Charleston

Just like last weekend, we packed up the truck and headed out of town. This time we headed south to Charleston, SC. Aaron had to go there to pick up a Rover that he bought... and being only a little over 3 hours away... we decided to make the most of it and stay all weekend. Now, we've both been to Charleston before, my last time was while I was in college and Aaron's with my friend Catherine on one of her 3 week stays.

On the way down, we stopped at Birds of Prey in Mount Pleasant. They have over 100 birds there... owls, eagles, vultures, hawks, you name it... that have all been rescued. It was a nice detour... kids got to stretch their legs and learn something at the same time.

Coming into Charleston was definitely a different experience from what I remember. There used to be this OLD bridge across the river... to keep it clean... it freaked me out! Before bridges were falling down, I always imagined the Charleston bridge collapsing or somehow driving off the edge (it was SO high and super narrow). Now, there is a nice beautiful bridge and for once going into Charleston... I felt safe :) However, Claire couldn't understand why she didn't get to see the "freaky" bridge and no matter how much we explained to her that she was born in 2004 and the bridge was torn down in 2005... she just didn't get WHY she didn't get to see it.

At the aquarium with the "new" Charleston bridge in the background.

When we got to our hotel (Indigo Inn), it was wine and cheese hour. Our joke was that we brought the "whine" and all we needed was cheese ;) Once we got settled, we walked over to the market in search of dinner. Chase said that he only wanted crab... so Charleston Crab House it was. And it was SO good. Of course, we all ate way too much. But Ben & Jerry's was calling. I skipped, because I knew the kids would never finish theirs... good call on my part. The day was long and it seemed that everyone was whooped... EXCEPT for Chase. At 11:06 PM, I heard him say, "I'm bored." Night owl, he is.

Saturday morning, we walked to the SC Aquarium. It was a HIKE for the kids (ok, Claire and Henri) and they were not having fun. We got there with Henri on Aaron's back. We spent a few hours exploring all of the aquatic creatures and those linked to the water... like a bald eagle... they even had 4 penguins. The kids were convinced that they were "Skipper", "Private", "Rico" and "Sworksy?"... the Penguins of Madagascar.

Henri and Claire loved the baby sea turtle so much that they had to give it a kiss.

Outside, there was a wishing well that had steps leading into it. We told the kids they could put their feet in. Next thing we knew, Henri was waist in and then laying down. It was hilarious and he was having so much fun. With Henri soaking wet and us dreading the walk back to the hotel, we decided to take a Pedicab (it's like a Rickshaw). The poor biker... I can't imagine how heavy the 5 of us must have been!!

Check out the "Please Stay Out of Water" sign.

For lunch, we ate at a bar that used to be a church! It was so strange, but very cool to be eating lunch in a church. We did a little shopping in the market, then started our walk to "Cupcake". Another LONG walk, that could not be taken by the little ones. Claire had a meltdown when she learned that the bouncy house and slides were closed... she fell on the brick pavers and skinned her elbow. I think all of Charleston heard her screaming.

We ate our cupcakes and then we hopped on another pedicab back to the hotel. Thank goodness for Pedicab... they're lifesavers... or maybe mindsavers. With worn out kids, we decided to drive into Land Rover... Aaron has this new thing with collecting shirts... some people do Hard Rock... he does Land Rover. The kids and I picked out a couple of convertibles while we were there. The kids really liked the Porsche... to them it's "Sally", but her "back seat" was a little tight for them. But I found my car... I'm now in love with the convertible Jaguar. On the way back to the hotel, Henri fell asleep. He took his first nap in months... had to wake him up for dinner. After dinner, we took a horse drawn carriage ride through Charleston. Amazing the things you see when you're not wrestling 3 kids or in a car. After another long day, we headed back to the hotel and watched "Finding Nemo".

Waiting for the carriage ride.

We turned out the lights at a little after 10 and then Chase said it, "I'm bored." I said, "You're such a night owl. Maybe we should build you a barn." Then Aaron added, "Yeah. And we can build it with boards (boreds)." Chase thought that was pretty funny... so we all went to sleep giggling.

Sunday morning, we all slept in. We got the kids swim suits on and headed down to the Charleston Waterfront Park. There they have a couple of fountains that are up to pool standards so that kids (and adults) can play in them. The kids had so much fun... and I'm sure it was the highlight of their trip to Charleston.