We wanted to do something amazing for our 25th Wedding Anniversary. When our Brazil trip was cancelled last year, we thought we would just go this year instead. But, Covid is still an issue and international travel is a no-go. So, we decided to look for places in the US that we have never been. And there needed to be surf, or at least an ocean. We decided on the Carolinas!
Saturday May 22nd, we boarded our flight from San Diego to Charleston, South Carolina.
We checked into the cutest Bed and Breakfast in the historic district-
The Barkhouse Inn.
We got the cutest, tiniest room and loved it!
Sunday, May 23rd-
We woke up to a beautiful day!
After a lovely breakfast at our inn, we walked to downtown Charleston and browsed the City Market-
No Masks! It was awesome!
We started our trip with a culinary tour and ate some of the yummiest food while learning about the city-
Then we went on a tour of the Customs House and Dungeon. So much history here!
Then we took a walk along the waterfront...
and Rainbow Row...
the Battery..
And King Street!
We ended our day with a delicious dinner at Poogan's Porch!
No ghost dog, but the fried chicken and collards were delish!
Monday, May 24th
We went on a Plantation Tour.
It was a beautiful place with so much history, good and bad. We walked through the gardens...
And along the river...
We took a tram tour and learned about the slaves that lived here...
We did not take the house tour, but walked around the grounds...
And saw a peacock...
And took some cute selfies and timer pics!
We kissed in this cute gazebo...
And saw a big aligator swim under this pretty bridge...
We conquered the maze...
And took a stroll under the Spanish moss (which isn't moss) trees!
Then we drove to check out the beaches.
This is Folly Beach.
It is really popular, but I wasn't very impressed.
We walked along the beach and then took a little hike to the lighthouse. The trail to the lighthouse was pretty cool-
Loved it!
We stopped at a BBQ joint on the way back to Charleston and then hurried back to make our Haunted Stagecoach Tour!
The tour wasn't what I wanted it to be. But Charleston sure is a beautiful city!
Tuesday, May 25th
Happy Anniversary!
The day started great with breakfast in bed delivered! We love this place!
Then we put our bathing suits on, hopped in the car and drove over a cool bridge to Sullivan's Island.
This was a beautiful beach!
It was a gorgeous day! We also learned that there are no plastics allowed on the beach. Our sodas were confiscated or else we would have been fined $100! We did end up making friends with the nice police lady, but she still took our sodas. We spent the morning relaxing on the sand and swimming in the Atlantic Ocean! The water was "brackish", salt water mixed with fresh. It was warm, but I didn't really like the way it felt. And hardly any waves to play in. Felt more like a lake.
After our beach morning, we ate at Poe's Tavern. A restaurant dedicated to the works of Edgar Allen Poe. It was so cool and Jeremy is pretty sure it was the best burger of his life!
We drove to Isle of the Palms next!
This beach was happening and it was beautiful! It felt a little more like the beaches back home.
I actually took a nap on this beach and enjoyed the water more!
We had to cut our beach day short to make it to our Anniversary Dinner at Magnolia's!
We had the best fried green tomatoes and grits!
Cheers to 25 years!
Wednesday May 26th
We said goodbye to Charleston and headed North to North Carolina.
The drive was beautiful...
And I got so excited when we got to Myrtle Beach! I loved the movie "Shag" when I was in Middle School and have always wanted to come here in real life! We took a little detour and drove through the town...it was horrible. It was like a Las Vegas on the beach. It was gross. And we also learned that it is the Miniature Golf Capital of the World!
We also passed Wilmington. We almost moved here 15 years ago.
And then we had a Bonus Stop! While we were on the road, I saw a Pepsi truck that said, "born in the Carolinas". I was like, what?!? So I googled the origins of Pepsi and found out that it was created in the town of New Bern, NC! And that it was on our way to our destination! So, we plugged in the address in the GPS and off we went!
I was so excited! We visited the pharmacy where Pepsi was created and it is now a big Pepsi gift shop!
We chatted with Deborah, who was born and raised here, and loves Pepsi too! And I got lots of souvenirs and Pepsi!!
It was so much fun and this town is so dang cute! I wish we would have had more time to check it out, but we needed to get on the road to get to our AirBnB before dark. So glad we made this stop. We will be back!
After a whole day of driving, we finally made it to the OBX!
Look at our cute little beach house!
We unloaded the car, checked out the beach across the street and had the yummiest dinner at the Blue Moon Tavern in town. We even grabbed a pic of the sunset. Excited to spend the next few days exploring this place!
Thursday, May 27th
Good Morning Nags Head!
This was the beach across the street from our house! Isn't it beautiful?
I was in heaven! This was my morning...
We made lots of little friends...
It was glorious!
Around lunch time, we drove south to Cape Hatteras. We had lunch at a local joint and then went to visit the lighthouse.
Then we lounged at the beach at Cape Hatteras...
On our way back home, we stopped at this lighthouse too. I don't remember the name of it, but I do remember getting attacked by bugs and having to run to the car to escape them! It was horrifying! But look how pretty this place is?
Friday May 28th
Today we headed north! We took a walk on the beach in Kill Devil Hills.
We drove through Southern Shores and Duck. We stopped to have lunch at a gas station with the most delicious fried chicken in Carolla. We found another lighthouse and went to check it out.
We could actually go to the top of this one! Jeremy overcame his fear of heights and headed to the top with me.
It was beautiful!
We had some time before our wild horse tour, so we spent some time at Carolla beach and I wish we could have stayed longer because it was dreamy!
After soaking up some sand and sea for a bit, we headed to the end of the road to go on a 4x4 Wild Horse Tour!
We saw so many wild horses (Spanish Mustangs) just hanging around the beach and the surrounding neighorhood. It is so cool!
After we chased the wild horses, we made another beach stop in Kitty Hawk. I loved every beach we visited in the OBX! We totally fell in love with this part of the country and would really not mind living here. For reals.
We ended the day at the coolest diner, hanging out with the nicest people, while eating at the bar.
Saturday, May 29th
Our last day!
Guess What?! The sun rises over the ocean here instead of setting! I wanted to see it. So, on our last day, we got up early and walked to our beach and watched the sunrise.
Loved it!
We picked up some of the most delicious bisquits from a local favorite for breakfast...
Then we just relaxed on our beach all day.
We walked to the cutest froyo place...
And took one last walk on the beach.
A storm was blowing in, but we were able to get in dinner with a view before the rain started.
Sunday, May 30th
Time to go home!
It was raining when we were checking out. The OBX was sad that we were leaving and so were we. We absolutely fell in love with this place! The closest airport is in Norfolk, VA, so off we went.
United Airlines never has direct flights! Luckily, Papa Carl had a United Club voucher, so we were living it up on our layover in Chicago. That cheered us up!
We flew all day to the land of masks and restrictions. Boo! But we were so glad to come home and see our kids and puppy.
This was the best anniversary trip! We had the best time together in the best place. We really do love and like each other and that is just the greatest thing ever!
Here we are modeling the gift he had made for me. He gets me. 25 years! Can't wait for 25+ more!
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