Deee- I like the idea of combining both the harbor ride and Ft. Sumter. I’ll have to see if the one I was looking at stops by the fort. Golf is not in my blood but DH plays charity tournaments (after which he inevitably says he’s so terrible he’ll never play again but does). I did take a peek at the Ryder Cup bar and it looks amazing. I agree the lunch menu is reasonable and the more I hear about Kiawah Island the more I think it’ll be added to our itinerary. Savannah is only on my list because I thought it was a must-see city. I’ll be in Statesboro for a wedding and figured I would stop by on my way to Charleston or HHI. Between your comment and Tina’s I think I might skip it. Bumble - A couple of “low key” days are exactly what we’re looking for on this trip. As for the plantations, I can only imagine my husband will be patient enough for one. I’ve seen Magnolia Manor recommended, as well as Middleton. I guess I’ll have to investigate just how long the tours are because I don’t want to spend an entire day there. I certainly won’t visit Drayton Hall - I heard it’s not decorated. Isn’t that part of the fun? April101 - Wow, the French Quarter Inn looks luxurious. I bet your DD had a great birthday there. I would love to stay there but unfortunately it’s out of my price range. And, yes, I agree that TripAdvisor has been a great resource. I don’t know how I ever traveled without it. And thanks for the Venue Inn tip. For some reason it’s just fun to eat or drink at a rooftop restaurant. Pammyfay - Thanks for such a great list! I’ve heard of the Hominy Grill and had planned to stop by there. I expect to enjoy my food and not worry about calories but I still don’t think I could order from a place called the Larder. oh, oops, I just realized a larder is a cellar! I was thinking of lard. I’ve saved this list as my grumbling tummy reference. Tina, I’m so glad you popped in. When I searched GW for Charleston advice you seemed to be the resident expert. Thanks for the tip about Shem Creek. We’ll be eating our share of fresh seafood so it’s nice to go to a reputable area. Last time I was in FL, one of the seafood restaurants I went to was admittedly serving frozen or flown in seafood. Ft. Moultrie and Patriots Point? Now I have too many choices - I think I’ll let DH decide on this one but I suspect my ex-squid will pick Patriots Point. It looks like Harbor Island is near Beaufort, which was a recommended stop for us. I’ll have to check it out and see if that’s more up our alley vs HHI because neither of us are that into golf and I wonder if hotel prices are higher due to that amenity. Hhireno - Oh, true Outlets?! So tempting. I like to shop but I’ve already blown my budget on this trip. That may not stop me, though. I like to purchase a sweatshirt when I’m in a beachy location. I don it whenever it starts to snow here in KS. Hmm, so you highly recommend HHI? Where to go on the GA/SC coast has turned out more complicated than I thought. It all sounds great. Thanks for the feedback on your lovely island. Legomom - Sounds like you’ve put in the 2nd vote for staying on one of the islands and driving into Charleston. I must admit it’s nice to wake up to the ocean vs. city life. It wouldn’t bother me a bit to have my morning coffee ocean side and drive into Charleston later. And some of my favorite places have been dives so the Wreck sounds like fun to me. Thanks so much to everyone. Now I need to find a good book, Jennifer

johnatemp, ty so much for the tips. I'm going to copy this and save for DH. He'll need all the help he can get when coming time to paint :) kmc, I really do love the antique what. I just wonder what it'd look like with my bright white trim. rose, I'd love if lowes or someone here would offer making us a template, but I asked. They said they'd only do that if THEY were installing. I even offered to pay them to come double check measurements, and they said nope. I did find a local company yesterday. They claim the starting price for their laminate WITH install is $8.50. Goes up to $9 something, depending on the edge. And just $6.50, if I wanted them to just slap some new laminate on my existing counter tops. I actually talked to two smaller companys, both were about the same. Sooo..we'll see what kind of estimate I get. Both are coming out next wk. I just know I don't want to pay the $1400 for laminate that Lowes priced us at. And I know painting the cabs may be a turn off for some. But, I can't live with them any more. I really can't, lol. I've consulted my realtor, as well. She knows the area, the neighborhood, the block, my house AND my cabs, lol. And she says go for it. She thinks if I can pull it off, it'll only help set ourselves apart from the rest of cookie cutter land :)

Gardenburgher - thanks. Glad things have gone well for you so far with BC Stone. I think you will be pleased - I know we were. Kompy - thank you. Its really nice to hear good comments like this from someone in the business - I really appreciate it. And yes, too bad the BS tile is not Dal-Tile (it would have been a whole lot cheaper - LOL). I really like Dal-Tile products alas, they didn't have anything we strongly liked for the BS. And given the size, it was the one area of tile I wasn't afraid to pay a higher per sq ft cost pluckymama, yvette and maydl - thanks for your kind comments

@Wes Hunt I believe Shiloh does an industry-standard post-catalyzed conversion varnish, so hopefully the finish will be more durable for you than Kemp would have been. As I'm sure you're aware, there are several different levels of pricing within the lines offered by W. W. Wood Products, Inc., Shiloh's parent company. Shiloh for some reason hasn't amassed many reviews around the web at the time of this writing outside of those on Houzz, but there are several threads here at Houzz that do discuss Shiloh's offerings and warranty fulfillment in depth. One of the things I've noticed is that people who went with the less expensive lines wished they had upgraded to the top Shiloh offering, and for people who did receive defective pieces, it was sometimes an issue getting satisfactory warranty service. If you are working with a reputable sales rep, hopefully they would take care of any issues you had promptly. Plenty of people have been very pleased with their Shiloh cabinetry. The tolerances on Shiloh's inset styles aren't as tight as you'd see from more expensive brands like Christopher Peacock or Kennebec according to some reviewers familiar with a wide range of brands, but for many people who want to save and yet still want that inset look, Shiloh does just fine for them. Of course, as you're aware, inset is not the only style Shiloh offers. I hope your project goes smoothly. Thanks for allowing the Houzz community to have input into your research process.