South Carolina
Trip Summary:
When: October 2020
Why: Covid road-schooling trip
Duration: 7 days
Coastal South Carolina is becoming one of my favorite travel destinations. You get the charm of the lovely antebellum mansions, the hard-packed sand beaches, great southern food and a landscape draped in Spanish moss.
While I recommend staying away from most cities while traveling during Covid, Charleston actually felt very safe. Most people walking down the street were masked and of course every store and restaurant required you to wear one. That said, we gave it one solid afternoon and then mostly stuck to our rurally located Airbnb.
Let’s Talk Food
If you’ve never been, Charleston is an incredibly walkable city that is known for its many award-winning restaurants. On our most recent visit we dined at Husk. This was actually the only dine-in restaurant experience we had in Charleston as we mostly cooked at home to limit our exposure. The food did not disappoint and we felt safely distanced from the surrounding patrons. And, I may just dream about the pork-belly appetizer.
If you decide to add Charleston to your list, this is our restaurant list for a future (non-pandemic) visit:
R Kitchen (Whitman, my nine-year-old, saw this on a YouTube travel video and really wanted to go).
We did get take-out from The Gnome Cafe, a vegan restaurant that is on the west side of the city. I don’t eat dairy, so I’m always tickled to find a whole menu that I can order anything off of. The food was…health-full. This isn’t the ‘treat-yo-self’ kind of vegan restaurant. It actually serves food that is genuinely good for you, and while that is wonderful and leaves you feeling like you did right by your digestive system, it also doesn’t usually make you crave more. My youngest and I were a little disappointed with their take on bibimbap. Then again, we do eat meat so if you don’t, this place is a great option.
And speaking of dairy-free…Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream, a chain originating from Ohio, does have a few dairy-free options on the menu!
Walking the City
If you set your GPS to the corner of King St. and Market St. you will have lots to explore in just about any direction. When I first start trip planning, I go to the Google Maps app and “favorite” the sites that I want to check out. Then, when I’m actually there, I can just open the map, see what’s nearby that I saved and make sure I don’t miss anything.
In addition to strolling down King Street, these are considered some of the “Must-See spots in Charleston”
Pineapple Fountain
Pineapple Fountain in Waterfront Park
Rainbow Row - a group of brightly painted historical homes that many Instagramers use for photo shoots
The East Battery St. Mansions - these beautiful homes have a view of the bay.
Mansions along East Battery St.
The City Market - a bunch of shops crammed into what used to be an open-air market. My kids were looking for a toy shop and did find a small one there.
A Carriage Tour of the city - we didn’t do this, but if you’re traveling with older family members who can’t walk far this could be a great option.
Carriage Tour
Where We Stayed
With road-schooling/remote working we actually look for accommodations outside of large cities so that we can get more space for a lower cost. An Airbnb search turned up this AMAZING gem of a house for such a reasonable price. The house was about 35 minutes south of Charleston on the coast in a gorgeous moss-covered neighborhood. It had a huge yard for my boys to play in, quiet streets for morning walks, and more square footage than we needed. And the porch! THE PORCH!!! It totally fulfilled my fantasy of drinking sweet tea in a porch swing while overlooking the water.
Airbnb in Wadmalaw Island, SC
Our “backyard” in SC
The front of the house faced the water and this view and the back of the house was an incredibly spacious yard that my boys could explore in while I checked on them from the kitchen window.
Our Master Bedroom
Halloween Prep
This historic home was the perfect backdrop for our Halloween Celebration. We were pretty close to the middle of nowhere, so trick-or-treating wasn’t even an option. Instead, I hid candy around the house and wrote clues to help guide the boys. Afterwards we took a moon-lit stroll through the Spanish moss-covered trees to the spooky abandoned house down a dirt road. We didn’t invest in costumes this year, but Whitman gifted us all hand-made paper masks.
Restaurants Outside of Charleston
Cherry Point Seafood Company - fresh shrimp straight from the fisherman. Bring home a bag to cook.
Blackbird Farms & Market - we had AMAZING fried oysters, collard greens, coleslaw, and beans to go.
Bowens Island Restaurant - Sadly, we never made it here. It’s outdoor eating along the water and the reviews are great.
Blackbird Farms & Market “Seafood Special” is AMAZING!!
Nearby Attractions (distance from the Airbnb):
The Charleston Tea Plantation (5 minutes)
The Angel Oak Tree (15 minutes)
Kiawah Beachwalker Park/Beach (35 minutes)
Downtown Charleston (35 minutes)
This is actually the ONLY tea plantation in the United States and it is a little gem of a place. There is an adorable gift shop, an area to sample their varieties, and a free tour. The tour consists of watching a series of videos that explain the process of making tea adjacent to huge windows where you can actually SEE the process unfold. We learned so much! Did you know that Green tea and Black tea are made from the same leaves? The only difference is how long those leaves undergo oxidization. The boys picked out some tea, honey spoon “stir sticks” and it was the perfect 45 minute field trip followed by a tea party.
When you enter the plantation you see the rows of tea bushes called Camellia Sinesis.
Watching the newly harvest “flush” (leaves from the top of the bush) go through the tea-making process.
We purchased the tea and the cookies from the gift shop.
The Angel Oak Tree
This magnificent Oak is over 400 years old and it is believed that she can live 500 more years. I have to say that there is something beautiful about people driving from all over to stare at a tree. You can take as many photos as you want, but you are not allowed to sit or climb on the tree.
Over 400 years old!
Kiawah Beachwalker Park & Beach
Kiawah is a resort island that is known for its amazing golf courses. It’s actually a gated, private island and Beachwalker park is the only public access beach. Right before you get to the gated entrance you turn right on Beachwalker Drive and it will lead you straight to the parking lot, bathrooms/changing rooms and boardwalk to the beach. I think it was about $5 to park.
This is actually a really great option for a beach day. The bathrooms are clean, the changing rooms are large, and there are outdoor showers to rinse off the salt water. Our trip was in October and we pretty much had the beach to ourselves. The beaches in this area are hard-packed sand, which is great for riding bikes. Without the private access, though, you would have to find a bike rental place off the island and then haul them to the beach. We opted to just stroll, explore, and ride the waves. In the autumn we were still having 75 degree days.
Checking out the tiny sand crabs in the tide pools.
Nearby Excursions
Coastal Expeditions on Shem Creek (just north of Charleston) runs some amazing tours. We opted for the five-hour Morris Island Shark Tooth Hunting Adventure which you can view HERE. A boat takes you over to uninhabited Morris Island, about a 30 minute trek. Along the way our guide informed us about the local sea life, as well as historical information about the Charleston harbor and architecture. This island happens to be a great shark-hunting area because the sand on the surface of the island was dredged up from the ocean floor to make the Charleston harbor deeper and more accessible to large ships.
Passing by all the fishing and shrimp boats in the harbor on our way to Morris Island.
On the island, a staff member stays with you and gives you a lesson on how to find shark teeth. Then you’re free to roam, wander, and hunt, or stick by his side and learn more. A few hours later the boat comes back to pick you up. Our boys, ages 7 & 9 were very invested in hunting for about the first hour and then wanted to play in the waves before returning to the hunt. In total, we actually came back with quite a haul - including Megaladon teeth!
A mix of Megaladon, Great White, and Tiger Shark teeth! We actually found two more big ones after this photo was taken. The two pieces on the right are part of the spinal column of a sea turtle.
Morris Island hunting for shark teeth.
The first of a few shark teeth Whitman found!
Searching…
The staff were great and we would definitely recommend this adventure. Of the four families on our tour, we found the most shark teeth, but it all varies by the day and how long and hard you are willing to look.
**Parenting tip - Prep your children ahead of time by informing them that the shark teeth won’t just by laying all over the beach (often kids think this way). They will need to be patient and spend A LOT of time looking, but the payoff can be BIG!
We even found a couple horseshoe crabs!
Overall, we spent a week in this area and between spending some time just enjoying the house, and all of our local adventures, it really felt like the perfect amount of time. That said, if we had tacked on 3-4 more days I’m sure we could have filled them. If you’re in the area, here are some additional points of interest:
Fort Sumter National Monument - the first shots of the Civil War were fired here. We didn’t, but you can take a tour out to this island fort.
Magnolia Plantation & Gardens
Boone Hall Plantation
Folly Beach - open to the public, known for big waves and some surfing options
Congaree National Park - we did this on the way from TN to Charleston
Educational Resources for Kids
Outschool Class on Megalodons - my 7-year old really enjoyed this online class
Videos:
Books: