Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Charleston, SC

For Labor Day weekend we planned a trip to Charleston, SC which was three years in the making. I've been wanting to visit Charleston literally from the moment we found out we were moving down South--not only because of its historical significance as an integral part of the Civil War, but also to experience the "southern charm" its famous for and the amazing Southern soul food! We left Friday afternoon after we picked the kids up from school, and about 3 hours later arrived in the palmetto state. 
 Saturday morning bright and early we headed to downtown Charleston to hit up "Toast!" which is famous for it's Southern breakfasts with a twist. We timed it just right and got right in (when we left, the wait was up to 60 minutes). Jon ordered the stuffed French toast with fresh peaches and peach cider syrup. It was to die for! 
 I got the crab cake eggs benedict with a fried green tomato, along with cheesy grits, and a buttermilk biscuit. All of it was amazing! It was probably my favorite meal of the whole trip. Definitely worth a trip back!
 After breakfast we headed out to see the sights, and decided to take a horse-drawn carriage ride to see the city without having to make the kids walk in the crazy summer heat and humidity. It was about 97 degrees and totally swampy by 10 a.m.!  Waiting to load onto our carriage, and waiting by the stinky horses.
 Our tour turned out to be about 60 minutes long, which was about 50 minutes too long for Leah--ha, ha-- so we kind of spent the majority of it trying to keep her quiet, but I still managed to take a few photos. This was Philadelphia Alley, the 2nd most haunted street in America (the first is in New Orleans). Apparently this is where the Southern gents would meet to duel to protect their honor and over a hundred people died, and their spirits still haunt the alley.
Charleston's Royal Exchange building and Provost Dungeon built in 1767.
 The old dungeon that housed many a pirate who tried to come through Charleston during colonial times. Lucy was so freaked out about ghosts she wouldn't stand near the bars!
 After our carriage tour we found a little popsicle stand and bought a fresh peach popsicle to cool down with. I was wearing a skirt that day, and apparently when I stood up after the tour the entire backside of my cotton skirt was drenched in sweat. Awesome! It was SO hot and muggy!
 We did a quick walk-through of the City Market, where back in the day slaves would come to buy goods and groceries for their masters. They've turned it into an open air market for arts and crafts vendors, basket weavers, and many, many boiled peanut stands.
 The oldest church in Charleston, St. Michael's, built in 1680 as part of the Church of England. I always think it is so cool to walk where so many centuries of people have also walked-- it's like breathing in history!


Rainbow Row
They've done an amazing job of preserving the colonial character of the city, and there are some seriously stunning views of old alleyways, cobblestone walkways, gas lamps, and row after row of antebellum homes with European architecture and the brightly colored Caribbean influence. We fell in love!
 We walked along the waterfront where there was a nice cool sea breeze! You can't quite see it, but way out yonder behind Jon and Lucy is Fort Sumter, the site where the first shots of the Civil War were fired in 1861. Also in the distance is Sullivan's Island, where slaves were brought and held before being sold into the city, to ensure they were free of infectious diseases.  
 Hot, tired, sweaty, and hungry we headed to Hominy Grill, which was featured on Rachael Ray's $40 a Day. It was packed and had a long wait, but my kids (and husband for that matter) were total troopers, and patiently waited for our turn at some of the best shrimp and grits in town! I actually tried the pork belly and fried green tomato sandwich, which was delish! 
 Lucy is my budding foodie and ordered the Lowcountry Shrimp 'N Grits, which were super yummy! I can't believe my 7 year old likes grits and seafood and mushrooms, but there you have it.
 Ready to be done with sweating buckets for a little while, we headed south of Charleston to Folly Island where there is an awesome beach. It felt so good to cool down and relax in the ocean!
 Not a bad way to spend the afternoon, with your toes in the sand!
 The water was SO warm-- it felt like bathwater. The kids loved it.
Shortly after this photo was taken we discovered a little gift on our car window in the form of a $30 parking ticket, so thank you, Folly Island Police Department for raining on our parade! Our car tires were barely in the roadway, but c'est la vie.
The next morning after a good night's rest, we headed to Mt. Pleasant for a relaxed Sunday brunch at Charleston's Cafe. You have to drive over the coolest bridge ever to get there, and then we dined on fare like pumpkin bread french toast with brulee and croque madames.
I'd been dying to check out some of Charleston's famous plantations, so we headed into lowcountry about 15 miles south of Charleston to visit Magnolia Plantation which has been around since 1676. 
Ahhh, the live oaks! Such BEAUTIFUL trees! Covered in Spanish moss it just sort of epitomizes how you picture the South with its swamps and bayous. Magnolia had live oaks lining the drive up to the plantation which were so gorgeous and old!

We started with the petting zoo, where there were these very friendly deer to feed. It was another scorcher, so my kids were covered in sweat. The deer didn't care for the dehydrated corn as much as it liked to lick the salty sweat off of Lucy and Zach's arms! At one point it was full on licking Zach's head, which was kind of gross but also hilarious!
There was an enormous pot-bellied pig wandering around, and we loved him. Lucy wanted him as a pet!
They had free popcorn and snow cones and I'm not so sure how many we ate all together, but I do know they totally hit the spot! They melted before we could even finish them.
 A pretty spot for a picnic under an ancient live oak! 
 Magnolia House. The bottom floor had about 9 rooms which housed the indoor slaves that worked cooking and cleaning for the family. The main floor and third floor had 15 rooms for the family and guests to use, and the top floor housed only an attic where they caught rainwater, since being that close to sea level their well water was brackish and not fit to drink.  

 The quintessential wrap-around Southern porch. Lucy and I did the house tour (no photos allowed) while Jon waited outside with Zach and Leah. Lucy loved learning about all the history!
Despite the heat and humidity we decided to walk around the gardens and see if we could find the old slave quarters. It was a huge rice plantation, so during the summer months the family didn't even live in the house due to the fact that in order to grow rice, you have to flood the fields and it attracted hordes of mosquitoes which brought malaria. They spent their time in the cooler mountains of North Carolina from May to November, avoiding the heat and swampiness of summer, while over 45 slaves stayed to work the rice fields. 
 Although we saw signs warning about gators, Zach was really disappointed we didn't see any in the swamp gardens. Awww, shucks! 

 Black Water Pond
 Apparently, George Gershwin visited Magnolia Plantation while staying in Charleston to write "Porgy and Bess." Wandering around those lush gardens I could just hear "Summertime" playing across the grounds. We didn't see any fish jumping, but the cotton was definitely high and you could just feel what a different and unique culture the South offers. It was truly like stepping back in time!  We loved exploring Charleston-- the seafood, the beaches, the fireflies, the sunsets, and the Southern charm made it a fabulous weekend!  

'Tis the Last Rose of Summer!

When I think back to what feels like not too long ago, school was just getting out and summer was just beginning! Where did the time go?? Summer has flown by, and it's already time to recap our last few summer memories on the blog. When last we met, we parted with tales of lice infestations overtaking our humble abode. And let me just say, had I been Pharaoh, we would not have even made it to those flies and locusts. The lice alone would have completely convinced me! I would have gladly kicked those Israelites out of Egypt-- just GET. RID. OF. THE. LICE... Which we did. They were horrendous. But I think it's safe to say, we're critter free, and I hope it's a very loooong time before we ever see those little parasites again.

Our friends the Durtschi's are moving this week to Oklahoma. We are so sad to see them go! We've been spending a lot of time with them since it's our last chance, and spent an afternoon at the sand park by the cupcake shop. Yum!
 Lucy and Lizzie became such great friends. Lucy will really miss her, but we've promised that she and Lizzie can become good pen pals. Zach told her he wished he could marry her so she'd have to stay here!
 When we first moved here, Leah wasn't around yet and Will had just been born. Look how grown up they both are!

 The week before school started we went to the Rockingham Kid's Museum one last time. Leah discovered this little science exhibit that blows air to hold different size balls up, and she was a total crack up! She'd stick her face in and it would blow her hair crazy, and she would just laugh and laugh!
A few nights before school started, I surprised the kiddos and took them out to frozen yogurt. Jon was gone on a backpacking trip, so we got to spend the whole week together which was awesome. As exhausting as it is to have them home 24/7 during the summer--and then especially so when it's just me, I do miss them while they're at school.
 Zach has been coming up with some seriously weird costume combinations and he LOVES dressing up! He comes downstairs and asks me to take a picture so he can see what he looks like. This was a particularly kooky look-- the Hulk-Pirate-Captain America-Caped-Iron Man.

Grandma Cardon bought him this totally sweet Captain American costume for Halloween. He looks like a boss!
 Well, D-Day finally arrived on Monday, August 25th and my little guy started Kindergarten! He didn't seem too perturbed by it, maybe a little curious as to what he'd be doing all day, but for the most part he was confident and not at all dramatic about being dropped off for all-day school. He did great with his new teachers Mrs. White and Mrs. Williams.
 Lucy on the other hand, had kind of a dramatic introduction to 2nd grade. She was originally supposed to be in a different (not-so-good) teacher's class, with a little girl from her 1st grade class who was also in there, and who'd had some issues last year which kind of made the year miserable for Lucy. Lucy had a LOT of anxiety regarding this combination, so after a last minute hail mary switch initiated by mom and dad, she moved into Mrs. McFadden's class and has so far had a great year. Mrs. McFadden is very nurturing, and hopefully Lucy will learn a lot.
This little one has been bored and lonely without her favorite playmates around to keep her occupied. It has been so weird for me to only have one at home! Good thing there's Frozen!

Zach finally got to ride the bus home today, so it's been an exciting start back to school but we are sure sad to see summer go!