Family Vacation

I'm already missing Charleston and we only got back last night.  We had so much fun.  I've decided it's important to take little family vacations, even if they are short.  

So, on the trip down on Friday I asked Mark where we would be staying.  That's when he let me in on a little secret he was keeping...he didn't know where.  Being the planner that I am, this wasn't the best news, but he continued to let me in on his logic.  He had done A LOT of research on the area and learned that if you went to the Visitor Center and let them make the reservation when you arrive, you could save bunches of money.  He had actually already made reservations at a place, but cancelled them because he felt confident in his plan.  This frightened me, especially with the PGA being just a few miles away.  I knew it might be tough to find a suite (we've decided that's the only way to travel with kids) with so many people in town for the event.  

As soon as we arrived, we made our way to the Visitor's Center to hopefully get a room.   Mark was nervous when they said there were no suites available because of the PGA, but he asked them to try the place he had cancelled the reservation earlier in the week.  Miraculously there was one available and we got it for almost $100 cheaper than what we would have paid.  Mark's research definitely paid off and we got a room in the historic district, walking distance from pretty much everything.  It was such a unique place to stay and we loved it. 

Rosie LOVES hotels and the fact that this one had a hospitality suite with lemonade and cookies really pleased her! 

Did I mention they had apples?  Kiki approved! 

Excited to have a place to stay! 

Our Inn...The building was originally a three-story stationers warehouse (circa 1901).  It was all very historic.

 Our room

 We loved the high ceilings...

 ...and the separate bedroom.

After getting settled, we decided to do a little tour of the city.  We loved the market!  It was so fun.  

Getting ready to hit the town.

After our walking tour, we came back to the hotel to relax a little.  It was SOOOO hot out and it really zapped the energy right out of us.  We ended up taking naps before we got ready for dinner. 

We checked out the rooftop view before heading to dinner.

Rosie was all ready for some food!

We found a cute little Italian place to eat and really enjoyed ourselves.  After dinner we walked around the city for hours.  It is the coolest place!  The houses are so amazing.  I loved the historical feel of it all.  There were signs on many of the houses telling about when they were built and what historical figure lived there.  All of the houses had courtyards in between them that were so awesome.  We've decided we would love to live there one day.  

I just loved the look of this one.

We met the sweetest couple and talked to them for quite awhile.  We took a picture for them and they offered to take one for us, too.  For some reason, he decided that he really liked the lamp because he captured more of that than us!  He actually took three pictures, and this was the best!  

The Ocean View 

Hanging with my girl.  Disclaimer...As proud as I would be to say I had that much junk in my trunk, I have to be honest and admit that the wind was actually blowing my dress:)

 Some of the cool houses

 There were a lot of beautiful churches. 

On Saturday, we woke up bright and early and headed right to the beach to spend the morning.  Rosie had been to the beach, but didn't really remember and this was Kiki's first time.  

She wore an itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny yellow polka dot bikini! 

 Keekster!

Getting used to the cool water with daddy.

 Close up

 I love this man!  Thanks for planning such a great trip, darlin'! 

 Hanging with mommy in the water.

 This face cracked me up! 

More of Mommy and Kiki 

My girls and Me

Rosie loved finding shells

 We all got in on the action.

 Our attempt at a self portrait.

 Sweet little face. 

 Beach Babe

 She decided she did not want to crawl on the sand and walked everywhere.  It was the most she had walked.  It was great practice! 

Our girlies 

They seemed to love the beach!

After the beach, we headed back to the hotel to get showers and pack up.  We then went on a search for some lunch.  We have a gift of finding great hole-in-the-wall Mexican food and it didn't fail us this time.  After lunch, we spent the afternoon driving all around the area looking at the scenery and the houses.  It was great.  We finished off the trip at a little old fashioned ice cream shop where we each  got a treat.  Then it was back on the road to head home.

We had such a great time and if you are looking for a fun vacation spot, I would definitely recommend Charleston.  It has great food, history, shopping, the beach and so much more.  We will definitely be back!