Weekend Trip: Georgetown, SC

With beautiful oak-lined streets, a Harborwalk along the river, stately antebellum mansions, and riverfront dining and shopping, there’s plenty to do and see in Georgetown, SC. It is a city known for its Southern Hospitality and History.

Georgetown, SC is the third oldest city in South Carolina (after Charleston and Beaufort) and second largest seaport. Compared to the other two cities, Georgetown hardly gets noticed and that’s a shame. It would be my guess that this small city on the water will get discovered in a big way sometime in the future. It has too much going for it.

Georgetown was thought to have been the first European Settlement in North America in 1526. During the Antebellum period, the town thrived due to the success of area rice plantations. In the 1840s, more rice was exported from the Georgetown Port than any other port in the world. You can get a glimpse of what life was like on a rice plantation at Mansfield Plantation. Learn everything you wanted to know (and maybe more!) about the history of rice farming and how it impacted the area at The Rice Museum located in the Old Market Building downtown.

I love the Harborwalk in Georgetown. The downtown businesses and restaurants extend right up to the Harborwalk and many have decks and balconies overlooking the river. There are a few unsightly paper mills (International Paper has a huge mill in Georgetown) on the other side of the river, but that’s just par for the course near working seaports. There’s going to be industrial stuff right along the river. Thankfully though, the characteristic scent that paper mills put off was not at all noticeable. I think anti-pollution measures have really helped with this. As a child I can remember holding my nose while driving through Georgetown.

To really take advantage of the view of the river, have a few drinks at Buzz’s Roost on their 2-story deck.

Krazy Fish is a new restaurant that just opened on Front St. It is owned by the same people who started Krazy Fish in Charlotte. The menu is very eclectic and features everything from internationally inspired seafood dishes to Southern Comfort Food. I had Scallop Tacos and while they were good, they had the potential to be excellent and they missed the mark. The freshly fried flour tortilla was delicious as were the scallops, but they were way too sparse and it could have used a better sauce. The squash casserole was something I would not order again.

Other menu offerings are calamari lo mein, scallop pad thai, various seafood tacos, fried flounder, and meatloaf. Everyone there seemed to really be enjoying their food.

The inside of Krazy Fish is Quirky and Fun and the servers have a lot of personality. Definitely makes it a fun place to visit. The seating is Jackson Pollock style and there are various critters made out of a hodge podge of materials hanging from the ceiling. Have a few drinks from their full service bar and you may think you’re hallucinating.