If you’re new here Saturday Snapshots is a series of posts on this blog that are more personal in nature. I tell stories, share photos and generally ramble on about the goings on around here. This week I’m going to chat a bit about a few of our favorite things we did while visiting Charleston South Carolina.
I guess I could subtitle this post “what I did on my summer vacation. I always mean to write “Saturday Snapshots” posts on a more regular basis, but somehow get bogged down in my “to do” lists all too often. One of the main reasons I got into blogging was to connect with others and I think sharing a bit more about our “real life” helps to do that. It also gives me a bit of an opportunity to “write” more, as much as I love typing up sewing tutorials, sometimes it gets a bit too technical for me – like writing a term paper on a thrice weekly basis.
A few summer’s ago we were totally overscheduled. I hated it. The summer after that I didn’t schedule anything and my kids sat around and stared at me and each other all summer… also not great. This year we attempted to have a good balance of the two, while it wasn’t the “perfect” summer I felt like we were getting closer to a rhythm that worked for our family. That’s NOT to say that there were no days where the kids would not stop fighting, and getting them to pick up anything off of the floor was not an absolute struggle, but I felt like we made a bit of progress. I’m sure we will have the whole thing figured out right after the kids all leave for college *wink*.
Our Southern States Road Trip:
My oldest daughter, now gainfully employed (and still a college student) elected to stay out west for the summer. We realized that her job prospects were much better if she stayed for the summer term and the likelihood of her obtaining meaningful employment in Louisville for the summer was slim (I mean, who wants to hire someone for 3 months?)
We did get to spend a few weeks with her, it was just the right amount of time. During those few weeks, we took a family road trip down the Southern Atlantic Coast. During the last several years we have driven to Orlando Florida a number of times. We are always in such a rush both to get to Orlando and to get home after our trip. We would drive by cities that looked amazing and only wistfully wonder what they were like.
This year I planned a trip with the sole purpose of meandering through the American South. If you’ve been to the southern United States you will know that meandering is quite an easy thing to do. People are friendly, the food is amazing and honestly, it’s too hot and humid to move around quickly anyway.
We booked 2 different hotels in two different cities, then decided to take side trips every few days. Back when my kids were small a full week on the beach would have suited them just fine, but now that they are older they like to go out and “do” more things. Thus the trip combined “city” days and “beach” days and I think we did a pretty good job of getting the best of both of those worlds.
Visiting Charleston, SC:
The first stop was Charleston, SC. It is easily one of the most beautiful cities in the United States. Charming, colorful and eccentric. Our goal for our few days in Charleston was not too much more than 1) eat lots of southern food and 2) see lots of old southern homes. We did both.
Since our trip was short we elected to stay in downtown Charleston. The thought being that for the same price as a week at a beach house we could get a couple of nights in historic downtown Charleston, then move to a reasonably priced hotel for the rest of the week.
I was happy with the balance and glad we chose to spend a couple of nights downtown. At the hotel in Charleston, the kids were on cloud 9. Someone came to get our bags, they had cold drinks and snacks for the kids brought us breakfast to our room (included not extra) and delivered candy to us before we went to bed each night.
I told the kids to not get used to it, as this is NOT normal for a hotel and it would be a while before they stayed anywhere that nice again. We stayed at the French Quarter Inn in Charleston. I don’t have any “arrangement” with them or anything, I just think that it’s nice to give a shout out to good companies when you find them, and they deserve it.
What We Did:
Explored the Market Area & Visited the Local Restaurants
From our home base close to the market in Charleston we explored the city. I had planned ahead and made dinner reservations each night (thank you to everyone on Facebook for your suggestions). Personally, I ordered Shrimp and Grits every night trying to decide which restaurant had the best in Charleston (my opinion, Hominy Grill, followed closely by Hanks).
Took a Carriage RIde & A Ghost Tour:
We spent a few days taking carriage rides and walking around the historic city. We shopped, took a ghost tour from a very colorful and possibly inebriated guide, and stopped for pralines anytime we passed a candy shop.
It turned out that were there only 1 week after the shootings at the AME church and the tragedy was heavy on my mind during our entire visit. Our kids wanted to lay flowers at the church as a show of respect, but in the end, we decided not too, there we so many people gathered around the church and we felt that they might like a bit more privacy and didn’t want to add to the crowds. Instead, we took the opportunity to talk as a family about a lot of things and issues going on at the time and I hope that our kids learned a bit of something on the trip.
After we wore ourselves out with a few days of walking and eating in Charleston (in 90+ degree humid heat, and yes it did get to us, there were many hours with very grumpy kids and adults) we packed up the car and headed a bit more south to Amelia Island, Florida with stops in Savannah,Georgia and St. Augustine, Florida as well.. but I think our story has gotten a bit long today so I’ll save those photos for another week.
A few more snapshots:
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Thank you for sharing your lovely photos and trip to Charleston!! I could feel the heat and humidity right through your blog and taste the shrimp–yum!
Funny the camera kept “steaming” up, must have added to the ambience of the photos *wink*
Thank you for your wonderful share, you have such a pleasant way of writing, I very much enjoyed reading it while having my morning coffee.
I hope you have a wonderful and magical day.
Thanks! You to!
Thank you for sharing. I loved these pictures. I’ve always wanted to go to Charleston but never got there. I did visit Savannah and that was a beautiful city too.
We stopped for lunch in Savannah this trip, never enough time anywhere though – all of those Southern cities are so unique and gorgeous.
It’s lovely to see pictures of another country taken by someone who lives there or nearby rather than seeing them in a film on tv here in the UK. Charleston looks absolutely gorgeous, thank you so much for sharing them with us. 🙂 x
I’m so glad that you liked them…. I’ll have to say the UK is pretty gorgeous too …
Thanks for sharing. You have great looking kids.
Hermosos sitios al lado dela familia es genial.
Gracias
Great photos and info, thanks. Kids are cuties as well.
Pat
Aw thanks, I think so too 🙂
Charleston is a favorite with my family. And it regularly appears on a list of 10 top tourist attractions/cities in the world, usually at about #2. The people are friendly, the food is fabulous, the atmosphere is like no other, there is lots of history, gorgeous structures (homes, gardens, and fences), and the beach is nearby. In the spring, one can visit the azalea gardens which are fabulous. You mentioned eating at Hanks. My oldest granddaughter and I went there one evening without a reservation so we ate at the “community table”. That turned out to be a great adventure. We met interesting and friendly people and had one of the most fabulous meals ever! The conversation was wonderful!
Oh I saw that table, I didn’t realize it was a community table… We ate so much that trip that we hardly looked at food the next few days. Everything was sooo good it was hard to turn down!
Beautiful pictures! I am from Summerville, SC, just a short drive from Charleston. I don’t get back as often as I want to and I was not interested in photography much before I moved away. Planning a visit soon and plan on taking an excess of pictures lol Thanks for sharing!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I wish we had spent more time, it’s such a gorgeous State.
Such wonderful pictures! We love the Southern part of the US and have made a few trips to Texas, Louisiana, Mississppi, Tennessee. We love the atmosphere, the people, the food, the architecture, everything! South Carolina still on our list, think it moved up a bit by this post. When we get to Charleston and do the ghost tour I hope we get the same guide 😉 !
Yes that guide was pretty hilarious, he definitely did his “job” of spooking the kids a little bit… The odds are looking good that we will be back in the NL next summer. If it all works out I’ll be sure to talk to you before we go.
My husband and I have been at least 3 times and love this city. The park on the bay is beautiful. The pineapple fountains where you can splash in and the other just to look at. There’s a brick pathway where we saw a Southern belle in her bridal gown getting pre- photos taken in the shade and by the fountains. She invited my granddaughter to come close up to see her gown and pose for a photo. The pier with the big, wide swings are so nice with the breeze off the bay. We sat and ate the praline and chocolate dipped cones from the block shop on the way. They used to offer a windjammer sailboat cruise where you could eat canapes and sip wine or you could be a crewman for the day. We had to cancel because of an ongoing hurricane. We went to see the aircraft carrier and the sub in the harbor instead. The letters from the sailors to family and sweethearts was as touching as the notes to families of fallen warriors. The information center is loaded with discount coupons, some 2 sided. We saved a lot of money and saw more things to do. Maybe we’ll see you this fall when we return.
I get your blog posts and noticed your trip to Charleston. We are planning on going there for a family wedding at the end of April. what are you must see or do recommendations for a couple of days there?