During this visit, we spent a little time on Dewee’s Island, a quiet, private island where no cars are allowed and the island is only accessible by ferry. Ge Ge (my four-year-old son) had been looking forward to fishing with his grandfather basically since we moved from Charleston nearly a year ago.

The kids also loved spending time with their cousin.

Of course, no visit to Charleston is complete without constant eating, and to that end I stopped back by Tavern & Table, which had just opened during our last visit. I loved the location and the atmosphere of the restaurant, which is located on Shem Creek, a small boating creek in Mount Pleasant. The creek is lined with rickety, down-home crab shacks, and I really like Tavern & Table’s rustic yet refined atmosphere. The menu back in January still needed a little tweaking here and there, and on our visit a few weeks ago I was really excited to see that the restaurant has made a few changes for the better. The charcuterie board, the result of T&T’s in-house meat curing program, is a must-have along with their whole roasted fish with lemongrass, tamarind, lime, chili, cilantro and Thai basil. The fish we had was pink snapper, roasted perfectly white and flaky. Our tots devoured the fish, so much so that the adults only got a taste. The bite I did have, however, was bursting with a pleasing acidic flavor that didn’t overpower the lightness of the fish. I loved it.

Sadly, the timing of our trip coincided with the shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church, an incident that’s left me heartbroken in so many different ways. During our three years in Charleston, the kids and I frequented the St. Andrews library branch where one of the victims, Cynthia Hurd, worked. She was a lovely, warm person who always recognized the kids. While we all struggle to make sense of the senseless, please consider donating to the Mother Emanuel Hope Fund or participating in an online silent auction organized by the Community United Charleston Fund. Like many others who love South Carolina with all our hearts, I hope that this terrible tragedy will bring positive change.

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