Friday Five: Favorite winter activities

I originally had this post queued up a few weeks ago, but replaced it with one I felt was a bit more important and then promptly forgot to post it for a few weeks after that. But I still wanted publish this one since winter has turned into one of my favorite times of year since living in Charleston. So here we are. 

Winter in Charleston isn't very wintry, which is one of the big reasons we live here. I hate winter. I hate cold weather. And by cold, I mean anything below 60 degrees, unless I'm running, then it can drop to 45-55 and I'll be happy.

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Winter in Charleston: 5 things I love

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So here are my 5 favorite winter activities in Charleston:

1) Going to the beach

There is something magical about the beach in the winter, especially when the temperatures stay mild. Even though the water isn't warm enough for most people, the weather is much more pleasant than the stifling summer humidity. Plus the lack of tourists makes parking easy. 

2) Oyster roasts (and eating all of the oysters)

Anyone who knows me knows I'm obsessed with oysters. Don't get near my bucket, you guys, I will finish the entire thing and then some. And we don't have any shortages of oyster roasts here in the winter. There are usually multiple ones happening everyone weekend, from ones at restaurants to special events and fundraisers.

One of the bigger ones is the Lowcountry Oyster Festival at Boone Hall, which we've been to twice. It's a fun one, but I like the smaller ones at local restaurants just as much (if not more). 

3) Running and racing

For many people, winter running means bundling up and bracing yourself against snow and ice. For people in Charleston, winter running means not dying from humidity and actually running in very pleasant temperatures (50s/60s). Most of the winter, I can still run in shorts and a t-shirt (in the summer, this is way overdressed). "Bundling up" means capri pants and a long sleeve shirt. 

And because of the perfect temps, racing is much better in the winter here, too. Winter is PR season, and I'm sad that I'm missing it this year because of recovering from all of my crazy sickness. 

And sometimes, there are races that also have oyster roasts. Perfection!

4) Hot yoga

I love hot yoga, but I just can't bring myself to do it in the summer when it's sweltering outside. But in the winter, it's glorious. And my favorite yoga studio is Charleston Power Yoga (although I do wish they'd open a studio on my side of town - it can be a bit of a hike with traffic to get there, even though it's less than 8 miles away). 

5) Watching the sunrise or sunset

The sunrises and sunsets in the winter are absolutely stunning. So many different colors. But don't just take my word for it. Here are some pictures (which, really don't even do the colors justice): 

What do you like to do in the winter? Do you love it or hate it? 

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I'm linking up with Running on Happy and Fairytales and Fitness for their Friday Five 2.0 Linkup. 

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Past Friday Five posts: