Road Trip Day 5: Charleston, South Carolina

Day 5 of our road trip was spent in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina. We really wanted to see a plantation while in South Carolina, so our first stop was checking out the McLeod Plantation. (We had planned on visiting the Magnolia Plantation and Gardens - which looks awesome - but we ended up switching to the McLeod Plantation since it was closer to our hotel, cheaper, and smaller grounds for our kids to walk). It was neat to learn about plantation life, to tour the main house, salve quarters, cotton house, and the beautiful grounds. 

 Maybe it's because we're West Coast natives, but we just couldn't get enough of all the trees and the green!

Josh loved this huge old tree.

One of the slave houses. So tiny and simple.

 Their fireplace wasn't quite as grandiose as the ones in the main plantation house. 

 It was the perfect sunny, warm morning and the kids had such a nice time running around and playing on the grounds. There were hardly any other guests while we were there, so the kids didn't bother anyone. 

Tate spent so much time in his carseat and the stroller during our road trip, so he was so happy whenever he got the chance to get out and explore. The plantation grounds were perfect for that. 

 This is the plantation property that went down to the Ashley River. This plantation was on a part of Charleston called James Island. The Ashley River is what separates James Island from downtown Charleston. 

Bryn found a caterpillar and was smitten. 

 She also found this acorn/nut that had a heart mark. It was a good day for Bryn :)

I don't have many pictures with Josh or I since one of us is usually the one taking the pictures, but Bryn snapped this picture of us. 

 Lunch was at Boxcar Betty's and it was so, so good. One of our favorite meals of the road trip. Their chicken sandwiches were amazing. They have a yummy peach coleslaw served on top of the chicken and the buns were warm and homemade. Yum.

 Tate approved. 

What's this? A caterpillar crawling throughout the car!

Bryn had tried to be sneaky and keep the caterpillar in the backseat cupholder of the van. Of course he crawled out of the cupholder and wound up at the front of the car. She was scolded, but Josh and I did think it was kind of funny.

 In the afternoon we went to downtown Charleston to walk around. We started out at Battery and White Point Gardens, which was a fun park right on the coast with fun canons and monuments. 

All three kids loved climbing on the canons.

 Mya's favorite pose.

 My favorite pose. Ha ha!

 The architecture in Charleston was so charming. We walked and walked around the town and couldn't get enough of it. 

 The homes pictured above are called Rainbow Row. 

We LOVED Charleston. It was maybe our favorite place on our road trip! Such a charming city.