Travel & Vacation: Charleston History & Sites to See (part 2)
Checking out a more modern one….some serious discussions are taking place.
This post is in addition from our post earlier today on Travel & Vacation: Charleston History & Sites to See. At least one night every time we go with Jake to Charleston we spend some time in walking through Battery Park looking at all the monuments, reading them and talking about history. You would think by now the girls have this park memorized and would be tired of it, but they request to go here every time we are in the Charleston area. The pictures of Battery Park are a little darker because we went at night. Plus you’ll see some other great items to look out for on your road trip to Charleston (at least if you are heading to Charleston from the same direction we go).
The girls always request a trip to battery park when we are in Charleston
A large monument in Battery Park, the girls want us to read the monument then they have fun seeing how many different states they can find etched on the stones.
Exploring the cannons at Battery Park
This tree’s looking a little spooky at night in battery park. Still haven’t figured out the meaning behind the white feathers from an earlier trip Travel & Vacation: Fun in Charleston. If you know the reason I would love to find out!
Mommy and girls in the giant gazebo at Battery Park
Karlie especially gets excited when we pass the “rocket” because she loves rockets. Brina gets excited because she knows that we are almost to Daniel’s Island! 🙂
Another favorite sight on our trip to and from Charleston! The girls always love seeing the USA Flag and on the other side of the road is a huge smiley face!
While Battery Park is one of the kids favorite places to visit it is only one of the many great historical sites to see while in Charleston. You can take a tour of Fort Sumter or Fort Moultrie or take a ride on a horse drawn carriage through Charleston as they share history and facts with you or many more wonderful activities. Battery Park is an easy one because it is free (as long as you can find parking). What are some other great historical or fun places to visit in the Charleston area?
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Charleston History & Sites to See
Karlie and Brina standing at the pier with Patriots Point and USS Yorktown in the background.
Brina and Karlie love going to Charleston with us. One of their favorite things to do in Charleston is to explore and learn tidbits of history. Charleston has a lot of history so it has provided many opportunities for us to learn and appreciate our country’s history. We always visit Waterfront Park in Mount Pleasant whenever we go to Charleston. Near the pier is an area with a fountain, monuments, and plaques honoring our military. You can also see the USS Yorktown from that area too (see picture above). There are other areas in Mount Pleasant, Daniel’s Island and Charleston with a lot of history as well. Here is a few we enjoy visiting when we are in the area.
A sign near the monument
Monument….”on behalf of a grateful nation”
Department of Army (1775) monument
Throwing their coins into the fountain.
United States Coast Guard (1790)
South Carolina state flag flying in the wind next to the monuments
United States Air Force
Fountain near waterfront park
Department of the Navy – United State of America
This one is on Daniel’s Island and says “By 1680, Charleston had moved to its present location and was growing rapidly. It attracted French Huguenots and others drawn by the promise of religious tolerance and available land.”
Department of Navy – United States Marine Corps
In Peace and War – United States Merchant Marine (1775)
The neat part about reading these monuments with the girls is that it gives us an opportunity to discuss our country, its history, and show appreciation for the men and women who have served and those who are currently serving. We have many amazing blessings living in the United States. No country is perfect, but we have a lot of great things to celebrate in our history.
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Jeep Safari – Orange County Kabini, India
Wild boar by the Kabini River as we watch the sunrise
We got up before dawn the second day at Kabini to go on a Jeep Safari. Everyone was excited but moving a little slower. We took a boat over to an island on the other side of the Kabini River. On the other side we got our jeep and set out on our adventure. It was a lot of fun exploring the jungle and seeing the wildlife with Matt, Jen, and the kids.
Our tour guide standing up and alert as he looks for some animals. He was great about spotting animals, stopping so we could take pictures, and giving us descriptions on the animals, plants, trees, and other facts about the area. He went to Kabini as a kid on a family trip. In school he studied to be a software developer but after a few years he decided to come back to Kabini and work outside giving tours. He led both our boat and jeep safaris.
Oh look….a monkey in the tree right beside the jeep! He was just casually looking at us.
Elephant walking casually through the jungle next to our jeep. It was neat watching him walk, stop for a few seconds munch on a stalk or grass then continue on his merry way. This guy must have gotten into a fight at some point because his one tusk has been broken off. He turned to face us but continued eating his breakfast while watching us in the jeep.
Momma and her baby were grazing on grass before we drove up. As soon as they saw us they were alert and it wasn’t long before they went deeper into the tall grass away from us. I think Momma didn’t want us getting too close to her baby.
Monkey see….monkey do….. A group of monkeys hanging out together. It looked like they were digging for grubs or some type of bug.
Beautiful peacock strutting his stuff right next to the jeep
Two male peacocks were down in a ditch fighting with their tails fluffed up and in the air. We could hear them but this is the only picture we could get of the tails because the ditch was so deep. Their feathers look pretty amazing when they are all spread out.
Guess if an elephant is crossing it wouldn’t be a good idea to run into it….at least not for your vehicle anyway!
Matt in the back seat protecting the kids from the tigers and leopards. Rachel was a little concerned!
Beautiful tree, you see many of these yellow flowers hanging from vehicles everywhere. I cannot remember the name of the flower but I believe it is a symbol of good luck. Our driver stopped to hang one up in our jeep.
Leopard paw print, we were literally following the leopard through the jungle…..soooo neat! 🙂
I didn’t realize this before, but do you know why tigers and leopards will often be seen walking on the roads instead of in the woods? The pads on their paws are tender and they like to walk on the softer dirt road (it’s more comfortable for them).
Monkey hanging out in the tree next to us.
Fresh TIGER tracks on the road right next to our jeep!!! These are a little harder to see with this camera angle, but now we know one is in the area. We never did catch up with the tiger but it was pretty cool to be driving down the same path only moments behind one.
Red squirrel flying from tree limb to tree limb. They are fast and pretty!
Bison leaving after getting a drink from the small pond.
Deer eating peacefully.
Did you know that deer make a distinct noise when they sense danger (like a tiger or leopard)? It was really interesting hearing their danger call and watch them bolt as we sat there in the jeep looking around to see if we could spot a tiger or leopard near us. Not sure who was smarter in that decision, ha!
Large nets hanging from the trees for the kids (and our guide) to climb and play on.
The boats that took us on the boat safari and across the river for the jeep safari
Going on the jeep safari was truly awesome. We got to see so many animals in the jungle as we were driving through. The guide was really good about stopping to let people take pictures and point out different plants, trees, animals along with tidbits of information. I loved seeing the animals up close…..just wish we could have seen the leopard or tiger that we were following as well. Although I am not sure what we would do if we caught up with an hungry and aggressive tiger or leopard since we were in an open jeep.
Thankfully the animals seemed to be pretty well fed and use to traffic. It was a blast going on the jeep Safari. I am grateful for the time with spent with Jake’s cousin Matt, Jen and their family. It was really neat hearing the kids dialogue as we would spot different animals. If you are ever in Orange County Kabini, India I highly recommend this going on this adventure!
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Charleston Food, Lodging, & Fun
Spending some time in the hotel room. Karlie is lounging as she listens to me read.
The girls are always excited when we go to Charleston! They have a blast spending time relaxing and exploring. We typically go to many of the same places but always try to squeeze in a few new adventures as well. The kids make the trips more fun. These pictures are from a trip earlier this year. We stayed at the Marriott Hotel in Mount Pleasant. It was a little further from Jake’s work so we had to drop him off in the mornings but it was located near a lot of fun activities. We tried out some new restaurants this time too.
Brina’s turn to read a book to us
We ate downtown Charleston so we would have plenty of time to walk through the market and go to Battery Park. Brina and Karlie enjoying their BBQ wings
Messy….messy…..messy….BB (I think she’ll need a bath tonight)
Karlie licking her lips after finishing my homemade & delicious she crap soup
Karlie and Brina sitting next to the moon in the “Moon Pie” store in downtown Charleston.
Jake & I had our own bedroom in the hotel room. It was the last available room in the hotel and it was a huge 2 bedroom suite (with a doorbell). This was our first time staying at the Marriott in Mount Pleasant and it was awesome!
Our kitchen in the hotel room, loved having all the counter top space.
Goofy Karlie…..she must be the “cream” in the chair!
Wonder where Brina could be? Oh yes, in between the cushions!
Dress Code sign outside a store in downtown Charleston. Made me laugh! 🙂 Some are listed twice. My three favorite ones are:
“Bottom of Shirt Can’t Be Past Wrist”
“No Gold Teeth”
“Doorman has final say”
Jake picked up ice cream sandwiches for the girls. We had a fridge but no freezer so they were a little softer than normal. Karlie eating the one of the last melting ice cream sandwiches
Brina getting the last little bit from her wrapper
I am thankful for the many opportunities to create special memories with my family. The girls are wonderful travelers and love to explore new areas so it is always fun having a few days to relax and check out an area. When we go to Charleston we typically stay either on Daniel’s Island or in Mount Pleasant so we have found a few fun things to do.
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Isle of Palms Beach
On our way to the beach!
One of the benefits of traveling with the family is we get to enjoy some pretty amazing scenery. When we travel together for work we try to squeeze some fun activities in as well. I am thankful for the great memories and fun times together with my family this year. Charleston is one of the locations we have been multiple times over the last several months. Here are some pictures and memories from one of our trips together.
Isle of Palms Beach!
One of our favorite spots to go is the Isle of Palms near Charleston. They have a great beach area with life guards. The girls always love our trips to the beach.
Karlie is ready to head to the beach! She is waiting patiently as we get everything out of the van.
Brina is ready for our family beach day!
Heading into the water! (Karlie, Daddy and Brina)
Splashing around in the water, the girls can stay at the beach for hours.
Two little chickies buried in the hot beach sand. They were really still until we were done burying them.
After several hours of splashing in the water, digging in the sand, and collecting sea shells the girls were still going but we took a break for a snack and a little quiet time in the shade before heading back out for more fun. The girls have a blast at the beach. We saw dolphins several times while we were swimming and playing in the sand at Isle of Palms. It was wonderful having some extra time to relax and spend time together.
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Skipper was Busy
Skipper Being Good We been traveling more this year especially over the summer while the girls were out of school. While we have been gone my brother has been watching the house and pets. Skipper has been pretty good at watching the house and yard while we are away, however, occasionally she gets bored or naughty. She has over 4 acres of yard to run around in as well as random paths throughout the property so she stays pretty active even when we are away for a couple of days. Most of the time when we come home everything is in order and all is well. The last couple of trips we came home and noticed that Skipper had been naughty.
Naughty Skipper We left for a trip with one hose and came home to many smaller hoses. Someone was busy while we were away. The amazing part is she didn’t touch the hose the entire two months before and during other trips, it must have been too tempting this time around. Or maybe she was getting back us for going on road trips without her. Who knows, silly dog. She can be a mess at times but we still love her!
Vacation: We’re HOME!!!!
Brina & Karlie riding on the airplane! Thankful to two kids who LOVE to travel, what a great adventure for them!!! The girls and I had a wonderful trip out to the Midwest to see family over Spring Break and Easter. We are thankful for the amazing memories we made during our visit. The girls learned a lot more about the farm and were able to spend time with extended family. We arrived home late last night (or should we say really early this morning). Today we have hit the ground running and are back to work, school, and a busy routine. I have a lot of catching up to do over the next few days between appointments and work. It was a super fun time in Kansas and our time away went by very quickly. It is great to be home with Daddy and Skipper again, hopefully they are ready for their 3 silly girls!
I apologize for being a little out of touch and off schedule with the posts. As soon as the dust settles I will be back to the full schedule. It was wonderful meeting and speaking with several people across the United States that read this blog. I am very blessed with amazing family, friends, and readers. If you haven’t done so already make a comment for the Giveaway at the end of this week!
Family Celebrations: Catching Up with Family Over Spring Break
Cousins Riding Together on the John Deere Gator! Fun Times! The girls and I had the opportunity to go visit family over their Spring Break this year. We had a lot of fun spending time with Grandparents, Great Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and more! It had been a few months since we had been in the Midwest yet I was amazed how much the girls remembered. They LOVED seeing family and spending time on the farm. Each night they would crash from their busy schedule but they would be up early the next morning ready to (as Karlie put it so nicely) “Go explore more of Kansas!”
I am thankful the girls have an opportunity to spend time with my parents and all four Grandpa and Grandma’s on my side of the family. Each one has a special place in my heart and I am thrilled the girls get to have such wonderful memories of them as well. It has been a nice adventure full of old and new memories. It was such a blessing to see so many family members throughout our stay in Kansas!
Here are just some of the exciting activities we participating in during our stay in Kansas (I hope to have some more pictures to show in a few days):
- Riding Horses – Brina and Karlie LOVED Sassy
- Playing with Dogs, Cats and Farm Animals
- Watching them Work the Calves
- Easter Egg Hunts
- Kids 4 Truth Activities
- Spending Time with Grandparents, Great Grandparents, Uncles, Aunts, and Cousins
- Playing with family and friends
- Riding the Gator
- “Hunting” (Brina’s paraphrase) for Corn Cobs for the Horse
- Coloring Easter Eggs
- Crafts
- Seeing Grandpa’s Big “Sprinkler” (Center Pivot)
- Lots of Pheasants
- Seeing a Coyote chase the Pheasants
- Gathering Eggs in Grandpa Verlyn’s Hen House
- Feeding the Turkeys
- Homemade Food (including special Waffles)
- Hot Chocolate
- Helping Grandpa Russell on the Farm
- Shooting Uncle Lee & Uncle Josh with Nerf Guns
- Puzzles
- The Big Hole
- The Pet Cemetery
- Grocery Shopping with Grandma Penny
- Reading Books with Grandpa Russell & Grandma Penny
- Planting Flowers
- Learning More About our Family’s History
- AND SOOOO MUCH MORE!!!!!!!
The girls and I had a grand time seeing so many family members and spending time in Kansas. A big thanks to everyone for a super fun trip! It is a Spring Break that the girls will be talking about for years. And yes, they found out that Easter does come to Kansas too! Although we made a lot of wonderful new memories during our trip the girls are ready to see Daddy again. Hopefully he is ready for us!
14 Gifts of Love
Gifts & Goodies for Daddy! The girls and I are going on a trip over their Spring Break to visit family, however, Jake is staying home to work. We will miss him greatly and even though he will probably enjoy his few days of peace and quiet we decided to wrap up some special surprises for him to enjoy while we are away. We have a wrapped present for each of the days we are gone. The wrapping paper I choose was a mix of happy smiles and hearts to show him how much he makes us smile and that we love him very much. The presents are a variety of goodies that he likes (I cannot tell you exactly what they are yet because he may read this article).
The girls have also put together several sweet notes for Daddy that they have hidden in various places all over the house for him to find. On their easel is a huge heart that says “I love you Daddy” with a series of little hearts along the bottom. Super cute! They are excited to go on the trip but I am thankful they are thinking about their Daddy who will be staying here. All of the notes they did on their own. They had an idea that I was putting together a couple presents for when we were gone because they were with me on one of the adventures to pick up something for him, but the note idea the girls came up with on their own. Hope he enjoys his special goodies while we are away. What special things do you do for your husband / spouse when you have been apart?
Tips on Flying with Kids
AirTran inflight picture taken earlier this year! I have the opportunity to travel with our girls over Spring Break. Thankfully they are wonderful in the car and LOVE to fly in the airplane. A couple months ago we told the girls that we would be visiting family over Spring Break and they have been looking forward to this week every since that day. After we first told them about our little trip almost every day they would ask me how many days until Spring. It wasn’t until a couple weeks later that I realized that they thought that as soon as Spring arrived they would get a break (aka “Spring Break”) and we could go on our road / flying trip. I had to explain to them that their School Spring Break did not always start on the first day of Spring. They have been counting down the days and have been encouraging me to pack our suitcases. Last week we were coming home from Church and Karlie told me to drive faster, when I asked why she said “we need to get home so we can start packing for our trip.” Even though we were not leaving for several days I let the girls get started. I had them find their travel backpacks and to start laying out a few items that they want to pack in their backpacks. After only a few minutes they had a whole pile of items and they felt better about getting started.
Traveling with kids can be a wonderful and fun adventure. Adding special activities while traveling can make the trip even more exciting and memorable for the kids. When the kids are happy it makes the whole trip go more smoothly. Here are a few items we have used on our trips with the kids:
- Special Backpack – whenever we travel, fly or spend the night somewhere the girls pack their travel backpack full of goodies just for them. They have had the same backpacks for the last 3 to 4 years. It has been a great investment and each girl is thrilled to pack items they enjoy in their own backpack. Plus they proudly carry their treasures through the airport themselves.
- Books – our girls love books so they pick out a couple small books to take in their backpacks. We read the books as we are waiting to board the plane, quietly on the plane or whenever we have some downtime.
- Educational Items – in the backpack we pack a pencil and crayons along with a small notebook, coloring book, and workbooks for them to do on the trip. They enjoy doing “school” work for fun and it makes me feel good about them practicing their writing, numbers or other practical skills.
- Snacks – before a big trip we will take the kids to the grocery store and have them pick out one special treat to take with them as a snack on the plane. For this trip Brina picked out Blueberry Muffins and Karlie picked out 100 Calorie Snack Cookies, makes me laugh and proud to see what they chose this time around!
- Creative Games – on the trip we come up with games to play with the girls
- What shapes / animals / objects do you see in the clouds?
- Name everything you see that is ___________ (red, a circle, silly, etc…)
- Find every word that contains a ____________ in it (a letter or set of letters like any word that contains a “b” in it or “th”)
- Count the number of steps it takes to get to the _______________? (to the terminal, bathroom, seat, baggage claim, etc…)
- What is your favorite __________? (memory, food, color, place to visit, etc…..)
- Card Games – “Go Fish”, “Old Maid”, “Uno”, and more!
- Surprise Gifts – inside the girls backpacks we wrap small gifts for them to open up at random times throughout the trip. Most of the time they are so involved and excited about the adventure that they don’t even open the gifts or only get to 1 or 2. Although, they are quick to remind us once we have arrived at our destination and have fun opening them while we are visiting or vacationing.
- Postcards – are fairly inexpensive souvenirs and the girls enjoy picking out and receiving postcards. They will put them in their special drawer and keep it for many months. They will pull them out and go through them to remember the special trips together.
- Mind Your Manners – discuss appropriate manners, rules and guidelines for traveling (especially in a busy airport). This is important to do at the beginning of the trip. You can even make a game out of it.
- Bright Matching Outfits – dress the kids in bright matching outfits so it is easy to see them in the airport. Even if they are right next to you they are easier to see.
- Gum – when the plane is ascending or descending it is smart to have your kids chew on some gum to help relieve any of the pressure especially if they have a cold or stuffy nose. If you have an infant it would be a good time to give them their pacifier. For a toddler a lollipop or a crunchy snack works well.
- Rest – Allow the kids to sleep on the plane if they want to rest. The girls have taken several naps on airplanes. It gives them an extra boost of energy and helps them relax. One time all three of us took a snooze on the flight, we were exhausted!
Keeping the kids entertained is a great way to make the trip enjoyable. For the parents I have a few more ideas of what to do during the flight to help it go by quickly and smoothly. The girls are excited, however, we are traveling after a full day of school and we’ll us arriving at our destination the early part of the next day. I am looking forward to creating more positive traveling moments with the girls and praying that the trip is smooth for everyone driving, flying, and traveling with us. Do you have any tips for flying with kids?
