Sunday, May 17, 2026 - Charleston Tea Garden, Angel Tree, Kiawah Beach

I started the trip in a bad mental state due to a wire transfer situation that I won't get into. So to start, I had a low annoyance threshold.  But here's a question: Should toddlers/babies be allowed to fly on airplanes?  My vote is no.  Our flight had 3 kids in front of us who were completely ignored by their guardians (two sisters?), except to fill them full of apple juice and snacks. 3 hours of kids crying, complaining, shouting, giggling and bouncing around the seats. 

A relief to get off the plane. 

Charleston airport is a small, clean and efficient facility.  We rented a car (Genesis GV70) for the first day so we could get out into the country. Nice car. Luxury rental was only $10 more than economy. 

First Stop, Charleston Tea Garden. 

The tea garden is about a 40 minute drive from the airport via scenic county roads shadowed by huge live oak trees.  On site is a functioning tea plantation and processing factory.  As much free tea as you can drink and also free factory tour. I also had a cookie and a moon pie from the gift shop to stave off hunger.  The trolley tour around the plantation is around $20 per person and was informative/entertaining.

Some interesting things about tea I learned:

• Black, oolong and green tea all come from the same bush. It just depends how long you dry leaves and allow them to oxidize.
• A tea bush will live hundreds of years. It can be "tricked" into regenerating if severely cut back. It will grow 20 feet tall if left untrimmed. Optimum height is about 4 ft.
• The newest tea leaves that grow on top are the only ones harvested and they can be cut 7-8 times during growing season.
• The tea plant is naturally resistant to disease and insects. So they don't need to use and insecticides or fungicides. They do hand weeding to control weeds. 

After the tea stop, we drove to the Angel Oak, the oldest live oak in the country - about 450 years old. It was about a 20 minute ride back towards Charleston.

It's probably hard to interpret from photos how huge this tree is but it covers the entire property. The trunk is 68 ft in circumference and 11 ft in diameter. Small gift shop. Road side parking. 

We then had a late lunch at the Salty Dog on Seabrook Island, another 20 minutes south and west - fish tacos and shrimp.

The marina view at the Salty Dog was nice.  We entertained ourselves figuring out the other family dining next to us.  We determined they were Russian sisters (with kids), one of whom married a rich older American.  

We decided we wanted to actually see the beach, so we drove to Kiawah Beach Walker Park allegedly one of the most beautiful beaches in America. We were shocked at the entrance fee… $25 and had a long consideration before entering. South Carolina beaches are mostly accessed only by private property and gated communities.  Certainly this stems from an entitlement and privilege attitude.  They can't have any "undesirables" showing up on their beaches!

As for the beach, yes it was nice. But we both agreed that Sarasota and Fort Myers beaches are better.

After a short beach walk, we drove back into Charleston and checked into our Airbnb.  It's a quiet historical house off of Spring Street, northern side of the downtown area.  Bedroom, kitchen, living room and two nice bathrooms. A large sitting porch that is mostly private. 

While I returned the car to the airport and caught an Uber back to the Airbnb, Yelena got setup and bought some groceries at the convenience store right next to our place.  When they don't post any prices on items, you know you're going to get robbed.  $8 for a dozen eggs! Oh well, it's only money.

Dinner was a wood fire pizza and fresh salad at Toasted Crust pizza.  Highly recommended! Our server Blake was extremely cordial and classic southern.  I thought he was going to sit down and have dinner with us.

Our walk back the Airbnb down King Street was very animated and entertaining.  Lots of activity. We're glad our place is a few blocks from the hubbub.