Two Many Trips but So Much Fun

I don’t know what it is about me, but I guess I have a habit for accidentally planning two trips on the same week. First Disney and Las Vegas, and now Denver and Charleston! This entry will be a pretty short guide of what I saw this week and my general travel tips since I know a lot of you reach out about my previous trips and advice on what you should do. To make this foolproof since I know some might not know what I already have uploaded, you can click here if you need London travel tips, here if you need study abroad travel tips, here for information on Disney and Vegas, here for Chicago, here for Austin, and/or you can also just go tour my site in general because my middle name might as well be “travel”. I live in airports, SeaTac is my home base, and now that Colorado and South Carolina are accounted for, I can officially say I’ve visited 28 states. Surprised it’s not higher, but I will make a substantial effort to increase the number and keep you all updated! I propose we start with a trip to Hawaii, if anyone would like to hand over the vacation days and plane tickets as soon as possible😊

Let’s start with Denver. I was visiting on a work trip, so as is typical with work trips, most of the views were the hotel rooms – but I did love the hotel we stayed at, and if you are in need of a hotel I can offer my inexperienced opinion as someone who has never been to Denver and vouch for the Renassaince. That being said, it is located in the middle of the weird Denver suburbs and I think that is why we stayed there rather than downtown, so… I would only go there if you really like staring at beautiful mountains. On the topic of mountains, my jaw was down the entire drive from the airport to the hotel. You would think that more than eight months living in a hilly city like Seattle would prepare me for the elevation and mesmerizing views that call Denver home, but I don’t really think anything CAN prepare you for it. It made me want to become a skier overnight just to pretend I could use colloquialisms like “hitting the slopes this weekend.” Don’t worry though, that mood just lasted long enough for me to remember that I say words like “colloquial” and can’t ski for my life. And speaking of the airport, perhaps the most interesting thing I discovered during my stay in Denver is that the airport is not only the worst one I have ever stepped foot in (which should mean a lot from the queen of airports) but it is also… haunted? The airport features a Blue Mustang statue, nicknamed Blucifer (which is a terrible name, no wonder the thing is cursed), and the demonic horse has a twisted history. Apparently, back in 2006, the head of the horse fell and severed an artery in the leg of Luis Jimenez, the statue’s architect. And so the creator was killed by his very own piece of art. Talk about not horsing around, right? Okay, onwards and upwards.

Anyway, when I wasn’t trying to find my way out of Denver international airport and when I wasn’t trapped in the work hotel, we did do some super fun things which I can- and do- recommend checking out during a Denver trip. Those are the ViewHouse Eatery, Bar, and Rooftop, as well as Blake Street Tavern, a British pub and arcade themed bar. I love nothing more than city spots that offer dinner AND a show, and if you like sweating to death because you take arcade basketball VERY seriously, I cannot recommend these spots enough. Sadly, that’s all the advice I can offer on Denver. I can also say that party buses are worth every ounce of the hype they garner.

I CAN and will be offering a deeper dive into the fantastic, historically exuberant (which IS an expression I just made up) city of Charleston, South Carolina. I encourage everyone to check out my Instagram at @SincerelySharon__ if you want a closer look at some lovely pictures. Without further ado, some recommendations for where to stay, what to do, places to eat, and experiences that are a must when you journey to this cool Southern treasure.

Where to STAY:

All I would say is that the layout of Charleston is pretty simple in the sense that a few streets occupy the entirety of the coolest parts of downtown. In other words, live on King Street. But that isn’t useful given the wide stretch that street takes up of all of Charleston’s downtown region. Nothing could have prepared me for how walkable of a city Charleston is though, just be prepared that if you stay too far North like we did, you will have to walk some distance to reach the French Quarter area, which holds a lot of the most special tourist points: Rainbow Row, Waterfront Park, and the Pineapple Fountain (which I do not know the official name of so I WILL be referring to it as the Pineapple fountain for the remainder of this blog).

Where to GO:

You really cannot go wrong but a few things you NEED to do while exploring the city are:

· Go shopping down King Street – King and Market has some incredibly expensive, out-of-all-of-our-budgets window shopping, but I preferred a little higher up where you can find well known stores as well as little boutiques. Everything may be a million dollars but that just means you’ll leave feeling like a million bucks too!

· Visit Pounce Cat Café: I know every city has its own “cat café” variation, but this one is definitely the best value for money that I have gotten to experience. For $15 on weekdays, you get an hour with the adorable adoptable kitties and a drink to take with you while you interact with them! If you are more interested in a little extra hit of something in your drink, you only have to pay a small additional fee and you will get to have a blast petting and playing with the most incredible cats.

· Check out the French Quarter: The views in this area are unparalleled. Whether looking out at Ft. Sumter from the Waterfront Pier or strolling down Rainbow Row, the pastels blow you away and you won’t be able to put your camera down

· Catch a cab to Magnolia Plantation: A great example of how rich history and beauty can be in a city with such important roots to reflect on. It offers many different nature tours, slave cabin tours, and even safari and boat experiences. It is also just gorgeous in the springtime and well worth the trip

· Take some pictures on the water – Shem Creek is a great area for this!

· Do a Boos and Booze Crawl: Charleston offers amazing ghost tours, and alcohol makes most things better (this is no exception)

· Check out the Charleston City Market for every cool trinket you can think of

Places to EAT:

Here is a little recap of the places I loved and what to order:

· Poogan’s Porch (MUST!) – Fried Green Tomatoes and Shrimp & Grits

· Fleet Landing – She Crab Soup

· Carmella’s Dessert Bar – Key Lime Pie and a Boozy Milkshake

· Fuji Sushi Upper King – Dragon Roll (go there for their lunch special!)

Bars to TRY:

We did a St. Patricks’ self-formed bar crawl, and I can list a few bars I thought were super cool: Uptown Social (where we ran into a person dressed as St. Patrick! Or who knows, maybe he was the real deal…) for a cool rooftop experience, Trio for more of a clubbing experience (only there if you are in your ‘flashing lights’ era), and Dueling Pianos (my favorite) if your scene is more Frose and self-requested live music.

What to Keep in Mind:

· Book everything in Advance – I’ve heard good things about the Holy City Magic, but they were booked solid through May, and we booked the ghost tour a few weeks ahead too. Better safe than sorry!

· Get ready to spend the Moolah!

· Carriage tours are not worth it (and the poor horsies are definitely abused)

· Southern iced tea, does – in fact- taste better than regular iced tea

· I literally loved this city. That’s all😉

If you need personalized recommendations or 1:1 advice, I’m obviously a message away (On Instagram or through the site), but I really think traveling is the best and these two new states just proved that point for me further. The views were stunning, the people were epic, the moments were special. With April right around the corner, it is so important to do things that make you happy and I hope everyone reading is enjoying their start to Spring! Talk to you more next week!