There was a point right before this trip that Zack and I played with the idea of moving to Myrtle Beach. Both of us had never been but we heard it was a popular vacation spot and the thought of being near a beach was a appealing...so it was on our radar - but let me just say that prior to driving here, we had never even seen pictures of the place. Just hearsay of how great it is.

When we arrived I was a little surprised to see how touristy it was. It almost had an old Vegas feel. You know, the themed big resorts along the strip. Nooot what I was expecting. You could tell that maybe in the 80-90s it was this incredible place to get away but now things seem a little run down.

The beaches were beautiful though I will say! White sand and stretching for miles! Basically what it comes down to is it can in fact be a fun place to vacation - especially as a college student because you can rent a room for pretty cheap and then party on the beach - but this is not the place Zack and I would want to buy a home and settle down...but that's why we are doing this trip right?


The boardwalk was fun though and had the SkyWheel (the 5th largest ferris wheel in the US - thrilling huh??). Actually, a little not so secret of mine is that I hate Ferris Wheels. And why is it that every time I get on one, it stops at the very top! THE. VERY. TOP. Then you have to wait like 5 min as they board people...oh I hate it..but I do it anyway because I don't want to miss out on experiences. Did you ever see the movie "Mighty Joe Young"? I LOVED that movie but it also scarred me for life when the ferris wheel tipped over (spoiler alert)...now I always feel like mine will tip over too but I wont have a giant gorilla to save me...

Commentary by Z: I'm not too hot with heights either, especially when I can see these thin metal supports holding up the tiny box I'm in. So why did we do this again? I will say that with every revolution of the wheel I got more comfortable, but of course as soon as I can really relax then the ride is over.













We found a candy store. Zack found his true love

For dinner we went to River City Cafe. If you want a burger, this place has more burger options than pretty much any other place. I just stared at the menu for several minutes not even sure where to begin. The walls of the cafe were covered in old license plates which was kinda fun. We tried to find a Utah plate but for the life of us could not find one. If anyone goes there..please find it for us. I need to know were it is.

Commentary by Z: There were some super interesting choices, like burgers with cheetos on it, or a "biscuit" of fried mac'n'cheese, or even a smores burger with chocolate and marshmallow on top. The most intense was the "kitchen sink" one... picture below



This was legit on the menu...uh what? How does one even go about eating something like that??




We enjoyed our time in Myrtle Beach, but it's definitely not the place we're choosing to settle down. On to the next one!

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Today we decided to use our friend's bikes to tour Charleston! They had a bike for each of us  and a truck to carry them so we loaded everything up and headed into the city! Charleston - as I later found out - is a great city to bike! It's one of those little big cities and because there is so much to see, it can be hard to walk it or drive and find parking! We first headed to Waterfront Park to eat our packed lunch. The bike ride took us through the historic streets of Charleston - through shopping, restaurants, cobble stone roads, and quiet neighborhoods. The streets were a little busy but the roads had plenty of room for us bikers to ride along side the cars which was nice because the sidewalks were a lot busier with pedestrians. That would have been a pain to share..I would have crashed into someone for sure! Within half an hour of riding we make it to the park and it was so pretty! The park sits along the river that empties into the ocean where Fort Sumter can be seen in the distance. The park had fountains, a nice grass lawn, and a boardwalk with bench swings (CUTE!). It was the perfect place to enjoy our lunch and feel the ocean breeze. I also might mention that it was in the mid 70s and sunny...really the perfect day!

Commentary by Z: I think my favorite thing about the city is that because of their building height rule (that was recently repealed) they never built skyscrapers and attracted big businesses downtown. This left all the room for the charming houses and shops, which is far more enjoyable of a downtown to be in.




I could have stayed at the park for the rest of the afternoon but we needed to keep going if we were going to see the rest of the city. If you are ever in Charleston, check it out because it's gorgeous!!

We then headed to The Battery - a seawall that was once used during the Civil War as an artillery defense (kinda crazy to think of this place as a defense for war. It's so quiet and peaceful). Now a pretty sidewalk overlooks the water and has massive mansions. It was just row after row of these gorgeous homes with white columns, pillars, tall windows, shutters, wood panelling...basically a dream!! All of them were in amazing condition for their age and just so so dreamy (Have I used the word too much??). I felt like one of the emojis - you know the one with heart eyes :heart_eyes: :heart_eyes: :heart_eyes: I just loved biking through these streets and if they weren't millions of dollars, I would buy one in a second. I guess that's why they are millions of dollars...because everyone would buy them if given the chance.

Our last stop was Market St. to see the City Market. I've been here once before when I was younger but it was fun coming back and having Zack experience it! Have you heard of sweetgrass baskets? Well I had no clue what it was until I came to Charleston. People from the area weave these beautiful baskets made from wheatgrass..I wanted to buy one until I saw that a 10in diameter basket was $150! Who knew they were so expensive?? Maybe I will buy one someday but today was not that day.  

For dinner we went back to Mt. Pleasant and headed to Shem Creek Boardwalk where the boardwalk overlooks the creek and restaurants surround the area. We watched another beautiful sunset (Charleston has gorgeous sunsets!!) and then headed to dinner at Page's Okra Grill - just around the corner from the boardwalk. I got shrimp and grits and it was probably one of the best shrimp and grits I've ever had! I don't get it _that_ often so who am I to say they are the one of the best...buuut they were dang good. For dessert Zack bought a slice of carrot cake (LOVE carrot cake) and this one was incredible! We watched the servers slice it up and Zack couldn't resist.

Commentary by Z: I really didn't want to buy it... but something about seeing them cut up this massive, moist and dense carrot cake in front of me just tore down my resolve. It was amazing.






Overall impressions of Charleston?? I LOVED it! I'm gonna speak for Zack and say WE loved it! I fell in love with this city and want to come back again to explore it some more! I loved the charm, the history, the food and the southern feel. It definitely has my attention and when thinking about where we would want to live on day, this is on my short list.

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Sunday for Zack and me means going to church and even though we are on the road and obviously not attending our own congregation, we still think it's important to attend and make that a part of our life. So today we got to meet up with my aunt and her family and go to their meeting in the Charleston area! It's so amazing to have family and see them on this trip! Because they live so far away from us in Utah, we only get to see one another now and then during family reunions so it was great to go to church with them and hang at their place for a few hours.

They fed us, and these days I look forward to and crave home cooked meals. You know what I don't get enough of while on this trip?? Vegetables!! And dang I miss them, so when my aunt made a beef stew with veggies I was stoked!! As we left, Misty (my Aunt) sent us away with a dozen cupcakes and let me tell you, her cupcakes are my favorite!! She is a magician when it comes to baking them and I ALWAYS look forward to devouring them when we get together. She did not disappoint and I left so so happy :). I know she was trying to bribe us to stay and you know what? It kinda worked!

Commentary by Z: Cupcakes are one of the greatest things on the planet because they're just cake to-go. And of all the cupcakes I've had, these are amongst the best!

 
Tonight we are staying with some friends - Zack's old roommate and his wife! They showed us their beach and gorgeous sunsets in South Carolina. In the first 2 minutes we were assaulted with little sandflies (no-see-ums as I call them) and all they wanted to do was attack our faces!! So nasty...I really don't like when they try to bite or fly into my eyes!! That really freaks me out! The lack of ocean breeze will bring them in from everywhere it seems, so we were going to turn around and call it quits but the sun went down and they left so we finished our walk.

Commentary by Z: I grew up 10 minutes from the beach, but since I've been living in Utah for the past 10 years I forget how much I love it. This made me really want to find a home within a short drive of the coast.






For dinner our friends made Korean BBQ. It was the real deal with bean paste (didn't know that existed), kimchi (surprisingly good - you know, for being fermented cabbage), dumplings and of course, the BBQ itself. And for dessert??? Cupcakes!! It was authentic - something I could only dream of cooking (that's why I will leave it to the professionals).

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