A few weeks back, I spoke of the hope that we'd go on our long-awaited trip to Charleston, and where we'd stay if/when we finally made that four-hour drive. I also promised that I'd let you know what decided on for accommodations. Here I am to fulfill a promise!
After locating a place on-line, and corresponding via email with the owner, we decided to take the risk and book the place on the pond. I say 'risk' because you never know exactly what anything will be like when you see only photos and talk on the phone or emails. I'll tell you what, in this case, we were not disappointed!
We arrived at the Cottage on a Saturday afternoon after a drive on a 4-lane highway through endless miles of nothing but trees and cars. (One dufus driver was texting as he was towing a jet ski, heading for the beach I imagine. I hope he made it) We got only a bit detoured, following directions and a map, we found ourselves on 17A instead of Rt 17. Ending up in Summerville, and we easily found our way from there, through more miles of trees on rural roads, to our destination. Pulling into the driveway, we noticed how neat the little brick cottage and front porch were. Discovering the key in its hidden spot, we opended the door to a lovely, spacious and open room which ran front to back of the building, housing the full kitchen on one end and the living room and fireplace on the other end.
We were impressed immediately on the cleanliness of the place. The wide pine floors gleamed, the glass and appliances shone! On the desk was a delicious, homemade cake and fresh cut bouquet of flowers. Also, there was a welcome note and a couple of manilla folders marked 'Maps', 'Charleston', 'North Charleston' etc. Within each was stacks of information on sites to see and places to eat in each area, and so forth. Those, as well as the owner's handwritten comments on the brochures and menus, directions, and the like proved to be invaluable on our first trip to the 'Low Country.'
We wandered through the house and found the two bedrooms and two full baths. We examined the book case and found that much of the reading material was pertaining to the area in some way. On the tv was a VHS tape of Charleston..perhaps a documentary, maybe a movie. We didn't get around to watching it, so I'm not sure. We chose to go out the back door and look at the yard and the pond before we unloaded the van.
We sat in the colorful rocking chairs on the large back porch where we could watch the local birds come to snack on their seeds. Over the coarse of the week there, we spent many hours in those chairs...watching the mist dance over the pond in the mornings as we drank our coffee, and watching the Canadian geese as they fought and swam,took flight and landed every day. It was a lovely spot and so relaxing! I can't count the number of times that one or the other of us remarked about how much better it was to be there than in a stuff motel surrounded by city noises.
Granted, we had to drive 20-30 minutes to get to Charleston city, and more to other places, but it was worth the drives! The serene surroundings, the cleanliness, the comfort, the friendly hostess/owner who went out of her way to daily provide new info (which she placed outside the door under a rock so as not to disturb us) all worked together to provide us with an unforgettable vacation stay. We look forward to another time or two there in years to come!
