Let's face it: on party-heavy holidays (like New Year's Eve, and July 4th, aaand St. Patty's), sometimes even the greatest plans for all-day fun fall... a little short. And the fact that we live at or within 15 minutes of multiple beaches raises the stakes for Fourth even higher.
Friends book flights to come visit—to see what sweet Independence Day celebrations Charleston has to offer. Oh, and we try. We touch base with friends at least a week before, choose whether we're heading to Sullivan's or Folly, make some homemade jorts, and dig up that solid recipe for red and blue colored Jell-O shots (like this one).
... But then the big day rolls around and we realize that in fact, we're totally unprepared. You forget to find a DD and get stuck driving. Or jump in the car a little before noon then hit three hours of traffic on the way to the Folly. Or realize you packed NO food or water for your marathon day at the beach.
To learn what to do and where to go—and more importantly, perhaps, what NOT to do and where NOT to go—we've reached out to a handful of local 20 and 30-somethings to hear their best July 4th fails and success stories. Here's what they shared:
JULY 4TH FAILS:
"The first Fourth of July that I spent here I went to Folly. Seeing as I was new to town, I had absolutely no idea what the traffic was going to be like, so I sat in my car for a good hour and a half. But this didn't even bother me. I was just stoked that I actually lived at a beach and had every intention of taking selfies and sending to all of my land-locked friends—"Look at me now, bitches, I'm on a beach!" Well... two hours later, I'm still sitting in traffic. Boom. The highlight? There were these fantastic people posted up on the side of Folly Road handing out hotdogs." —Madeline, 24, downtown
"Last year I got in with a group and rented a house on Folly so we wouldn't have to drive anywhere and could wake up and be at the beach. Everyone invited their friends to the house the night before, though, so it ended up being so packed that there wasn't even room to sleep on the floor. So for $100 I got to sleep in my car (in July) and get woken up at 5 a.m. by the knocking of a stranger on my window telling me to move my car or I'd be towed. Oh, and I ended up driving that day anyways to meet a group who were two miles down the beach at 10th Street." —Will, 26, West Ashley
"I've only spent one Fourth here—the summer after I graduated from CofC. I got up early with a group of friends and went to Folly (before drinking was banned). It took about an hour and a half to get there with the traffic and then about another half hour to park and walk to the beach. Once we got to the beach we had to make our way through the drunk mess of a crowd and find an open area to put our things. Within 10 minutes of being there I was ready to go (maybe I didn't drink enough). People were running into me and there was trash everywhere (including girls passed out on the sand with people walking on them). I will say—it was entertaining watching all those people act like idiots. The highlight of my day was getting a hotdog on the way back." —Caitlin, 25, downtown
"The first Fourth that most of my friends and I were out of college fell on a Tuesday or Wednesday, so the idea of not having the fifth off was pretty appalling to me. We went out incredibly hard the night before so we didn’t get in the car to go out to Folly until noon, which is a huge no-no. We literally spent two hours sitting in traffic and trying to find a parking spot. Of course as soon as you get to Folly it‘s so packed that any plans you had for meeting up with people go right out the window."
—Marshall, 25, West Ashley
"Last year we thought it would be a great idea to go to California Dreaming to sit outside and watch the fireworks... Off the beaten path, great drink specials, on the water. Epic fail. We couldn't even see the fireworks because they were shot so low." —Rachel, 26, downtown
SOME SUCCESS STORIES, TOO:
"In my friends' neighborhood in West Ashley, there's an empty lot right on the water. My boyfriend and I rode our bikes to their house, grilled out, then we backed a pickup truck into the lot and sat there drinking beer and watching fireworks shoot into different parts of the sky from around town. Other people from the neighborhood were there with their kids and dogs, so it was just a really laid-back celebration that made me glad to live in Charleston (and West Ashley)!" —Anna, 30, West Ashley
"The best was when I lived on Pitt Street downtown. We had people over for drinks and snacks at like 6 or 7, then walked/biked down to the pineapple fountain with blankets and sat and watched the Mt. Pleasant fireworks. It was chill—good friends, no stress or traffic, and easy." —Camilla, 29, West Ashley
"Last year I spent my Fourth of July making fried rice. Not a joke. Fucking fried rice on July 4th. Why? I don't know. I truly can't answer that. But then I put on jorts and a tacky Fourth of July shirt and met up with people downtown. It was like a ghost town because everyone else was on the beach, so we played drinking games and did our thing. I got entirely too intoxicated, but cops didn't care about me... They were busy getting attacked on Folly Beach." —Madeline, 24, downtown
"Sophomore year in the Gravel Pit (CofC people will most likely know where that is), we had a roof that we could climb onto from our third-story window and we had 10 to 15 of us up there watching fireworks and launching some of our own (I realize now how incredibly unsafe all of this was). It was pretty damn cool watching the fireworks up there, with a view of Charleston as a backdrop." —Marshall, 25, West Ashley
"My best 4th was spent out at Morris island in 2009. I had 3 friends from UGA in town and my dad took us by boat to the island so we didn't have to worry about keeping up with a boat—like making sure it didn't get stuck as the tides changed or didn't hit other boats—and we also didn't have to worry about getting pulled over. We spent the day out on the island roaming around talking to friends and got picked up by my dad to head home in the afternoon. Then we went over to a friend's house and partied there for the rest of the night and slept there so didn't have to worry about driving again. Very solid Fourth." —Daniel, 23, downtown
THE TAKEAWAYS
1. If you're beaching it, either head out there at the crack of dawn or be prepared to sit... and sit... and sit in traffic. Maybe bring a book. A crossword puzzle, perhaps?
2. Hotdogs are always a good call.
3. Looking to party? Go to Morris Island.
4. Want a stressless Fourth? Per our group, your best bet's to have a house party or head downtown and avoid the beach altogether.
5. A lot of logistics go into traveling by boat... Or by car for that matter. Try to bribe someone (maybe with a hotdog?) to give you a ride.
THE JULY 4TH MUST-HAVES
Avoid one July 4th fail (getting sunburned) with Kelty's "Sunshade" tent ($125), sold at Half-Moon Outfitters.
Avoid another (running out of cold beer) with a YETI cooler (35-quart Tundra, $279.99), available at Haddrell's Point Tackle in Mount Pleasant
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