On Tuesday I said goodbye to NYC and it was sad. Kind of. It was actually more stressful than anything. What is it about air travel that is so taxing? The fact the air train to JFK isn’t running and you have to catch a shuttle bus instead? Maybe. Being told at check-in that your suitcase is 3.6lbs overweight and you have to remove something from inside? Probably. Not remembering you packed scissors in your carry on until you’re being pulled aside by airport security? Definitely. God only knows how I made it onto jetBlue flight 1373 bound for Charleston, South Carolina.
Kev the Koala and I j-j-jetting off to South Carolina.
It may have only been a short flight, but the moment I stepped off the plane and into the small Charleston airport, I felt a long, long way from New York City. Suddenly, the place I’d been so dreading departing seemed like a distant memory, and as I pulled all 50.3lbs of my suitcase off the only baggage carousel in the arrivals terminal, a kaleidoscope of excited butterflies appeared in my stomach. I was in the South, y’all!
After arriving at my hostel, an old two-storey home complete with porches for lazying about in the shade away from the hot Southern sun, I was thoroughly famished. And let me just say, Charleston is a fantastic place to be exceedingly hungry. Last year, Conde Nast Traveler Magazine named Charleston the Top City in the World, because of its people, its history and, most importantly, its food. I felt like I’d just landed in Foodie Paradise, as I scrolled through Yelp! on my iPhone, restaurant after restaurant with four or five stars. Stomach screaming at me to feed it, I chose to dine at Hominy Grill, a casual restaurant just blocks from my accommodation with apparently the best shrimp and grits in town. “What the heck are grits?” I hear you cry. I asked myself the same thing prior to ordering them, and just to be sure I wasn’t going to end up with a plate of pigs’ livers in front of me, jumped on good ol’ Google. The interwebz informed me that grits were simply a corn-ground food of Native American origin, which didn’t sound too scary. “Alrighty,” I thought, feeling a slight sense of adventure. “Let’s do this. Waiter! One serve of shrimp and grits please!” While I waited for my mysterious dish, I was offered sweet tea and complimentary hot boiled peanuts. Soggy nuts – now that’s a first!
After tackling the peanuts, which were void of any flavour after being cooked, the moment I’d been waiting for arrived – the shrimp and grits were presented before me. The dish smelled amazing and didn’t look too bad either, so without hesitation, I jumped in. As the first mouthful slid over my tastebuds, I giggled. If this dish were to be served in Australia, it’d have to be on the menu as ‘prawns and porridge’ because that’s exactly what it was! Grilled prawns over a slightly cheesy porridge! Grits may be made from corn, but to me, they tasted EXACTLY like oatmeal. If you want to impress your friends next time you have a dinner party, chuck a few shrimp on the barbie, whip up a bowl of Uncle Toby’s Instant Oats, put them together and voila! You’ll wow the crowd with your Southern cooking skills.
Grits are good for you!
A variety of instant grits are also available in the supermarket.
At breakfast the next morning, I made friends with a couple of English peeps over bagels and coffee. We ended up spending the day together, wandering through downtown Charleston, marvelling at its beauty. After a couple of hours, strolling from the Waterfront Park, passed the colourful houses on Rainbow Row and down to The Battery, I stopped dead in my tracks. “This city is so familiar,” I thought to myself, before it hit me. “THE NOTEBOOK!” I exclaimed with the utmost enthusiasm, as the two Brits looked at me in confusion. “This is where The Notebook was set!” The lads mightn’t agree with me here, but does it really get more exciting than realising you’re in the very town that the GREATEST MOVIE IN HISTORY EVER was filmed? No! No, it certainly doesn’t!!
In The Notebook, Allie tells Noah she wants a white house with blue shutters. I wonder if she’d settle for a purple house with lime green shutters?
Unfortunately, I was unable to get out to Boone Plantation where the whole rowboat/geese/rain scene of the greatest movie in history ever was filmed, however, whilst in Charleston, I did make it out to Magnolia Plantation. Founded in 1676, Magnolia Plantation survived both the American Revolution and the Civil War, and is the country’s oldest public garden. That’s all well and good, but learning its rich history wasn’t the coolest thing about the plantation. Not by a long shot. Because chit chat about slaves and rice farming ain’t got nothin’ on seeing real. live. alligators. I might leave the US without having laid eyes on a bear, but at least I can say I’ve laid eyes on a ‘gator. In fact, I’ve laid eyes on lots of ‘gators!
As I approached the swamp with my tour group, of which I was the only member without grey hair, our tour guide pointed to an alligator peering out from beneath the duck weed. I couldn’t turn my camera on fast enough as I became the epitome of a Japanese tourist seeing a kangaroo for the first time. In the space of about five minutes, I must have gasped at least 30 times and taken twice that in photographs, rivalling the enthusiasm of a Make A Wish kid at Disneyland.
Please, take a moment to appreciate these glorious shots of my new third favourite animal (after the orang-utan and wombat).
Ladies and gentleman, may I present to you, the alligator:
On that note, I’ll sign off – See ya later, alligator!
The American Adventure 