Fall Break: Day 1- Charleston

Monday, October 8, 2018

Downtown Charleston

After breakfast and getting everyone ready, we headed into Charleston, which as about a 20 minute drive, a very pretty drive. Took us a bit to get parking situated and then we were off. First stop: carriage ride. This was one of the things on my Charleston bucket list and also, we just happened to run into people offering rides almost right away.

Today was slated for exploring downtown Charleston so that's just what we did. The good thing about tours- on a carriage or not, though that's a plus ;) - is that it gives you a good overview and an idea what you want to go back to and explore more in-depth.

 They had to have a picture with the horsie. :)

 I love the architecture here. I took so many pictures of homes I'll never remember the story behind, but they're just beautiful. Below we're coming up on battery park, which we'll explore more later.

 I love cobblestone roads as well and of course I had to get a shot of rainbow row.

The kids did a great job, but they were getting antsy by the end, especially Allie. The day was quite hot so that did make the ride a little uncomfortable at times. After our ride, we went back to our parking spot to get more time. We ran into another family talking about the famous Bitty & Beau's coffee shop. Turns out the shop and it's franchises are all run by individuals with developmental delays or cognitive disabilities, except for the managers. Maggie does not struggle cognitively but she still thought it was really cool and wanted a picture and a shirt. 

 After a much-needed lunch at Charleston's Crab House, we walked through the City Market where the kids got some unique souvenirs. Then off to the pineapple fountain.

 The kids loved playing in the fountain. After, we went closer to the water and it was win-day! I can't believe the kids weren't cold in their wet clothes. We even found a crab on our walk back.

 We walked down the smallest/most narrow street in America- too narrow for a car! At least that's what the tour guide said. I find stuff like this super cool- Daniel not as much.

Next we walked along the battery and spent a little time in battery park before taking the long walk back to our car. I could've stayed a little longer, but we had seen the highlights and everyone else was wearing out. 

It started raining shortly after we arrived at our condo, so it's just as well. We relaxed the rest of the evening and the kids played. It was a good first day. I loved Charleston!!

Fall Break: headed to Charleston, SC

Sunday, October 7, 2018

Daniel took some much-needed time off work and actually approached me about a vacation destination: Charleston. I've always wanted to go there so I was all for it and I was not disappointed. We left Sunday after church and arrived at our condo about 10:30 Central Time/11:30 Eastern. It's roughly a 9 hour drive- so it took us about 10 and some change with stops. Not bad.

We actually stayed a little outside Charleston in Folly Beach at the recommendation of Daniel's co-worker (turns out he lives in Folly Beach). Hurricane Florence hit the Carolina coast less than a month ago but Charleston was not affected. We stayed in a condo which was beautiful and pretty inexpensive, especially given the space, probably because we were outside the city.

 So spacious! I think Will slept in here one night, otherwise this room wasn't used.They all wanted to sleep together in the bunkbed room upstairs. :)

 This place really was great. I loved the screened-in porch and we even had a garage. Can't wait to explore Charleston tomorrow!