On the Road with G&J: Charleston

Today's On the Road visual vacation comes courtesy of a Memorial Day weekend trip that Jonathan and I took way back in 2009. Although we only had two days in Charleston, Jonathan and I loved it and vowed we'd go back someday. If we were to hop on a plane and head there today, here's where we'd go: 1. Blue Bicycle Books - We love bookstores, especially quirky ones that carry a variety of new, used and rare books. Blue Bicycle's shelves were packed with a great selection of old books, and it reminded us a little of our all-time favorite bookstore, Square Books. Plus, we loved the name.

2. Taco Boy and Folly Beach - It's Charleston so you're supposed to eat low country fare, right? Yes, but when we're on vacation, we like to eat Mexican food and go to the beach! We took a cab ride to Folly Beach where we discovered Taco Boy's utterly delicious margaritas and nachos. Although we were only there a few hours, I still dream about Folly Beach and Taco Boy. Rita's on Folly is another Folly Beach restaurant I want to visit as well.

3. Walking Tours - We didn't rent a car, but we stayed in the heart of downtown and enjoyed walking around the area. There are so many beautiful old homes, churches and historic buildings that we were grateful to be able to take everything in on foot. We were also happy to have comfortable sandals, minimal rain and not-too-hot temperatures. Walking around Charleston in the summer or fall wouldn't be quite as pleasant. Along with the typical touristy brochures and guidebooks, Diana Hollingsworth Gessler's Very Charleston: A Celebration of History, Culture and Lowcountry Charm (that I found at Blue Bicycle Books) served as our guide.

4. Museums - Because of our short stay, we didn't get to visit any of the house museums or the museum at Fort Sumter. Fort Sumter is a must as it played such a huge part in U.S. history, but the historic homes and the stories about the families who lived in them are what really interests us. If the exteriors and gardens were any indication of what's inside the homes, we'll be in heaven. I also want to spend time at the Historic Charleston City Market.

5. Off the beaten path - One of our favorite parts of exploring a new city is to take a drive without an agenda. Walking tours and Prius cab rides (we had our first in Charleston) were great but will only get you so far. We look forward to discovering lots of lowcountry gems on our next trip!

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Collections: Seashells

For as long as I can remember, I have loved collecting shells during our beach trips. Jonathan quickly learned this about me, and fortunately he enjoys long walks on the beach with our "shell bag" in hand. We can spend hours on our searches and have them down to a science. It all goes back to the thrill of the treasure hunt. When we got married, we were given several large vessels which we promptly filled with shells from our various beach trips. They are all over our home, where they serve as our daily reminder of the beach. The colors are amazing -- white, cream, grey, orange, pink, purple and brown, and each is perfect in its own way. They serve as the inspiration for our home's calming color palette.

After traveling to beaches on all sides of the country, we have discovered that each place has its own type of shells. South Carolina's beaches are full of scallop shells, while California's beaches have large white shells and teeny tiny colorful shells. We love our mixture of shells from all over and take great joy of adding to our collection every year.

We don't think there is anything better than free home decor that is natural and beautiful and reminds us of our happy place!

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