The Grass is Greener
The main popular beach area near Charleston that people frequent is Sullivan's Island, which is no more than 30 minutes from downtown. We headed there early in the morning just to explore and walk along the beach, though if I'm being honest we stayed maybe 20 minutes on the actual beach because it was so cold and windy that day, we were shivering and numb by the time we made it back to the car. We drove around for a little while, down to the fort at one end and past a variety of restaurants and shops at the other, and through the beach-town neighborhood of big waterfront homes. If we'd had more time or if it had been a little warmer, I would have happily spent the day there enjoying the long sparkling sand. It's no Florida beach, but it was actually really nice and the windswept dunes gave it all a more unruly feeling that you just don't get in Florida.
Thanks Ashley for the photos!