Sooners in SC

Toes up in Charleston

On John's last day before his residency starts, we decided to spend the day exploring downtown Charleston. We didn't see it all, because that would take days. But we saw a lot and had a good time. Walking is the popular mode of transportation downtown (for those of us without bikes) and we learned an important lesson while trying it out today: Toes up in Charleston.

The sidewalks of brick and cobblestone are so jagged we stubbed our toes and went plunging face first toward the ground several times. Hence our new slogan, toes up in Charleston.

Our first stop was Blue Bicycle Books where they sell used, rare and local books. The blue bicycle is even out front! Of course, I had a great time exploring the shelves for a while and taking home a new summer read.

Even if you're not a reader, they have books for decorating purposes, too. :)

In front of the Charleston Museum, we saw a model of the H.L. Hunley, the civil war submarine that was the first sub to sink a ship.

We took a stroll through Marion Square and saw some pretty gardens and fountains.

Then we made our way down King Street, which is pretty much a huge outdoor mall. Any shop, store or restaurant you could desire is on King Street.

We even found a running store to stop in and ask about the best local running trails.

We finally made it over to Meeting Street to the Charleston City Market. Or as one of our good Birmingham friend calls it — the gauntlet of crap. It's a mile long outdoor market full of handmade goods, tourist traps, and..okay most of it is crap.

There were so many people in the market, John was a little overwhelmed.

Some of the famous sweetgrass baskets

Once our feet were exhausted we drove over to rainbow row, the strip of brightly colored, beautiful and expensive houses South of Broad on the Ashely River.