Mr. Strange and I wanted to take an easy trip for our first anniversary and the last trip before LS arrived. I was 30 weeks pregnant, so we decided to go somewhere neither of us had been before but was relatively close. We decided on Charleston, South Carolina.

We flew into Charleston in the afternoon on the 14th and checked into the Belmond Charleston Place Hotel. After dumping our bags in our room, we headed across the street to FIG, where we had dinner reservations. We had a delicious meal, although Mr. Strange started not feeling too well in the middle of it.

After dinner, we went back to our hotel room and found a gift from the hotel: chocolate covered strawberries and a bottle of sparkling cider, perfect for my pregnant self.

The next morning, we headed to the hotel spa because I wanted to make a pre-natal couples massage appointment. It was one of the reasons I had chosen the hotel. However, they said they were all booked up for our entire stay! I was extremely disappointed.

We did a self tour around the city, taking in sites such as Rainbow Row and the Battery. We ate lunch at Husk before eventually heading back to the hotel for a swim in the pool. It was my first time swimming while pregnant, which felt wonderful.

For breakfast the next morning, we had pancakes at Toast! With full bellies, we then headed over to join a horse-drawn carriage tour of the city. We went through Old South Carriage, and they were great! Afterwards, we stopped by Church and Union, a bar that is located inside a former church.

The next day was St. Patrick’s Day, and the parade route went right by our hotel. We watched it go by, then continued with our sightseeing. We strolled through the gardens at the Nathaniel Russell House, but it was beginning to drizzle, so we headed to the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon, where we joined a tour.

The rain had stopped by the time we left, so we walked over to Waterfront Park, then headed back to the hotel to rest a little before dinner. We ate at Pawpaw, which was one of our favorite meals in Charleston.

On our last day, Mr. Strange surprised me: he had booked me a solo pre-natal massage! While it wasn’t the couples massage package we were wanting, it was extremely relaxing and a great way to end our trip.