travel diaries | Charleston day three and four

On Sunday, our group headed out to brunch at Screen Door and then went east to Boone Hall Plantation. We had to decide between quite a few different plantations in the area and I picked this one solely for the avenue of oak trees. They were magical.

We spent a long time at the plantation; close to 4 hours. I really enjoyed it. Then we came home, showered, and headed to dinner at Charleston Crab House for some authentic Carolina seafood. 

p.s. SO SO SO glad we made the last minute decision to bring our jogging stroller and also SO glad we made the decision to buy one in the first place. Yes, we have 3 strollers but they all serve different purposes. It was so easy navigating the cobblestone streets and rocky driveways everywhere we went. I got ours from amazon but I'm not sure if they still sell it. 

On our last day, Michael and Amy headed home while the rest of us set out determined to see more of Charleston before our flight that afternoon. We parked near Waterfront park and walked up to Battery Park and back down past Rainbow Row. There was a sprinkle when we got out of the car and from there the rain just got harder as we went. We were all well equipped except for Mark, who left his umbrella in the car thinking that his rain jacket would do the trick. He was wrong. And unhappy. The rest of us enjoyed our rainy walk through the historic streets and then ended with lunch at Fleet Landing, a super cute place on the water. After that it was off to the airport and back home!

We really, really, really enjoyed our time in Charleston and although it didn't seem like a likely destination, it worked out perfectly for our group. It was one of my favorite vacations and I would go back (or even move there!) in a heartbeat. We had a great time and I highly suggest it to anyone just looking for a cultural, fulfilling getaway. I think it has something for everyone. Thanks for reading!

travel diaries | Charleston day two

Today I'm sharing all about day two in Charleston.

Day two started out rough. I explained more here, but Beau started crying hysterically about an hour after waking up for the day. Nothing we did would get him to stop and after about 10 minutes of trying to calm him down, I knew something was wrong so we took him to Urgent Care. He had an ear infection so we loaded him up with Tylenol, got a prescription for an antibiotic, and headed back to the house. Beau slept for a good 30 minutes and woke up with a smile on his face. He is so easy going and usually just picking him up will ease any tears so it was super hard to see him in pain. Once he was happy again we were all ready to move on with our day! 

Also...I found more videos that I took so I played around in iMovie again. I think this one is better than the first video I made! 

We headed toward Folly beach a little before lunch and ate on the patio at Lost Dog Cafe. I had a delicious burger and Mark had shrimp and grits (a staple in South Carolina). We spent the afternoon on the beach and then headed back to the house for showers and a casual last minute dinner at Cory's Grilled Cheese. 

We hung out in this beach tent for the whole day. I was hesitant to buy it and then carry it all the way to Charleston but it folded up super small, fit in my luggage (which I checked), and took us about 5 minutes to set up. It was a lifesaver!!! I can see us using it for many years at the beach, in the backyard, and on camping trips. It's really versatile and was so great for napping babies and those that wanted to get out of the sun. 

For his inaugural dip in the ocean, we kept it classy with his diaper. We just dipped his toes and then went back to the tent to go through the whole swim diaper/swimsuit/rash guard/sunscreen routine. He wasn't a huge fan of the waves but he didn't really fuss, either. He was on Tylenol still so he wasn't 100% himself so that might have had something to do with it.

See the tent base that Jevon is standing on? That zips up to create a true "half tent" so you could change in there (or even sleep one person in there). It also folds out as shown and can be staked down to keep the sand touching to a minimum. It was also good when the sand was too hot to stand on but you wanted to be in the sun for a bit. It was perfect.

See day one in Charleston here.