congaree to charleston
Work called me on a quick n’ zippy trip to North Carolina. I haven’t spent much time in the area, so I tacked on a Saturday to see what was what.
Stellar coffee & environs at The Hobbyist, Charlotte N.C.
Banana pudding the size of your head at Pinky’s Westside Grill
One of the newer National Parks, Congaree, is just over the border in South Carolina. I booked an AirBnB near the park to crash at Friday night.
Before you’re like “omg so cute!!!” NOT CUTE! I got there late on Friday night after wrapping up the work trip. It was an old camper deep in the woods in a weird AirBnB compound with other campers and shipping containers. There was no bedding in the camper besides a fitted sheet on the futon. The lock also didn’t work. I barricaded myself in with my suitcase as best I could, wrapped myself in clothes for warmth, and went to go to bed… which had a cockroach in it. NOPE NOPE NOPE!
I will give the place a +1 because there was a friendly cat.
After a NOT great couple hours of sleep, I peeled out of there at dawn to soothe myself with delicious delicious Waffle House before heading to Congaree. Congaree National Park is known for its unique river and swampy cypress groves. To get a good taster of the park, I booked a kayak tour with J.K. Adventure Guides.
Stormy skies caused a few no-shows, so I had my very own private tour of the park!
At one point, a light mist turned into a calming drizzle. Then, the calming drizzle turned into an actual downpour. I got soaked and ended up having to ditch my clothes after the trip because they smelled like swamp despite multiple washes. I still regret nothing!!!
My great tour guide, Doug, not only taught me about the local flora and fauna… he gave me a hot tip on the best hot dogs & milk shakes around, Rush’s.
This is a lot heavier than I usually go for lunch, but it was delicious and weirdly I felt great for the rest of the day. I haven’t had a milkshake in over a decade, easily. I guess I should have them more??
Full of milk and smelling like a swamp creature, I made my maiden journey to Charleston!
I landed in the city an hour or so before dinner time and took myself on a little walking tour. It was humid and still drizzling on and off.
Charleston was cute but New Orleans is cuter, and has a lot more going for it. I grabbed some non-memorable grub for dinner and flew back to Boston early Easter morning. Like, early early. So early I dropped the car off before the Budget crew arrived, and even though I followed instructions, I got a cute email saying “hey, you didn’t return your rental car, we’re investigating you.” Many hours on hold later, I got it sorted out, but between that and the cockroach thing, I’d give this little sojourn a solid B-.
That said… another National Park off the list! Worth it.
where: congaree and charleston, south carolina//ancestral lands of the congaree, tsalaguwetiyi, sewee, and kusso peoples
when: rainy april
how: kayaking tour with jk adventure guides
