Day 1 – We meet our gracious hosts, Rick and Ria who show us just how special Folly Beach really is. From bike rides on the beach, to rooftop drinks at a local bar hanging with sun conure parrots (Sweet Pea and Sunshine), and fish tacos, guacamole, and frozen screwdrivers at Taco Boy, beach living is definitely something we could get used to!

Day 2 – We take a private, guided boat tour with Rasta Rick and explore the estuaries between Morris Island and Folly Beach. Highlights include the Morris Beach Lighthouse, finding sand dollars and shells, and seeing dolphins, loggerhead turtles and tons of pelicans and other interesting birds. This was definitely one of the highlights of our trip!

Night 2  – We pre-party at Rick and Ria’s house across the street from our cottage before heading out for the night. Nightlife on Folly Beach proves to be just as sweet with live music at an open air rooftop bar called Lazo’s where we check out a local band called Po’Ridge. Rasta Rick joins the band on djembe drum. We end the night at a local’s favorite (and soon to be our favorite), Tokyo Crepes where we feast on freshly made crepes filled with mouthwatering fillings such as nutella, banana, strawberries and whip cream to more savory fillings like spinach, falafel and feta, better known as, The Mideast Miracle. Definitely a miracle in my mouth of irresistible flavors!

Day 3 – We venture into downtown Charleston with Rasta Rick and check out some shops, an open air market in the Daughter of Confederacy Building, and a sweet chocolate/ice cream shop. I bought a cute hat in the open air market for a whopping $10! What a steal and it’s cute too! Jon got his sweet tooth on with a chocolate and caramel dunked rice crispy treat on a stick….yummy, but a bit too sweet for my liking! We also checked out a cool rock and bead store that Rasta Rick likes to visit occasionally. You can find all sorts of beads, shells, shark’s teeth, djembe drums, didgeridoos, rain sticks, etc! We saw Rainbow Row which is the historical section of downtown Charleston with all the interesting, colorful old homes of Charleston….meticulously maintained homes that are beautifully landscaped and kept up to the code with the historical society. We headed back to Folly Beach to meet Ria before heading out to a Thai restaurant for dinner about 5 miles off the island. We were greeted by real ducks hanging outside the restaurant (kind of a scary sign)…needless to say, we stood clear of the duck menu items! We ended the night seeing Po’Ridge again at a different bar where Rick sat in again on djembe drum. Another night of great music and Tokyo Crepes…we can’t get enough of those crepes! I could eat one, two, maybe 3 a day…they are that good!

Day 4 – This was going to be our last day due to the inclement weather supposedly heading towards Folly Beach. We felt that we should probably leave Sunday around noon just in case the weather took a turn for the worse. The waves were increasing in size and the it started to get extremely windy outside. We decided to end our trip with brunch at Blu (a restaurant right on the beach) with Rick and Ria. This brunch was phenomenal…anything you could possibly want from home made omelettes, shrimp, fried chicken, sauteed collard greens, chocolate moose, fresh strawberries and fruit, stuffed flounder, bacon, mini pancakes…you name it, they had it, and it was all delicious! It was a great to end our mini vacation. We were in Folly Beach just a brief time, but it felt like we experienced so much in such a short time period. Our new island friends, Rasta Rick and Reggae Ria could not have been more hospitable and boatloads of fun! We love them so much…it’s like we have known them for years. Well, Jon has known Rick for 7 years, but had never physically met him until now. We definitely left a piece of our hearts on Folly Beach and plan to re-visit Rick and Ria time and time again. They are truly one-of-kind people and we are really happy to have been able to meet them, finally! We will miss hanging out with them. Until next time….I will be dreaming of Tokyo crepes, fish tacos, tranquil beaches, and more fun Folly Beach style.