Saturday, August 18, 2012

Road Trip, Part III: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina














Road trip, Part II: Charleston, South Carolina

Next up was Charleston. I LOVED Charleston. I'd love to go there again some day and see more of it; I could even live there. Around the city, we law lots of beautiful buildings:


This is an old prison: 



After touring a famous, historical house, we went out to the back porch, where the kids enjoyed bouncing on this joggling board: 

This is the Edmunston-Alton house that we toured: 

We got to go over this impressive bridge: 

Fort Sumter is where the first shot of the Civil War was fired: 

Benji with a cannon at Fort Sumter: 

This is Angel Oak, a 300-year old oak tree. It was truly impressive and beautiful: 

I mean, look at those gorgeous branches: 



We went to the Children's Museum, which was AMAZING. It was a lot like Pretend City (oh, how I miss thee, Pretend City). The kids were happy here for nearly 3 hours, and even then, the only reason we left was because they were closing. Their favorite was the water room: 

Benji made a dam, then a flood: 

And Fiona played with golf balls in the ball/science room: 

Then a little splash time in the fountain outside: 

We got to see REALLY old fire engines at a historical fire station. These two are from something like the 40's: 

And this was from even earlier. It was a horse-drawn fire engine. Where did they put the water? I don't know! 

If you ever go to Charleston, EAT HERE! Jestine's Kitchen was the best dining experience of the trip: truly excellent Southern food, hospitality, and a great mom 'n' pop atmosphere. 

A church: 

And another one: 

Middle Place Gardens and Plantation was our final activity in Charleston. It was genuinely beautiful: 






Look at this amazing tree! 



It was miserably hot there though. The kids were not impressed, although they did enjoy chasing the guinea fowl down the path. Too bad I don't have a picture of that. 


So long, Charleston. You are beautiful.


Road trip, part I: Savannah, Georgia

We went on a road trip!! I'll tell you about it in three parts. Here are the kids at the beginning of the road trip. Keep this picture in mind because at the end of part III, I'll show you a picture from the end of the road trip:

somewhere in the middle of Georgia. Look at those beautiful clouds: 

Savannah, Georgia: our first destination. The old section of the city was very planned in a perfect grid and every 2 blocks or so, there is a square, named after famous people from the city or people who have visited. Each square has a fountain and/or benches, gorgeous oak trees with Spanish moss, etc. Here's one of the squares:

Look at this! Yes, you're right: that IS Paula Deen's restaurant, The Lady and Sons. They take resos now, so it was easy to get in. However, I was a little disappointed. We went on a Sunday, when they only offer a Southern food buffet. It was okay, but none of it was made fresh-to-order; it was made in bulk and so not that great. And the fried chicken was even a little disappointing. However, the mac'n'cheese was AMAZING, the barbeque was AMAZING, the home-made blue cheese dressing the salad was AMAZING, the corn on the cob, the dessert, and the corn cakes were quite good. 

Here's a picture of my plate: a Southern food fest! 

And here I am: drinkin' sweet tea. Ya'll know ya gotta order some sweet tea to help all that butter go down! 

Here's what the boys thought about it. Actually, Ethan said the chicken was so good, he was gonna die, so I don't know why he decided to be annoying for the picture: 

Of course, one last picture: 

We went on a tour of the city in this little bus. 

And saw lots of gorgeous houses and buildings, such as this: 

And this: 

And the inside of this Catholic church:

Most of the streets in old town were this gorgeous with giant oak trees, hanging with Spanish moss: 

A visit to Leopold's Ice Cream shop:

And a river boat cruise: 

Did you know that Savannah is the 4th busiest port in the US? I didn't either. Now you know: 

Have you ever heard the story of The Waving Girl of Savannah? It's quite tragic. You can read about it here. She waved to every ship that came by for 44 years, waiting for her love to return. He never did. 

Look at this Southern belle! 

Marshes and clouds on the way to Tybee Island: 

Where we saw this Tybee Island light house:

We went to the beach on Tybee Island: 

And that was it for Savannah! Stay tuned for part II.