This was our first real family vacation since having the kids (who will be 4 & 2 over the summer) and since we were forced to bring our kids along on this "family" vacation, we thought a lot about how to do it right, pleasing both the adults -- who would prefer walking the streets of Charleston and drinking coffee all day at cafe bars -- and the kids. This was the vacation in which we wouldn't have other family members constantly vying for the kids attention or watching them so we can drive 20 miles for that place with the awesome donuts. We thought about it so much, in fact, I thought it might be a good blog post for anyone else thinking about this trip.
When to go?
We decided that 6 nights of forcing our little ones to sleep in strange places would be plenty and we would divide the time between Charleston, SC and Kiawah Island -- 2 nights & 4 nights respectively. We left on a Wednesday so that our nights in Charleston would not be over a weekend and the hotel rate was cheaper too.
What to bring?
This was our first vacation that didn't involve dragging along the grandparents which meant that my husband was alone carrying 2 car seats and our enormous rolling suitcase on & off the airport shuttle. It wasn't pretty but it beats renting them from the car company.
As for the luggage, we're still a 1-suitcase family which is gonna end fast because I can't do another vacation where I only get 1/4th space for all my stuff. I'm almost 40, I need more space for age-defying clothes & make up. On the other hand, kids summer clothes take almost no space. We also bring along a small rolling suitcase for the extra things that won't fit -- like toiletries and diapers. Like I said, I need a lot of age-defying product.
Charleston
Most people do Charleston as day trips from Kiawah Island, but we wanted to experience the city. Selfish on our part? No. This was our vacation too and it's possible to make adults and tots happy in this walking, stroller unfriendly-city and this is how we did it:
1. 2 nights ... that was our maximum stay in a hotel and eating out.
2. French quarter Inn ... I can't speak highly enough about this hotel. It exceeded all our expectations and I am grateful to my husband for finding it and booking it (I was responsible for Kiawah). The hotel had the most amazing complimentary breakfast that we ate in the courtyard, as well as wine & cheese (which we missed because of our heinous early dinner reservations), and 8:30 p.m. cookies, milk, & port (which we did NOT miss). The rooms are lovely and luxurious and they even have a DVD player for late night Frozen watching. Oh and a pillow concierge. Oh and complimentary coffee, water, lemonade, tea out all day to enjoy. Oh and turn down service with free bottled water and chocolates. Amazing place!
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| I had plenty of excuses to take 4 showers while I was here |
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| The beautiful breakfast |
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| My daughter having her breakfast on the courtyard |
3. Kid-friendly but still adult engaging activities ... with only 1 full day and 2 half days in the city, we were short on time and with a toddler who naps, we were even shorter. We made the best of it by choosing:
--- Trolley Rides
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| Riding the Free Trolley |
--- Waterfront park splash fountains
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| The highlight of the Charleston trip |
4. Eating out at the right place at the right time ... we had 2 dinners to endure with the kids and we chose Fleet Landing which is on the water and very kid friendly for our first night (we had just gotten off the plan not 2 hours earlier). The second night had to satisfy the foodie parents -- who can't wait to book a trip to Charleston without the kids if only to eat until they pass out -- so we chose Poogan's Porch. Early dinner reservations helped too - 5:15 p.m.
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| First night - Fleet Landing - outside overlooking the water |
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| 2nd night Poogan's Porch - fried pimento cheese anyone? |
5. Spontaneity ... For lunch on our full day we lucked out because we jumped off the trolley to pick up cupcakes at Cupcake: down south and found a great place for wraps across the street that we picked up, jumped back on the trolley, and ate at the hotel before the kids passed out. Spontaneity is definitely helpful with kids, as is an amazing husband who doesn't bitch about it. I mean c'mon, you have to stop for cupcakes.
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| Making a stop for cupcakes: vacation priority |
How we got around in this walking city:
To get the kids around we brought an umbrella stroller and the Ergo carrier. Most times our daughter was in the stroller but if my son was tired we'd let him ride and I'd throw my daughter on my back.
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| Sidewalks not that wide - double stroller? Nope. |
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| She looks comfy. So what that it's 85 degrees! |
Or sometimes it even went like this!
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| We're not above child labor, if she wants to push him, go ahead. |
Traveling with kids is rough, I'm not gonna say this was all wine & roses.
1. Plane ride ... Our toddler (still a lap baby) was not happy on the plane. I had to apologize in advance to the guy in front of us for all the kicks he was going to get -- to which my husband added, "And we apologize for her incessant screaming and the big crap in her pants." Thirty minutes into the ride she said, "All done plane." and tried to make a run for it.
2. Naps ... getting the kids to nap was an Olympic Sport and when we did we couldn't wake them. Our second night we had to pry 2 screaming children out of the hotel to get to our restaurant on time. We left apologies to our hotel neighbors too.
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| Acting irreverent at the French Huguenot Church |
3. Tired legs ... The battle over the stroller was a sight to be seen. Never has a piece of mesh held together by some metal seen so much love.
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| First night being carried ... never again! |
4. Sleepless nights ... Our daughter is not the co-sleeper our son was so sleeping in bed with her is really rough. She wouldn't fall asleep or stay asleep. Good thing the bed was heavenly.
5. Messy dinner companions ... we got a constant reminder to why we don't dine out with the kids that often. They are a pain. They are a mess. And they don't seem to understand the concept of lingering over food and enjoying the company. They were perfect to other people (we got lots of compliments on our kids) but that's because my husband and I know the way to a happy meal is that we are totally engaged with our kids (and not each other). We also eat blazingly fast.
So that's the recipe to a great Charleston 2-days with tiny tots. Accept the good, the bad, and the messy.
Next blog post -- Kiawah Island: I still have sand in my ass!
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