We spent all morning in the car and arrived in Charleston right after lunch. We went straight to the downtown area and signed us up for a tour of the city, horse carriage style. While we waited, the kids enjoyed being around the horses and were excited to finally get on and go! There are so many carriage companies there that when the tour starts, the city tells the driver which route to take. Unfortunately, the route we took didn't take up by some of the things we were hoping to see, but we did get to see and hear a lot about the historic homes and buildings. It got a little long and boring for the kids, but they were so patient! Even the other riders and driver commented about their good behavior.
Here are all the girls waiting out in front of the restaurant where we finally decided to eat. Dad had just bought them both a "palmetto rose" from a man who was selling them outside. Weaving baskets and other things is a very old tradition in Charleston that still continues today. We had a seafood dinner - some of us liked it, some of us didn't. My favorite were the hush puppies - best I've ever had!
This is the porch of the little house we stayed in for two nights. It was about 8 minutes from downtown and it was old but very nice, with a lot of art on the walls! The kids all shared a room, which is a whole lot of fun but which also means late nights and early mornings. I think I fell asleep before them the first night!
The next morning we drove across the bridge to go tour the massive USS Yorktown, a WW II aircraft carrier (along with a smaller battleship and a submarine!) The picture above shows it in the background and the picture below was taken on the deck of the carrier with the Ravenel Bridge behind us. It was a perfect, bright and sunny day and the kids had so much fun exploring all the different areas of the huge boat!
We grabbed some lunch at a little cafe in Mt. Pleasant afterward, and then we went to Battery Park in downtown Charleston. Its a public space right on the edge of the two rivers that border Charleston and empty into the ocean. There were beautiful oak trees and the azaleas were in full bloom!
A couple of us had to use the bathroom and we weren't sure where to look to find one, so we starting walking...There is street after street of historic homes in the downtown area that have been renovated, complete with charming, manicured yards. I loved peeking through the gates and seeing all the architectural detail together with the flowers and trees in bloom.
We finally found a bathroom and made it back to the park where our car was and just in time-energy was fizzling. Here's Aaron walking under the awesome oak trees.
Later that evening, we decided to drive to one of the nearby beaches. The sun was setting when we got there and it was past dinnertime, so we pulled the kids away from the sand where they would of stayed for hours if we let them...we had dinner on the way back. And the next morning after we spent time packing the car up and getting the house in order, we went back to the market in downtown Charleston where the kids each picked out a souvenir before we hit the road for home. The girls each chose a fan and Caleb picked out a samarai sword!
