Sean and I have wanted to take our kids to Charleston, SC for a really long time. We've talked about it ever since having kids. We felt like this year was a good year to go and I had really high hopes for this trip. Sean and I reminisce often about the few months we lived there early in our marriage and how much we loved it there. The people, the food, the city, the beach, all of it! I don't think I have ever been aw excited for a family trip as I was for this one.
We booked this cute Airbnb for the week. It was downtown and it was so cute and a perfect fit for our family. We loved staying here!
Our boys were so excited about a new Mtn. Dew flavor exclusive to the Circle K gas stations there (we don't those have at home). It became a bit of a running joke during the week to stop at Circle K and see what they had to offer.
Day 2
On our first full day in Charleston we walked to breakfast near our house and admired all of the beautiful colorful houses and trees along the way. We had a yummy breakfast and then headed downtown to see some of the famous sights. Charleston was so beautiful and in full bloom for us.
I have wanted a hand-woven sweet grass basket since the last time I was in Charleston more than 15 years prior and I got my wish this time around!
We ate dinner in this cool, old maritime church that has been converted to a restaurant. The interior was so cool and it was conveniently located right across the street from the market. The entire novel "Of War and Peace" was written on the ceiling.
After dinner, we decided to make a quick trip out to Folly Beach. Sean was itching to get there. It has always been his favorite beach and it was a really beautiful night. It was so fun taking the kids and showing them this place we have talked to them about so many times.
Day 3
The next morning we headed right back to Folly Beach. The kids had a great time boogie boarding and playing around. I was extra diligent about sunscreen because we had scheduled family pictures for that evening and I really didn't want anyone sunburned!
We went back and forth on whether to have our family photos taken at the beach or downtown, and ultimately decided on downtown. The fact that the crepe myrtle trees were in bloom is what sealed the deal for me. I am so glad that is what we ended up choosing! They turned out so beautiful and I truly cherish them. I did snap this picture of the famous St. Michael's church after we had our photos taken. We celebrated the relief of having pictures done with dinner at a yummy bbq spot and ice cream downtown.
Day 4
The next morning we headed out to visit Cypress Gardens. Truly one of my very favorite places on earth. On our way there, we drove by an area where Sean had had great success in selling alarms. We had fun driving down "Jean Wells Dr." and hearing him recount some stories and how he ended up selling an alarm at every house on that street.
Cypress Gardens was as gorgeous and amazing as I remembered. Our kids thought it was pretty amazing too and loved spotting small alligators and rowing our way through the trees. It is so unlike any scenery we have at home and it was really fun to share this place with them.
After the boats, we checked out the butterfly exhibit and the small zoo area where we saw some much bigger alligators.
After Cypress Gardens we drove by our old apartment where we lived for a summer. It was so fun to see it again.
Next up was the Magnolia Plantation. We decided to start our tour with the slave cabins. This was new to Sean and I, and it was a really great experience. I am so happy our kids could see the cabins and we could talk about it.
The grounds and gardens at Magnolia Plantation really are incredible. We loved walking around and exploring.
When we were walking back to our car, we were taken by surprise when we came across a group of armadillos digging around in the dirt!
We decided to drive by Middleton Place on our way back. It was close to closing time and everyone else was tired, but Jackson and I hopped out and walked around a little bit.
As we were driving back we saw this on the side of the road and had to turn around to go check it out. Sean bought a few bags for everyone to try and everyone liked them!
That evening we hung out around Battery Park. The kids loved chasing the squirrels. Jackson and I decided to walk along the battery and meet the rest of the family at the pineapple fountain and I took pictures of houses the entire way. We walked to dinner at Poogan's Porch and even checked out the supposedly haunted alley on our way back.
Day 5
The next morning we visited the Angel Oak tree on our way to the beach.
After going to Edisto Beach thinking it was the beach where Sean and I found a bunch of sand dollars, we realized we had the wrong place. It was fun and we saw sting rays, dolphins, and turtles, but we all voted to go back at Folly. We stopped at McKevlin's Surf Shop when we got there and grabbed a few souvenirs.
We went to California Dreaming for dinner that night, but sadly, it wasn't as good as it used to be. Still fun to eat on the water, and the kids still liked their chicken strips, but definitely not how we remembered it.
Day 6
The next morning we headed to the farmer's market downtown. Davis found a print of a dog that looks like Charlie that he bought and now proudly sits in his room.
From the market we headed to Kiawah Island, which we realized was the actual place Sean and I found all of those sand dollars years ago. The giant sand bars and shallow water were fun. We didn't find any sand dollars, but it was still a great day at the beach. The kids still all say Folly is their favorite, but I think Folly and Kiawah are tied for me.
We rode the Ferry that afternoon over to Fort Sumpter. I had never been before so it was really neat to see. The kids loved the canons and cannon balls still lodged in the fort walls. The original old flags in the museum were really cool, too.
We ate dinner at a place called Taco Boy near our house that we all loved and then headed back downtown to do some shopping.
The haunted alley in the daytime.
The cemeteries at St. Philip's church were really cool.
Day 7
On our final full day in Charleston we booked an expedition where we rode a boat out to a barrier island called "Bulls Island." They drop you off at the island and give you a few hours to walk around and collect shells. It was so beautiful! We loved the ride to the island, and while there, we walked down to "Boneyard Beach." There was a cool shipwreck skeleton on the beach and lots of places to search for shells. The kids even got to see and help rescue a baby shark that was stuck in the low tide. The closer we got to boneyard beach, the better and bigger the shells we found. We found a bunch of really cool ones in these sandy channels. Bode found a huge one! Jackson found the first sand dollar of the trip and was the only one who got his home in one piece. It was such a fun excursion and I am so glad we did it.
That evening we went and walked around downtown again. I was really trying to soak downtown in as much as I could before we left the next day. I don't know how to explain it really, but downtown Charleston feels like magic to me. I love it so much.
Day 7
On our last morning we made a quick trip to St. Michael's church to look inside since it had been closed every time we'd been near. We also walked around its cemetery and talked to a nice man outside the gates who was making sweet grass flowers and gave one to Molly as a gift.
I really wanted to visit Boone Hall to see its famous row of Oaks, so we drove out there before heading to the airport. We had just enough time to take a little tractor tour around the property, which was a lot of fun. While we waited for the tractor, we toured a few of the slave cabins as well. The oaks were as beautiful and impressive as they looked in pictures. It was interesting learning a bit more about the history of the plantation and the farming of that land.
After our stop at Boone Hall, it was off to the airport. It was an incredible trip to South Carolina and everything I could have hoped for. I feel so happy to have made this trip with our kids. Truly, memories I will have for a lifetime.
Bonus: Day 8
We made our first flight to Charlotte without any trouble, but unfortunately, we hit a lot of trouble after that. Our second flight from Charlotte to Salt Lake was delayed a few times, then cancelled. We got on another flight a few hours later and got on the plane, waited on the tarmac for a few hours, only to have that flight cancelled as well. By that point, so many people were stranded, there were no flights available to book for another 4 days! We had a very long, sleepless night in the Charlotte airport talking to airline employees and trying desperately to come up with some sort of solution. After several hours and countless failed attempts to book us tickets to other airports, the airline agreed to book us with another airline, but had to split us up. We drove to a hotel for about 3 hours, slept, and then woke right back up to head back to the airport. Sean and the kids all flew to New Jersy, while I flew to New York. We had long layovers, so I decided to take a cab into the city. Sean and the kids rented a car and went and saw the Statue of Liberty and then we decided to all meet up at Chelsea Market. We got lunch there and then decided to drive around the city so the kids could see some of it! We drove around Times Square and showed them the Empire State Building, Broadway, and Chrysler Building. We also drove to Central Park and walked around for a bit. When we were stuck in Charlotte I had been so sad that our amazing trip was ending on such a sour note, but it ended up turning into such an awesome bonus in the end. Our afternoon in NYC was so fun and it was cool to show the kids some of these iconic places they have seen and heard about.
We eventually did make it home. Our flights out of NYC and New Jersey took off close to on time, and miraculously, our flights got into Salt Lake within 10 minutes of each other. We were so grateful to make it home without any other trouble and really were so happy we made this trip happen.
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