff about animals and just the overall history of the area.

I didn't take any actual pictures kayaking, because I really didn't want to risk my phone near water. But it was BEAUTIFUL. I swear, God held the rain up just for this morning so I could do this kayak tour. We saw dolphins (a LOT), we almost saw a fight between an osprey and an eagle, and we got to touch the famous Charleston mud called "pulf" sand (I think it was pulf. Maybe puff. Hard to hear sometimes when you're yelling from kayak to kayak.) ANYWAYS, the sand is SOOOO soft and people in Charleston will pay like $500 for a facial with that sand. It's BOOOJEEE sand.

Here are some facts I learned about the ecology and wildlife of the Lowcountry:

• Pearls are just pieces of rock or glass or shit that were to big for an oyster to filter. So it just keeps the particle in it's shell, but builds up that pearly barrier (calcium and whatever else), so the particle is softer in it's mouth.

• A pelican can fit three gallons in it's beak (about TWELVE medium fish). They hit the water with the force of a small car crash in order to shock their prey. Scientists have studied their skulls to try and make better helmets for sports and other helmet activities.

• Ospreys have more of a ~process~ when catching their prey. They find a big, solo fish and catch him. Eagles like to steal osprey's catches (try not to read into the fact that they are the USA's mascot.)

• The trees on these outlying islands (Palmettos, pine) have roots up to 20 feet deep. That's how they don't get ripped up during hurricanes.

That's just the tip of the iceberg, baby. I loved it so much that even though I signed up for the two-hour tour, when asked if we wanted to stay out for three hours, I said heck yeah! I highly recommend this kayak experience. Cade also recommended a taco restaurant to try out called Chico Feo. It's a totally cool outdoor eatery where real locals and surfers hang out. I didn't make it because it started to rain again, but I did drive by and it looked like a some kind of Billabong ad... and it was ALL dudes. Kind of a dream for me, kind of a nightmare. Anyways, I didn't want to be 20 minutes away from my hostel, caught in some kinda flash flood shit! So I headed back towards downtown Charleston to (hopefully) keep on EXPLORINNN'.

BACK TO DA DOWNTOWN

I drove back to the hostel, parked my car, and started walking downtown again. I really wanted to make it to King Street, where all of the shopping was, even though it was looking like rain again.

And it did rain. I wandered all the way through the campus of the College of Charleston, ducking in and out of random buildings on the way. It damn near made me want to apply to go back to grad school or something.

Honestly, the rest of the time, it poured. I was scared to take my phone out again, for fear it would get more water in it and stop working. I wandered aimlessly around Charleston until my feet hurt and I had no choice but to start walking back to the hostel. I wanted to see that DAMN pineapple fountain before I left. And Charleston, even in hurricane-like conditions, does have a certain mystical quality to it. Walking around the Battery and through the old streets, in the gray light, you can imagine yourself in an Edgar Allen Poe verse. It was like the millennial lovechild of St. Augustine, Old Hollywood, and New Orleans.

The palm trees, flickering oil lamps, wrought iron and candy colored mansions, wrap around porches, secret alleyways, cobble stones and salty air- it felt like a dream world. I can only imagine it when it's SUNNY!

Here are some pictures I took.

ALL IN ALL

My solo trip was questionable. I also got an awful earache, started driving the wrong direction on the way back home, and my phone died again at various points along the way. But would I do it again? Sure. I guess I learned a lot. Mostly I learned that when the forecast says RAIN, you should probably take it to heart.

An update: I'm in New Jersey still... COVID hit, NYC is still basically shut down. Things rarely turn out the way we plan them.

But Charleston is incredible.