A couple weeks ago we went on vacation to Charleston, South Carolina and were gone for 8 days. It was a city that both Nate and I had on our bucket list of places we wanted to go that are sort of within driving distance of us (it's 8.5 hours away). The car ride went better than expected, which we attribute completely to the DVD player in our minivan. Nate and I were very excited to go somewhere new and had a great time in the charming, historic city. A few weeks before we left on our road trip, my parents asked if they could meet us in Charleston for a few days, and so they drove up too. Coincidentally, Charleston is also about an 8.5 hour drive from their house, just in the opposite direction, so we were able to meet in the middle. This post is about the time we spent there with my parents.
Our first day in Charleston, we went on a boat trip to Morris Island, an uninhabited island nearby that is only accessible by boat. We were lucky with the weather and had a gorgeous 30 minute ride there, though we did lose Karina's hat into the harbor as it blew off her head. We saw dolphins on the boat ride and it felt like they were putting on a little show for us as the dolphins were right next to our stopped boat, coming in and out of the water. On the unspoiled Morris Island, we collected whelk shells (similar to conch shells), sand dollars, shark teeth(!), other cool shells, and we saw crabs, and other fun creatures.
Lydia was just excited to see the water and splash in it. Mimi was her partner exploring most of the time.
It was nice to walk along a beach with no one else on it and that actually had lots of fun stuff washed up in the sand. Nate was excited when he found two sand dollars at the end, but unfortunately they broke on the boat ride back to Charleston. I have the other treasures we found on display here at home in Maryland.
Snoopy was a brave beagle on the boat ride. He did have a great time on the beach though. It was fun to explore.
One of the plantations we went to was Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, which dates back to the 1600's and was a rice plantation. We had a great tram ride tour through the swamp on the property, the gardens, and areas where rice fields used to be.
We also walked through the gardens which were in bloom in many areas.
Of course, for a 4 and almost 2 year old, nothing could be better than the petting zoo/nature center they had there. We kept telling Lydia not to try and pet the geese because they can be mean. Then when one goose was very close to us, probably hoping we would feed it, Lydia smacked the goose's beak and yelled 'bad goose!' (probably since everyone kept telling her that geese can be bad). The goose retaliated by reaching out and snapping at Karina's torso, not Lydia's. Needless to say, that was it for geese. Lydia was a little bit too forward with other animals too. I'm pretty sure she chased a couple deer into their 'safe' hiding corners, being overeager as she was. Poor animals.
Nate and I also got to go kayaking for a few hours one afternoon by ourselves, with no kids. We kayaked along the Ashley River and a couple of its tidal creeks in the marsh. We took pictures where the water was very calm, but along one of the creeks, we decided we needed to turn back and get to the main river again. We couldn't quite turn quickly enough or in a controlled enough manner because of the current, and we crashed into the side where all the cattails are. Just before crashing into the side we spotted a 5 foot alligator within 10 feet of us along the cattails. We barely missed running into it, which was not fun. Later on, in calm water, we actively searched for alligators since there wasn't a risk of accidentally slamming into them. First we saw a small one (maybe 2 feet) swimming in the water away from us into the cattails. Then we spotted a 3-4 footer moving quietly and then hiding from us in the cattails. We had fun eyeing that one a few times kayaking back and forth past him. It was a fun day. And of course, I don't know anyone else who could manage to get sunburned in 70 degree weather. I got sunburned enough that my arms ended up peeling a little. Karina was quite concerned about my health with the sunburns as I have taught her that she needs to be careful out in the sun since we are both fair-skinned. She kept asking me if it would hurt when all my skin fell off.
This picture is from the Waterfront Park, overlooking the Charleston Harbor. They had oversized porch swings with water views that we enjoyed relaxing on.
The other plantation we went to was Middleton Place, also a rice plantation with America's oldest landscaped gardens. There were costumed artisans showing how things were done hundreds of years ago. Highlights include that Nate and I got to milk a cow. We asked Karina if she wanted to try, but she said it was 'too stinky' (see picture of her holding her nose). We definitely have two different daughters: one city girl and one farm girl. Lydia was busy chasing after sheep, yelling 'baaa baaa' as she tried to pounce on them. The peacocks and guinea fowl were also no match for her. We didn't let her attack the water buffalo on display though, not that she was intimidated by them.
The landscaped gardens were beautiful as well. Throughout all the plantation visits though, it was apparent how awful it must have been to slave on a rice field in this swampy, muggy, alligator infested area. We saw many large alligators in the ponds at both plantations.
We had a great time sightseeing and seeing Mimi and Mormor!
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