Charleston, South Carolina

After visiting the NPS sites in the immediate area, we headed back into Charleston to see a bit of the city.  A very dear friend had given us a list of several "must see's" so that's where we started.  We were fortunate to find (free!) parking only a block away from the Waterfront Park, so we left the car there and set off on foot...

Charleston Palmetto Roses <3

One of the first things we came to was the Pineapple Fountain...

When the kids were done splashing in the fountain, we resumed our walk along the water and the next thing we spotted were the giant family sized swings.  Whoa!  How fun :)!  We snagged the only empty one and the kids had a blast :)...

the view from the swing :)

Yes, they got a bit silly.  I'll spare you the sillier photos ;)...

Just behind the swing were two young men making Palmetto Roses.  They were so fast...what seemed to be just a few twists and voilà...a beautiful flower...

pretties for my pretties :)

same picture twice...I just like it that much :)

We left the waterfront behind and headed off in search of the next "must see"...

Found it!  Philadelphia Alley aka Dueller's Alley (these pictures are for you, J.)...

A slow stroll through the alley and we were off to find some famous Charleston Pralines.  When we got within the general vicinity we no longer needed to follow our map, we just followed the voice of the lady calling out for folks to come sample the hot pralines.  Mmm...the hot ones are delish, we each tried a piece and unanimously decided to buy a box to take with us.  Meh, cold they aren't so great.  Oh well. 

It just so happened that there was a Ben & Jerry's on the same block.  Ya'll know we couldn't pass that up :)!  A praline appetizer followed up with a double scoop entree and I might just get voted mom of the year ;), hehe...

The sun was getting ready to set, so we started walking back towards the general direction of our car.  We used the walking map thing on my phone, so it was pretty easy to get around even though we were completely unfamiliar with the city...

little brother..."go thatta way"...big brother..."no, i have the map so you follow me"...ad nauseam...;)

love the tall plant in the middle of each box...

those curved windows!

When we reached the car there was still daylight left so we kept right on walking...

big brother to little brother..."put that berry down, don't you know that could be poison?"  oh dear ;)...

Just a little further down the street brought us to Rainbow Row...

I just loved getting a peak at these fantastic historic homes and their lovely gardens...

By this time the sun really was gone and it was time for us to hit the road...

NPS sites around Charleston, SC

Continuing up along the coast, our next destination was Charleston, South Carolina.  There is so much history in this city, the oldest in the state, that we had a hard time deciding where to begin our day.  In the end, we decided to take the NPS route first.  These sites are super educational and really help to take your mind back to the beginning of a particular area and the events that have shaped it into what it is today.  So anyway, on with the day :)...

Liberty Square and the Fort Sumter Visitor Center was our first stop.  Here we learned of the leading up to and beginnings of the Civil War...

This is a very busy VC, go prepared to keep your kiddos close.  I usually let them roam around on their own, but only if I can keep them in direct sight (the younger kids...Trevor is quite a bit taller than me now, he's fine on his own).  Not many photos to show you, I had my hands full ;). 

We read all that we could, saw all that we could, the kids finished up their Jr. Ranger books and turned them in, then we were ready to head on to the next stop...

We drove over to Sullivan's Island, just a few minutes away, to visit Fort Moultrie. 

Fort Moultrie predates Fort Sumter by about 50 years.  It started as a simple log structure and with each battle it was reduced to rubble and rebuilt bigger and stronger...

The kids of course completed the Jr. Ranger program here and by doing this qualified for a special reward...the Junior Civil War Historian patch.  Look it up, it's pretty cool :).

By this time it was lunch-thirty, so we set out in search of some good, local food.  South Carolina is synonymous with Shrimp and Grits, so that's what we had our sites set on.  A quick look around the internets and we settled on Page's Okra Grill.  Ya'll, it was SO GOOD.  Seriously.  Get the fried okra appetizer with remoulade sauce and for your entree go with Ashleigh's Famous Shrimp & Grits.  You can thank me later ;).  The kids shared a couple slices of Hummingbird Cake for dessert and based on their smiles of satisfaction I'd say it was a winner, too.

With happy tummies we were ready for the final NPS site of the day, the Charles Pinckney home.  This site is the only one in the NPS that was owned by a signer of the United States Constitution. 

bottom of a bottle found on-site...wow

more fascinating Gullah history...

I look at things like the doorknob on the front door and I have to wonder...whose hands have grasped that same knob?  The founding fathers of our nation?  Some of our earliest Presidents?  It is just amazing to think of the history...

that old wavy glass <3

This place was much more laid back than the forts, the perfect way to wrap up our NPS tour of Charleston...

Old Sheldon Church Ruins and the Angel Oak

Our last two stops of the day, one was planned (the Angel Oak) and one was a last minute surprise (Old Sheldon Church ruins).  The Sheldon Church ruins were just outside of Beaufort, so that's where we went next...

Hidden away down a country road is this, a small glimpse into the past...

This church was built in the 1700's and was then burned during the Revolutionary War...the strong brick walls still stood, so it was rebuilt.  In the 1800's it was burned again, this time it was left to fade away.  All but the brick walls and columns have gone...

It was so quiet while we were out there.  A few other people mingled around, we met the nicest couple from Australia, but there really were no sounds other than the wind in the trees...

We took our time, walking around the grounds and taking it all in...

Near the front of the church we were all standing together when this tiny little baby bird hopped over.  The little thing hopped right up onto one of the kids' shoes!  We didn't want to hurt it, so when it hopped off we backed away far enough that the momma bird felt safe in coming down from the nearby tree.  We watched as she led it hop-hop-hopping back up the branches (it was a cedar tree).  I guess that was a flying lesson gone bad, hahaha ;).

We didn't even notice it when we came in, but there was an old fashioned water pump thing near the entrance.  A few of the kids had to give it a try, of course :)...

While we were standing there, I got to noticing something strange about several of the trees.  They were filled in with brick or wooden slats.  Very odd...  The Australian couple were there with us and none of us could figure out why the trees were filled in like that.  Any of you know?  The kids think maybe there used to be secret passages ;)...

When we left the ruins, we headed off to find the Angel Oak.  I adore Live Oaks and this one is the grandaddy of them all...

It is said to be the oldest thing standing east of the Rockies.  I believe it, it is simply massive...

The branches on The Tree (as it's called by the locals) do that wonderful thing that only the oldest of the old Live Oaks do.  They curve down, some even going underground before popping back up to rest upon the surface.  This forms an enclosed area around the trunk of the tree...a magical space...for a child (or anyone with an imagination and sense of wonder) there is no better place to spend an afternoon...