Mobile Home Sales in Lydia, SC

Planning a trip to the Lowcountry? Here are the best times to visit Charleston, South Carolina.

It’s no coincidence that Charleston, South Carolina consistently ranks at the top of Travel + Leisure’s annual list of the best cities in the United States. The popular East Coast destination has exciting year-round activities, access to several beaches, and generally enjoyable weather (although summer gives way to the area’s famous humidity and hotter temperatures). Food, ranging from barbecue to seafood, tends to be a top reason to visit the Holy City, and the cobblestoned streets in the Historic District are ideal for sightseeing — whether the wisteria is in bloom or the lampposts and doorways are decked out in festive holiday decor.

While there’s technically no bad time to visit Charleston, some months are better than others, particularly if you’re looking for the best weather, fewest crowds, and slightly lower prices. These are the best times to visit Charleston.

Elizabeth Rhodes, Travel + Leisure special projects editor and South Carolina native, says April and October are her favorite times to visit. “The weather is pleasant — usually not too hot or humid — so you can really enjoy walking along the Battery, visiting the beach on Sullivan’s Island, or grabbing a drink at a rooftop bar.”

Best Time to Visit Charleston for Good Weather

If you can time your trip during Charleston’s spring sweet spot, mid-April through the end of May, you’ll be welcomed by pleasantly warm temperatures — anywhere from 60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit — and the rich, fragrant scent of the jasmine blooms that climb along the walls, fences, and buildings. Peak heat and humidity won’t arrive until later in the summer, so this is the perfect time to experience the Southern city’s architecture, culinary scene, and natural beauty.

Late September until early December is also a popular time to visit Charleston, as daily temperatures can continue to reach the high 70s — you may even be able to squeeze in a beach day if you’re lucky. Just be sure your plans are somewhat flexible, as this time period overlaps with hurricane season, which can occasionally bring wind, rain, and potentially more dangerous storms.

Best Time to Visit Charleston to Avoid the Crowds

Spring days in Charleston are far from a well-kept secret, so expect King Street, Folly Beach, and the best downtown restaurants to be extra busy. If you do want to visit during this time, especially if the region’s blooming flowers are on your must-see list, schedule your trip during the week as opposed to the weekend. This will help reduce the time you spend maneuvering around other tourists on Broad Street or waiting for a table at 167 Raw, Leon’s, or the recently opened Sorelle.

Autumn and early winter are also some of the best times to travel to Charleston. Sure, you may have to bundle up to sit on Sullivan’s Island from late November through February, but you’ll also get to enjoy the city when it’s not at maximum capacity — although Charleston’s most popular establishments usually have a line or waitlist all year round.

28 Best Things to Do in Charleston, South Carolina

Best Time to Visit Charleston to Save Money

As with most tourist destinations, Charleston's cooler winter weather marks the beginning of its off-season. The chillier temperatures in December, January, and February deter avid beach-goers and anyone looking for the classic Charleston heat, bringing slightly more affordable flight and hotel prices. If you’ve been wanting to stay at one of Charleston’s best hotels, which tend to be on the pricier side, this is the season when nightly rates are the lowest.

Best Times to Visit Charleston for Festivals

Festival season in Charleston arrives in the spring, although events start to pop up in February. The Southeastern Wildlife Exposition (SEWE) is one of the first major Charleston festivals every year, with a variety of wildlife and nature-focused art, live entertainment, and special events. SEWE is soon followed by Charleston Wine + Food in March, which draws chefs, winemakers, artisans, and anyone with an affinity for Southern food and culture to the area. The Charleston Jazz Festival is held every year in April, and features performances by some of the biggest names in Jazz. (Be sure to keep an eye out for the 2024 lineup.) Charleston’s historic homes and picturesque gardens are rarely open to the public, but the Festival of Houses and Gardens offers guided tours of some of the most beautiful South of Broad buildings, along with other exciting programming. Music, dance, and theater take the stage for 17 days in May and June when Spoleto Festival USA and Piccolo Spoleto Festival (the latter highlights local and regional artists) come to town. The festival rule of thumb is this: If you’re visiting Charleston in the spring, there’s sure to be something going on.

Worst Times to Visit Charleston

The crux of traveling to Charleston is that the worst time to visit is also one of the most popular times to see the city. While ideal for lounging on the beach, June, July, and August aren’t the best for sightseeing in Charleston. Summer is when the Lowcountry’s humidity covers the city, making the congested streets and public spaces even more suffocating. You’ll also need to consider hurricane season which lasts from June 1 to Nov. 30. Long holiday weekends, particularly Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends, are usually the most crowded and most expensive.

2021 FINA SHORT COURSE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

American teenager Katie Grimes has followed her Canadian peer Summer McIntosh out of the finals of the women’s 800 free on Saturday evening in Abu Dhabi.

Olympic gold medalist Lydia Jacoby has also been withdrawn from the meet for the Americans.

Grimes and Jacoby are both out while in the COVID-19 protocols, though USA Swimming declined to elaborate if that meant that they tested positive or were in close contact with an individual who tested positive. So far, she and Jacoby are the only Americans who have been obviously knocked out for COVID-19 protocols, though entire other federations have been removed and forced into quarantine by a single positive test.

USA Swimming says that they are testing at a higher level than required, with athletes undergoing scrutiny every 48 hours.

Per protocols, Grimes and Jacoby will now have to quarantine for 7 days before she is allowed to leave the country.

McIntosh, meanwhile, was withdrawn for “load management” purposes. She still has a swim remaining in the 400 free at this meet, as well as at least one relay, the 800 free relay, remaining.

Grimes, who was still entered in the event when prelims began on Saturday morning, was a fairly-late scratch from the event. She qualified 7th in prelims on Friday morning in 8:16.01. McIntosh was the 2nd seed in 8:13.37, which broke the Canadian Record by six seconds.

Grimes was a 2020 U.S. Olympian in the 800 free. She qualified by placing 2nd behind Katie Ledecky in the long course version of the event at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 8:20.36.

She dropped time in Tokyo, swimming 8:17.05 in prelims to qualify 2nd for the final, and ultimately finished 4th in the final in 8:19.38.

The 800 free was Grimes’ only individual event at the meet. Jacoby, meanwhile, was also withdrawn from the meet, with her signature event, the 100 breaststroke, remaining. She was the Olympic champion in the 100 breaststroke over the summer.

As a result of the scratches, another American, Emma Weyant, and Hungary’s Anja Kesely, move into the final.

One CSRA nonprofit is changing its name to better reflect its services.

The Lydia Project, a regional provider of free support services for cancer patients, announced the nonprofit has officially changed its name to Cancer Support Services.

The launch of the new brand coincides with the organization’s 3rd annual Route 44 fundraising partnership with SONIC, in which all CSRA drive-ins will donate a percentage of 44-ounce drink proceeds during the month of May to CSS’ lodging, transportation and outreach programs for people seeking cancer treatment at Augusta/Aiken-area hospitals and clinics.

CSS Board Chair Hap Harris said the new name more accurately mirrors the population served and reflects the array of comfort and assistance that the organization provides to people fighting all types of cancer.

In 2021, CSS staff and its 700-plus volunteers provided services to more than 6,288 cancer fighters. It provided 2,357 lodging nights to guests needing to be near cancer treatment, and 2,520 transport trips to treatment providers.

“The CSS board and our key stakeholders agreed the organization needed a name that better communicates its mission to local cancer fighters and the growing number of out-of-state patients coming to Augusta for world-class care,” Harris said. “We hope the Cancer Support Services brand serves as a more easily recognizable beacon for those seeking prayers and a helping hand during their personal battles with cancer – in all its forms.”

The decision to rebrand was made following two years of board discussions after internal research indicated the organization’s ambiguous name made it difficult to promote awareness among new patients and potential partners outside the local market.

The Lydia Project was initially founded in 2004 to provide female oncology patients with a tote and emotional support, most visibly through the sundries-filled tote bags handcrafted by volunteers using donated materials from corporate fabric partner Carole.

The Lydia Project name is now exclusively dedicated as a sub-brand for CSS’ unceasing outreach to women fighting any type of cancer worldwide. Women currently receiving cancer treatment receive a custom-made designer tote with supportive items and the signature purple handle. The tote ministry provides significant monthly support through weekly prayer and encouraging correspondence each month.

Though highly customized, each tote incorporates purple into the design as a reference to the Biblical character Lydia of Thyatira, a merchant and Christian convert associated with purple cloth.

The Daksha Chudgar Lydia House lodging services will also become a sub-brand of Cancer Support Services. The nonprofit’s 20-bed lodge at 1369 Interstate Parkway in Augusta, was seeded in 2013 through the generosity of CSS benefactor and former board member Dr. Bipin Chudgar.

The building was named in memory of his beloved wife Dr. Daksha Chudgar, whose spirits were lifted by the tote bag and prayers she received shortly after being diagnosed with colon cancer in 2005.

Since opening, the house has provided 12,175 lodging nights at no charge for physician-referred visitors from across many states. The 9,000-square-foot building also serves as CSS’ main office.

“We are excited to continue The Lydia Project brand and Daksha Chudgar Lydia House names and we will continue to honor its Founders and the Chudgar family under the umbrella of Cancer Support Services programs and activities,” CSS Executive Director Michele Canchola said. “The Lydia name is revered in the local community, and we are proud to continue its legacy of emotional support for cancer fighters everywhere.”

“The CSS brand will better position the organization for growth; help differentiate it from similarly named – but unaffiliated – organizations; and clarify the nonprofit to the general public, which may have assumed it only served women or focused on a specific type of cancer,” CSS Board Member Trey Allen said.

For more information on CSS, visit cancersupportservices.org.

OPINION:

There is no shortage of negative news about America’s young people, the supposedly dilapidated state of faith in the U.S., moral depravity, and our ever-chaotic mental health trends.

It routinely feels like culture is an irredeemable disaster — an amalgam of insanity slowly lurking toward the end of a proverbial plank into a sea of nothingness.

Yet some stories periodically break through the bedlam to remind us of key realities: All hope isn’t lost, God is still very much at work, and the story is nowhere near over.

One such reality check surrounds Lydia Owens, a recent graduate of Woodmont High School in Piedmont, South Carolina. Miss Owens isn’t just any graduate. She achieved the honor of valedictorian and, as is custom, delivered an address to her fellow students that immediately went viral.

See, Miss Owens could have opted to discuss any topic, offering benign advice, personal anecdotes or other tidbits to her fellow graduates. Instead, she paused, reflected and did something genuinely notable: She shared her Christian faith and encouraged the audience to find true value where it matters most.

At a time when young people appear more secular than ever and when faith — once a cultural mainstay offering social capital — has become increasingly denigrated, Miss Owens stepped out of her comfort zone, opened her heart, got personal and delivered an antidote to lostness.

SEE ALSO: Prayer, revival and ‘Jesus Revolution’: Is our rotting culture on verge of something big?

The valedictorian spoke for three minutes to her peers about the perils of performance obsession and placing identity in one’s accomplishments before pivoting to faith and the essentiality of establishing a vertical rather than horizontal worldview.

“Placing your identity in the things of this world will disappoint you, because they are only temporary,” Miss Owens boldly proclaimed before getting personal about how she came to learn this valuable lesson. “I had that reality check almost two years ago when my mom passed away.”

In the middle of this terrible loss, the graduate said she couldn’t find hope or help in her accomplishments, grades or accolades.

While culture tells people to turn inward and focus on the material, this brave young woman said she realized that the only source from which she would find the healing she needed was in her faith and relationship with the Lord.

“When everything else in my life felt uncertain, the only person that I could depend on to stay the same was Jesus,” Miss Owens said to thunderous applause. “My perspective of success drastically changed, because I realized that the many years I spent placing my worth in my academics meant absolutely nothing in light of eternity.”

And Miss Owens wasn’t done yet, as she went on to tell the audience their worth could be found not in culture’s whims, not inside their own hearts and minds — but “in Jesus,” the only person who “will ever satisfy us.”

She reminded her peers they are “made in the image of God,” speaking a genuine and essential message to a beleaguered culture.

It should come as no surprise that Miss Owens’ speech has gone viral and inspired many in recent days. Watching an exhausted culture react so monumentally to such a simple and timeless message is fascinating.

Beyond that, she is evidence of the passion and love many still have for the Lord. It’s not easy to stand on a stage, get vulnerable about a personal loss, and point people to the Almighty — especially young people.

With the day’s mantra so focused on looking inward, Miss Owens’ decision to break through that stronghold to deliver a message every human so desperately needs is undoubtedly praiseworthy.

It’s also a gut check for us all to ponder whether we’re doing enough to speak such truth to our spheres of influence and the broader culture — if we’re as bold and motivated as this recent high school graduate to let others know how easy it is to end up on the wrong path and how true peace can be found only in God.

As the headlines continue to expose the horrors and pain of a sin-plagued world, I’m grateful Miss Owens and others like her remind us of our hope in God and the truth that can — and will — shatter culture’s lies.

With stunning “revival” moments and spiritual resurgences breaking out around the country this year, the forces of chaos are being matched with courageous voices of truth.

And Lydia Owens is just the latest example. Bravo, Miss Owens.

• Billy Hallowell is a digital TV host and interviewer for Faithwire and CBN News and the co-host of CBN’s “Quick Start Podcast.” He is the author of four books.

USA Swimming announced a roster of 28 swimmers that will compete at the 2021 FINA Short Course World Championships on Tuesday, with the meet scheduled for December 16-21 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The roster features 15 swimmers that were on the 2020 U.S. Olympic team, including individual gold medalist Lydia Jacoby and relay gold medal winners Zach Apple, Michael Andrew and Hunter Armstrong. The team also includes seven swimmers aged 19 and under—all on the women’s side.

There is an even split of 14 women and 14 men on the roster. In 2018, there were 17 women and 18 men on the American roster.

Women’s Team

Men’s Team

Relays will be chosen by the coaching staff

The team notably does not include any relay-only swimmers. Michael Andrew leads the way with six individual entries, followed by Kieran Smith, Nic Fink, Melanie Margalis and Torri Huske who all have four.

Smith and Huske represent two of the 12 swimmers on the roster currently competing in the NCAA, while there are four junior swimmers on the women’s side that are still in high school.

Margalis, who is tied with Tom Shields as the oldest member of the team at 30, is coming off a disappointing U.S. Olympic Trials in the summer and isn’t competing in the International Swimming League this season, so her presence here feels significant in signifying she’s back into full training.

There are numerous glaring absences from the U.S. roster, none bigger than Caeleb Dressel, the SCM world record holder in three events and reigning SC world champion in the men’s 100 freestyle.

Other big names missing from the team include fellow SCM world record holder Coleman Stewart (men’s 100 back) and SCM American Record holders such as Lilly King, Ryan Murphy and Olivia Smoliga.

Stewart had an explosive performance at the beginning of the International Swimming League (ISL) regular season in late August, breaking the world record in the men’s 100 backstroke in a time of 48.33.

Smoliga exploded for a record eight-gold medal performance at the 2018 SC Worlds in Hangzhou, China, including individual wins in the women’s 50 back and 100 back, while both King and Murphy have been among the top performers in the ISL over the past few years, largely dominating the women’s breaststroke and men’s backstroke events.

USA Swimming also announced eight swimmers that will be competing at the FINA/CNSG Marathon Swim World Series, also taking place in Abu Dhabi on December 15-16, directly before the beginning of the pool competition.

Below are the U.S. athletes competing in the open water event:

The meet was initially scheduled to run in December 2020 but was postponed for one year due to the coronavirus pandemic.