Most Charming Southern Town

This past weekend, I had the chance to take a trip to one of the cutest, most charming Southern towns, Charleston. This city was on my bucket list for Atlanta and fell into place last minute. A hotel was booked. A group was formed. And a travel itinerary was quickly planned. I packed my bags and left Atlanta to get away for the weekend.  

We headed out Friday evening after everyone got off work. We kicked off the trip with a classy dinner at Zaxby's.  This fast food restaurant has the best, according to the locals, fried chicken and good dipping sauce also . There wasn't a better way to start off our Southern trip than with a good Southern meal.  The drive wasn't too terribly long. We arrived in about five hours or so. We settled that night into our hotel in North Charleston.  

The next morning we hit the Isle of Palms beach. The skies were overcast but we were hopeful for some sunshine.  We felt a few raindrops throughout the morning but it thankfully never rained on us. The sun kept trying to peek through the clouds but it mainly stayed overcast. However, the air temperature was still warm and the water too so we still took a swim in the ocean.  It felt great to be play in the waves. No summer is ever complete without at least one beach day. The sand was soft and very fine. With the addition of humidity and sunscreen, it stuck to our skin very easily. 

The beach was nice though. There was a big private pier that stretched into the water.  There were also cute houses and condos lining the coastline.  Some were pretty bright colors and they all had an east coast feel.  I loved walking down the beach just to look at the houses. The tide also moved in while we were there. What was once a big spacious beach became a small sliver of sand.  It was funny to watch everyone slowly inch back and back, making the beach quite overcrowded. By the time we left, the water was at our toes and there was hardly any empty space along the sand!  

We then went back to the hotel to clean up and change before heading into historic downtown. We walked down the old historic middle street market that had various vendors selling a wide array of items. Then we wandered through the rest of the city. We admired the homes and buildings. Some were painted pastel or vibrant colors. Blossomed trees lined the brick and cobblestone roads. It was absolutely beautiful. 

We saw the famous rainbow row of houses that are widely painted and photographed.  We also saw the pineapple water fountain. I was surprised though that kids were playing in it. Apparently it is allowed to wade in the bottom of the fountain. So we, too, decided to dip our feet in the water. Something I learned is that the symbol of a pineapple represents hospitality in the South. If a house had a pineapple on the door or front of the house, then someone knew that the household would offer them in and be hospitable.

  

Another interesting feature of Charleston is that the front of the homes don't face the street but are offset due to spacing issues long ago.  The homes have a faux front door that actually just leads to the front patio and then you have to go to the real front door.  I found this quite odd because as you looked at the houses, sure enough, the front didn't face the street. Most were about three stories high and had grand columns and patios on the front or rather the side of the house. They were gorgeous and beautiful to look at.   

One of the most unique houses we found was one that didn't have paint but chalk. If you rubbed your fingers on it, the chalk would rub off onto them.  It was crazy!

We walked along the coastline with the water to our left and beautiful homes to our right.  We also looped our way back into the heart of historic Charleston.  We saw the old court house, government buildings, churches, and a variety of other meeting houses along Meeting St. There were also some beautiful gardens and parks dispersed throughout the city. 

As the evening approached, we began to see people dressed up in tuxes and ball gowns walking through the streets. There was a wedding at one of the churches and the people were walking from the church to the yacht club for the reception. Not just the wedding party but everyone involved was dressed up in the nicest formal attire. It added to the ambiance of the city. 

For dinner, we ate at a good southern home cooking restaurant. The meal consisted of corn fritters, pecan crusted fried chicken, homemade mac and cheese, and okra gumbo. I had never heard of okra until the South and I've had an apple fritter before but never a corn one! The night just got better with dessert when we tried cola cake (which apparently was made with cola), banana pudding, and pecan pie. It was one of those nights where you walked away from dinner fully satisfied and happy with the meal.  It was great way to top off the Southern-filled experience.

Also, here are the best two quotes of the trip: 

             "She looks like she has been smacked in the face with a wet squirrel."
             "The food is slap your granny good." 

Sunday, we had the chance to attend a church nearby. Then we went to the Magnolia Plantation Home which was a great choice. We walked through picturesque gardens with beautiful bridges over swamps. There was enchanting Spanish Moss hanging from huge live oak trees.  The swamps also had alligators and beautiful birds that we were able to see. Additionally, there was a petting zoo with a variety of animals. 

The home on the grounds was beautiful but had been rebuilt in the last few years. We took a little tram tour around the grounds of the plantation home since it encompassed such a large piece of land. We saw the slave cabins and the large plantation fields. The only bummer of the day was that it poured a few times on us and it was unbearably hot and humid.  But we thoroughly enjoyed the experience of a Southern plantation home.  

        

Charleston has a small town feel but yet is one large city. I'd say it is one of the most charming Southern cities. I loved how historic and quaint it felt. The buildings and scenery were absolutely beautiful; it was definitely hard to leave. I wanted to stay for at least a week longer! I was happy that I had made the choice to visit Charleston. It didn't disappoint one bit! I loved it so much that I hope I can visit it again sometime soon in the future. 

Praise the Lord!

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Today I attended a Southern Baptist church service.  This experience was on my bucket list for my Georgian summer.  I've been to a Baptist church service before but thought it would be interesting to experience it in the South.  After talking to one of my local friends, I was recommended to visit the Ebenezer church and oh boy, it was quite the experience!

The Ebenezer church is part of the Martin Luther King Jr National Park as this was the King's church.  Martin Luther King Jr.'s grandfather and father served as pastors in this church. Today the congregation doesn't meet in the original building but across the street in a newer facility that was built in 1999.  The newer meeting hall is much larger to accommodate the growing congregation that is apparently around 6,000 people. I don't believe there were that many people there today; however, it was a full house, not an empty space on any bench.  

New Meeting House

We arrived to the Martin Luther King visitor's center early so we could walk through the exhibit hall and grounds.  We toured the original Ebenezer Church building which was a simple but elegant church.  Then we visited the tombs of Martin Luther King Jr and his wife as well as the eternal flame.

Next, we attended the church service which was quite a treat. People filtered in to the seats and it started off with some upbeat joyous music. The majority of the congregation was African American as there was probably only five other white people besides our party.  We didn't stand out... no not at all! Some ladies had some elegant hats and Martin Luther King Jr.'s sister was actually in attendance as well.  She also by far had the best and most unique hat.

The music was by far one of the best parts of the service.  There was a live band that included drums and electric guitars. In addition, there were tambourines and various clapping rhythms.  The choir sounded amazing and had some very talented vocalists. The music was upbeat and joyous just as you would expect in a Southern Baptist Church.  People sang along, stood up and danced, and swayed to the music.  It was wonderful!

Something else I loved at the beginning is that they introduced the visitors.  They called some out by name and had them stand up but then also had any others not mentioned stand.  We all stood up as there was no way to hide that we were visiting.  Then during a song for about five to ten minutes, everyone turned to one another to welcome each other and say hello.  People were leaving their seats to walk up and down the aisles, shaking people's hands along the way.  They were straining to reach each and every person down the row as they wanted to make sure each person was acknowledged.  People were hugging and embracing one another as if they were relatives.  I felt the warmth from everyone and very welcome in their church. I love that they reached out to the new visitors like this and created such a friendly, open environment.

Another great part of the service was the acknowledgment of birthdays! Yes... birthdays. I couldn't believe it either!  They had anyone with a birthday in this month stand up to be recognized for a short happy birthday song. How cute!

The pastor also gave a good sermon. He had some uplifting words of encouragement and interesting points. I didn't agree with everything he had to say but could see a few similarities and parallels to my faith. I find it very interesting to experience other churches and see how they worship God. And I also feel it helps me strengthen my beliefs in my Gospel and reminded of the things that I appreciate about my church.

All in all, I absolutely loved the experience.  I thought it was a wonderful church service.  I thoroughly enjoyed the music and atmosphere. Everyone was so so friendly.  I walked out with a "Praise the Lord, Hallelujah" attitude.  I just wanted to dance and sing all day! And I have to say, it was very very hard to sit so still and reverent during my church meetings that afternoon.  I was full of excitement and energy from the Baptist service that I could hardly sit still and quiet during mine.  This trip to a Southern Baptist Church was well worth it, and I can happily check it off the bucket list of Atlanta!