Christmas in Charleston

Hey, Y’all! Happy New Year. I am back and ready to rock and roll. I spent my holidays in my hometown of Charleston, SC and I wanted to document what we did from the time we got there til the time we left. If you are ever thinking of going to Charleston, SC any time of the year there are a few places you want to eat and a few places you don’t want to eat at. I am always truthful in my posts so my experience was mine and this was not sponsored lol. So let me tell you how I spent Christmas in Charleston

Christmas in Charleston

I decided to pick Charleston this year for our holiday travel because I haven’t been home for the holidays since my mom died back in 2007…yes over 10 years since I’ve seen how Charleston does Christmas. I wanted to show my kids how I spent my holidays and give them a taste of my hometown. We stayed in the heart of downtown on King Street at the Hyatt House. I did the Hyatt house because I wanted to have a way to cook dinner if I needed to for the holidays. There were a few places open but I always like to have a backup plan. Of course, I always stay at Hyatt, Loews, or Marriott whenever I go out of town. The only thing I hated about staying in this particular Hyatt was that I had to pay for parking. It was either Valet or park at the garage the garage was cheaper but you couldn’t go in and out like you wanted to so I decided to do Valet which ended up being 90 bucks for our 3 nights there. I was mad as hell….when did Charleston become Atlanta. Anywhoo…I coughed up the money.

We got into town on that Sunday and went straight to Hymans because I needed seafood in my life. If you are ever in Charleston go there first for the best seafood there is.

The next morning we went exploring and I took the kids to some of my old spots. Waterfront Park, The battery, The beach, and my old high school. My high school didn’t look like it did when I was in school so I was a little sad about that. Isn’t funny how so much has changed from when you were little….I had to take a moment and reflect on that. Things change, people change, hometowns change,etc.

We ate breakfast at a spot called Miller’s All Day. It didn’t have the regular food my kids are used to so they didn’t want to eat. Their latte was good and that waffle I had was just the right amount of sweet. The kids said pass on the food so it may not be the best place for kids who are picky eaters.

We visited friends on that Monday and then I had a photoshoot that evening.

After our photoshoot I decided to get the kids dressed up and we decided to eat at Ruth Chris. Now….They have one in Atlanta but I had never been so I thought it would be a nice treat for the kids to get dressed up and enjoy some good steak. My daughter and I loved their steak and that sweet potato souffle geesus I had to get some to go. Overall it was a great place to eat at. It’s expensive though my meal was well over $100 bucks but I did order appetizers and stuff. Only go there on special occasions.

Christmas Day

We mainly went in to surprise my uncle who lost his wife one year ago this month. I wanted to make sure we put a smile on his face and we did. I think that was the highlight of my Christmas, to be honest. I know how hard it is to lose someone around the holidays so that made my Christmas special. We spent the morning with him and then had dinner at a new spot in Charleston called Poogans Smokehouse. Now I didn’t enjoy this place at all. The food was kind of cold and it wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. Maybe I need to go there on a non-holiday to enjoy it but on this particular day, I wasn’t satisfied with my dinner. The kids didn’t eat much of their food so it was a waste. I wish that I had cooked my own meal that day but oh well it’s the experience of new places that count right? After we ate dinner we decided to go visiting some more and then came back to the hotel to relax, watch some movies, and get some rest!

The day after Christmas

We were supposed to leave out on that Thursday but someone asked me to do a photoshoot in Columbia, SC that evening so I decided to check on out early. No need to drive to Columbia and then back to Charleston for one night I might as well leave Columbia and come on back to Atlanta. We decided to hit up the outlet that morning before it got crowded. I bought me a few things and the kids bought some things and we headed on back to Atlanta. Which took us a couple of hours. Remind me to never travel back the day after the holidays because what would normally take me 3 hours took me 6 hours. We spent all that time in traffic which was redamndiculous. I was so tired that we came in I made the kids take a shower and we hit our bed at 10 pm which is early for me.

Overall our trip to Charleston was pretty good but here is the one thing I felt sad about

It didn’t feel like home anymore.

I don’t know if it was because my Aunt wasn’t there, or because none of my friends were home at the time, or because Charleston had changed so much. Usually, when I go home I am excited and full of life ready to live it up but this time it felt… like just a regular place to be…I kind of felt like a tourist. I usually dread coming back to Atlanta afterward and that still felt the same because Atlanta doesn’t feel like home either. So I found myself kind of depressed thinking hmmm where is home now. I don’t feel like I have a sense of home anymore. That kind of set the tone for the rest of my holidays so I didn’t have a great holiday but it was a good one.

I hope your holidays were good and you are ready to rock it out for 2019!