Charleston Shuffle

We've done it again! Vacation on a dime! (CONFESSION: It actually cost more than 1, but less than 20,000 dimes) Of course we cheated a bit, it's allowed -- we got free lodging. We know what your thinking: you guys are wankers. We know just how lucky we are and devout that sliver of time every morning between dawn and sunrise to meditate on our karmic fortunes.

Even with a place to stay, vacations can really just run away with your wallet. You end up spending lavish amounts of money on things you normally wouldn't buy, food you don't even like eating, and excursions you didn't even take pictures at because you were too busy complaining about the lines and the fact that your wallet was empty.

We avoided both spending all our money and being miserable about not doing anything, for fear of spending all our money. How? Easy. See our top four list of fun things to do in Charleston, South Carolina that cost nothing but your time and patience.

HINT: get a rental car through Costco - at a location away from the airport. We picked Alamo (they have a free shuttle to and from the airport) and paid less than $100 for the entire week - not to mention we could stop at Costco to fill it back up before returning at the end of the week - double whammo. CONFESSION: Even without a rental car you can still do most of these free things - remember good ol' public transportation?

1.  Saturday FARMER'S MARKET at MARION SQUARE if your lucky there might be something like the Gay Pride Parade going on while your there - well not very likely as it just occurred and it most likely is an annual event.
2.  FOLLY BEACH - if you walk allllll the way down the beach you'll be able to see the MORRIS ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE. Kind of on the way (but not really) is the ANGEL OAK TREE - well worth the diversion if you like trees. or nature. or living things. We like all of those things.
3.  Personally-guided WALKING TOUR; you can read signs on the streets (reading is free), and learn about the Holy City. If you feel really adventurous try out your southern accent while reading the signs out loud. CONFESSION: I did this. 
4.  SULLIVAN'S ISLAND AND ISLE OF PALMS: parking is tricky and seems a bit imposing but its the damn ocean, nobody owns the ocean. While at said 'unowned ocean' we saw: itty crabs, dolphins, and didn't get pooped on once by seagulls, not once.

Our top 5 things to do that do cost money:

1. Middleton Place. AMAZING! This place is so breathtaking, it's hard not to get swept away to another time. I highly suggest visiting.
2.  Palmetto Brewing Company. Take the trolley and then walk the rest of the way - visit when there's music for an extra rad experience. Not saying we're beer snobs, but they were the only beer we really liked in Charleston. Non-beer lovers - they sell 4 ounce flights and 8 ounce tasters, as well as the pint. Perfection.
3. Patriot's Point. You'll need a few hours because this thing is massive. The USS Yorktown is a humbling and awe-inspiring experience. DON'T pass it up. DO pace yourself and bring snacks. Fort Sumter also falls in this category, plus you take a ferry to get there (pssst. we saw dolphins while on the ferry ride. keep your eyes peeled.)
4. You should be eating seafood and biscuits the whole time you are in Charleston. Great seafood suggestion: Amen Street Fish and Raw Bar, great biscuit suggestion: Callie's Hot Little Biscuit's (on King Street between Ann and Mary).
5. Magnolia Gardens . If you do other gardens or plantations, do this one first; MUST check out the petting zoo!!

Follow these tips to spend less of your money:

1. Go to the visitor center to buy your tickets. Bundle and save. Plus they know everything touristy there is to do in Charleston; you might say they're experts.
2. Take the free trolley when it's to far to walk, and then walk. The trolley doesn't go everywhere in Charleston but it does make a wide enough loop to make walking everywhere totally feasible.
3. Buy groceries and eat in. Not every meal has to be chef prepared - remember when you're at home and you use a stove - you can do that on vacation too. Or go to a bakery and buy donuts or something to have the next morning.
4. Don't buy more groceries than you can eat. CONFESSION: You're allowed to go to the grocery store more than once while on vacation, especially if it saves you money (See photo above for our rationing techniques).
5. Eat during happy hour. Drink during happy hour.
6. Ask the locals where they like to go and only do things you can't do at home. While Brian and I were incredibly tempted to go to the aquarium (it was the shark shallows that tempted us so badly), the aquarium, no matter which state, is something a bit mundane. More exotic are the historical sites that Charleston has to offer. Compromise was made. Fort Sumter > Fingers to Fins with the Sharks. BUT we would encourage those of you with a bit bigger wallet to go touch the dang sharks, and then comment below how lame and uninteresting it was. please. please do this for us.
7. A local told us very sternly, "Don't eat oysters in months not ending in 'R'". We went in August. No oysters for us. Heed the advice of locals - they live there, they know.

So that's it! We schooled Charleston with all the spareness and simplicity we could muster, and it was beautiful! Thank you to the kind patrons of the Holy City for enduring our coupon-cutting, 'no thanks we'll walk', 'when is your happy hour?' ways. And thank you Debra* for letting us stay at your house!

Need not,

Brian and Josey

*Name has been changed to protect the innocent.

Vacation for minimalists!

CONFESSION: This photo is from last year but that cactus still exists. so...

I know we just got back from vacation, but we would like to go on another one, soon. In fact we don't think we can wait until next year, we have just self-proclaimed ourselves a multiple-vacation-per-year couple. In order to get better at vacationing on a dime we have made the executive decision to go on another trip before the end of the year. After all practice makes perfect.

Vacation can mean a lot of things, but to us it means getting on a plane and staying away from home for at least a week (though it would be splendid to eventually increase that number to double digit days of vacation). Vacation also means indulgence, and if you read the previous post you know that my indulgence is also a bit delusional, i.e. it involves lots of exercise, visiting a grocery store, and finding as many free/dirt cheap events and excursions as possible. But back to the point. wait. what is the point?

Ah yes. Vacation minimalist style. Here are our top 6 suggestions for cutting corners and allowing yourself to vacation as much as possible within limits of course, we still have to maintain relations with our family and friends, and a job. duh.

1. Before the vacation it all starts with priorities. We want to travel therefore we save up for it, instead of spending money on eating out, movies, and other American culture necessities, we save up for trips - planning well in advance so that we know how much money we will need and reminding ourselves, every time we are tempted to overindulge in the extras of daily living, that a penny saved is a penny earned. or whatever.
2. Cheap flights. Not quite yet an extinct idea. We recently traveled on Spirit airlines, bare minimum tickets (no checked baggage, peanuts, sodas or leg room. seriously.). But since airfare can chew into your budget immensely, and I have short legs, it pays to shop around and be patient for low fares. Also, when sitting on your (delayed) flight, thirsty, and suffering from salt withdrawal, remind yourself that it will all be worth it when you get to your exotic  destination, like South Carolina.
3. Staying in a hostel. Okay, we admit it, there may be a slightly negative connotation with this option, but having both stayed in them we strongly disagree. Besides the fact that it will encourage you to get out of your room and explore the city you may be visiting (that's pretty much the whole point of going there, i think), it is a much more cost effective option. Be adventurous, stay in a hostel and really indulge yourself in the culture of vacationing. so exotic.
4. Skip the week long vacation. I know I said at least a week, but sometimes just a few-days-get-away is enough to recharge and refuel so that you can get back to regular life with more zest and pip and zeal and maybe even... a tan.
5. Experience the culture of wherever you go. Ditch the tourist traps and go for what the locals do. This has been made much easier with the advent of blogs. Do a quick google or pinterest search to find what exotic South Carolinians think is the best museum, the best historical sites, the best restaurants etc. and do those things (or at the very least pick from that list of things you would like to do). Maybe you really want to go to those commercial sites (usually they surround food) and that's okay too. But plan ahead and budget out what your priorities are.
6. BUDGET! ARGGGG!!! Okay so $1000, including airfare, hotel, food and excursions. That's maximum. Usually it would be nice to keep that number under $600, but it is only realistic if you are incredibly savvy or if you know people with extra rooms in every exotic place you would like to travel to (also you have to feel okay with mooching off of said persons). Perhaps this seems easy to you, and if so kudos! If not I challenge you to indulge in a minimalist vacation for yourself! P.S. If you are a part of an average American couple this can be easily saved up by:

• Not going out to eat for lunch for 6 months
• Give up your starbs coffee for 5 months
• No new clothes (Gasp!) for 6 whole months (that includes dry cleaning)
• Just plain not spending excess money (pay your bills and grocery shop. how do we even survive?)

So since we are desperate for more vacations, we will continue our minimalist lifestyle, shunning our friends offers to hang out, selling all of our possessions, and of course working and saving our money. We're kidding of course, we only shun our friends 6 months out of the year.


Need not,
Brian and Josey

Josey's on a vacation far away...

Brian and I love each other.
Gross. (CONFESSION: This is what my friend Haley would say, I think it's quite lovely.)
But we do, we like to just be with each other, so whether its a friend, a sibling, a companion or a lover (Haley: "Grosssss-er") get out and do stuff. It doesn't have to cost anything. Well for vacations-sake it really helps to know people who invite you to stay with them in exotic places like... Arizona! (insert oohs and aahs to your liking).

There are free things to do pretty much anywhere you go, often times it only takes a little bit of effort to find free things to do wherever you go. Do your research and you won't get caught up in gimmick-ee attractions that cost outrageous amounts of doll-hairs. Because making memories should be free or something like that. My vacation indulgences: anything related to exercise. I always like to push myself to work out harder then I normally do at home, especially if wearing a swimsuit is in the itinerary. This vacation we hiked up this monster mountain, a nine-mile jaunt burning no less than 1000 calories, accomplishing a 1500 feet in elevation gain. oh yeah. stairs are my enemy for the next week or two.

So I realize that not everyone thinks hitting' the gym is a riot, real fun involves burning calories with gut busting laughter created when playing... card games. A small investment in ridiculous card games will have a large payoff, here are 3 of our faves (thanks Sean and Tess):

• We Didn't Playtest This At All
• Quiddler
• LRC (left. right. center. - quarters required)

The best part is that these all take up minimal space, in one bag. Which brings us to minimal packing. Brian challenged himself to bring one drawstring bag and I challenged myself to pack only in my bag and not beg Brian to smuggle some of my items in his. For guys it should be easy - okay for my guy its easy, he looks good in whatever he wears (Haley's not allowed to interject anymore). Girls, listen up. If you don't bring excessive clothing options then your forced to actually wear what you bring. Weird. Anyways, it also helps to use the hosts washer and dryer that way you can bring less unmentionables and undershirts etc. See photos (for what we packed, not for unmentionables).

jk. it's not a competition. woop woop! Brianna gets honorable mention because her Michael Khors bag is gorgeous

But what do we eat on said exotic vacation? Happy hour can be a huge money saver (even Haley would agree). But an even better idea is to eat before you go out. I know it sounds counterintuitive. But when you're on vacation eating out seems to be the thing to do, pick one night to splurge and the rest of the meals visit the grocery store and treat your wallet to a vacation! Then when your out with everyone you can actually restrict your appetite to just the happy hour menu and still feel satiated. Also try not to buy so much food the first grocery stop. Picture this: night before you leave for home and you have to eat any left over food: lunch meat, half a dozen eggs, a bag of pretzels, yogurt etc. No one wants to last-day-of-vacation-binge. Seriously, you can visit the grocery store more than once, it's allowed. I like to buy enough food for one meal at a time. easy. peasy.


Welp that's all we'd like to share for now,
 thanks for reading!
 Stay tuned for more...

Need not,
Brian and Josey