When I was a kid, our family vacations were frequently of the road trip variety. Many days were spent traveling from place to place, soaking up information and discovering new gems within our beautiful country.
As a mom, I have been dying to do this for my own kids. But, understandably so, we needed to wait until the kids weren't super young.
This year was the first one that we felt comfortable attempting a trip of this style. And still, I kept it at a minimum. Our girls were 4 and 8 at the time of this trip, so I needed to make sure to plan in time to just rest.
So, welcome to our "Road Trip - Lite" vacation!
As soon as the bell rang on the last day of school, we were ready to go! Summer was here, and there was no time to waste! We picked them up, got a snack, and headed south for our first destination - Charleston, SC.
We planned to have dinner in Nashville, and stopped at Chuy's to refuel and change the kids into pajamas. From there, we only stopped for gas and the occasional energy drink. Josh and I switched driving throughout the night so that we could take turns sleeping. But we really just wanted to get there... so it wasn't a burden.
After a yummy breakfast at Toast, we headed down to our first adventure: a Pirate-led treasure hunt! Charleston Pirate Tours offers a variety of fun adventures, but this one is just for the kids! Our very own pirate led us through a portion of downtown, teaching us about the many adventures of Blackbeard and crew... all while the kids collected clues for the map that led them to the treasure!
The kids trained to fight like pirates, learned the lingo, adopted a (balloon) parrot, and eventually found a chest full of treasure. They loved it, and have already asked to go back for another round!
It was finally time to check in to our beautiful room at Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina. This resort is located across the harbor from downtown Charleston, which we actually ended up loving. The drive over the bridge only took about 5 minutes, but it was far enough removed from the area that we felt like it was a quiet retreat away.
This resort offers stunning views, a private beach area, and a tasty on-site restaurant called The Fish House. Which is where we ate dinner the first night!
We stayed at this resort for 3 nights - checked in on Saturday, and headed out on Tuesday. The only change I'd make is to stay in the Beach Club side next time. It had the bigger pool, is the newer tower, and had a super fun vibe to it. We stayed in the Harborside building, which was still great, but my own personal taste would lead me to select the other if we returned!
Sunday was packed full of fun things! We began our day with breakfast at Millers All Day. Let me tell you... this isn't one to miss! Every minute of our 45 minute wait to get in was worth it.
From there, we took a horse-drawn carriage ride around the downtown area to learn about Charleston's history and unique architectural style. It really was full of so much charm!
Then we took a ferryboat ride to Fort Sumter, where we all got a first-hand look at the location of the start of our Civil War.
Letting my kids touch history (like these bricks from the original Fort Sumter walls) will always be one of my favorite things.
After a long day of exploring out in the hot sun, we were more than ready for some grub... and boy did we find it! Our dinner at Home Team BBQ was absolutely incredible. We even took a few bottles of their house seasonings home with us.
Monday was a little more calm, but still full of new adventures. We started our morning touring the grounds of Boone Hall Plantation. This is one of America's oldest plantations - that is still in operation today. It has been growing and producing crops since 1681.
Here, you can explore Gullah culture, tour the home, take a tractor ride around the fields, walk through the gardens, and get a snippet of slave history in the south.
But one of it's most beautiful features is the driveway. Planted in 1743, these live oak trees are perfectly spaced down the entirety of the entrance. These grounds have been seen in a number of major motion pictures like The Notebook.
After putting up with yet another round of history, it was time to let the girls enjoy the beach for a while! We ventured over to Isle of Palms for an almost-secluded beach afternoon.
For dinner that evening, we wanted to try out Hyman's Seafood. We had heard good things about this local restaurant, and ventured downtown to check it out. Y'all... this place is where it's at! The wait was about an hour when we arrived, so we spent some time walking around the area to take it all in for our last night there.
Then we finally got to get in.
Don't get me wrong, the food was delicious... but that wasn't even what made this place so special. Every table of this two-story restaurant was adorned with plaques of famous people who previously sat there. (The table next to us was Oprah and Shaq!) Our waitress was so friendly and helpful. And the owner himself made his way to every single table throughout the night to personally check in on the experience. He even came back to ours and brought the girls some "special money" for the ice cream shop downstairs. This restaurant has been a staple in Charleston since 1890, and that night... we found out why. Don't miss this one!
Our time in Charleston was some that we will remember forever! I originally thought that this town might not be a place for families with small kids, but there truly was something for everyone here.
Wanna know where were went from here? (You're only on day 3 of 8!) Stay tuned for our next blog posts to find out!
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