September Staycation

WHEN: September 30 - October 1, 2011
WHERE: Charleston, SC

This past weekend we had the chance to stay at a nice hotel across the river from downtown Charleston.  My coworker I sit next to at work often travels for work and as a result had rewards available for a free night at any Marriott hotel - and we were the lucky recipients of said rewards.  How?  Well, his wife and daughter were in Michigan, the rewards had to be used by last Friday, and he is at our Pacific Center office in Hawaii this week. (Looks like he is the lucky one.)  So he offered us the opportunity and set everything up for us. We drove down to the hotel (about 30 minutes away) Friday after work to enjoy our no-planning, no-maintenance, no-stress, FREE staycation!

A view from our hotel's parking lot, located on an earthen peninsula along the Ashley River and surrounded by swamp and marsh

An aerial view of our hotel's setting (because I'm a spatial analyst)

(A=hotel, B=restaurant)

As with any body of water or marshlands around Charleston, signs were posted warning of possible alligators and instructions for one's behavior around them and their habitat.

I like how the sign says, "Do not approach or feed the alligator"...as if there is one and only one alligator there, and that it's just waiting for someone to carelessly feed it so it can attack them. :)

After we checked in, we walked down to the marina to catch a beautiful sunset and head to a restaurant on the other side of the marina.

 

 

I know this picture is blurry but it was the only one I could get of her.  She had one thing on her mind - food - and as I lagged behind with my camera, she was not about to slow down! :)

One thing Stacie did have time for was to notice an odd sight as we were leaving the hotel to walk to the restaurant (see video below).

There was no one in or near this truck!

(We got a good laugh out of this.) :)

This sign marks the high water level from the storm surge during Hurricane Hugo in 1989.  Hugo made landfall in Charleston on September 22, 1989 as a category 4 hurricane.

Hugo was the second most intense hurricane (Hurricane Severity Index) to make landfall in the US and it was one of less than 20 hurricanes to make US landfall as a category 4 or 5 (since 1900).  (By comparison, Hurricane Katrina made landfall as a category 3.)

Our hotel, from across the marina

Stacie, several steps ahead of me (like she was the whole walk) as we got to the restaurant.  Our attentions were on different tracks, literally.

California Dreaming

We had heard of and seen this place in pictures before but neither of us ever knew where it was.  We are rarely, if ever, in this part of town.  It was a busy Friday evening at the restaurant but it was beautiful outside, which made the wait time bearable.  We fell in love with this place, and not just for the food.  It is also right on the river, at the end of its own peninsula.  There are 15-foot windows that surround the whole restaurant, offering a great view of the boats, river, downtown, and sunset.  There is not a bad seat in the restaurant!  Also, it is the only seafood restaurant that we've found that has fried crab claws on the menu.  I had them for the first time two years ago in Alabama and have never seen them since (some seafood restaurants haven't even know what I was referring to).  Another plus for this place!

And I mean right on the water (and if there's another Hugo, under the water)!

Enjoying our beautiful, fall, FREE weekend out on the town

Sunset at our restaurant on the marina.  After a week with highs near 90, a cold front began pushing in Friday night which with it brought pleasant temperatures and refreshing winds.

Just a beautiful night on the water

Our FREE hotel bed!

Our FREE hotel living room!

Our FREE hotel office/kitchen!
(Did I mention everything was FREE, including the wonderful breakfast the next morning?)

We did not even realize until the next morning that our room had a balcony...and this was the view!

A view of downtown from our private balcony

The (blue) hotel in the foreground is the Best Western we stayed at with our friends Emily & Keith when we visited Charleston with them in 2009.

The entrance to our hotel

Beautiful private condos on the marina by our hotel.  

The sky could not have been more blue this weekend - one good attribute of fall!

"boat bunk beds"

Yes, please!

(One sea porch wasn't enough?)

Can you believe Stacie passed up this walk around the marina??

A beautiful morning on the marina - blue skies, cool breeze, warm sun, calm water!

Thanks for the FREE staycation, Matt!

(But could you take us to Hawaii with you the next time instead??)

:)

This weekend we're off to Atlanta to see our Packers battle (dare I say, destroy) the Falcons, at the first NFL game either of us have been to!!  So far I am enjoying these October weekends!