We took our summer trip this year to Charleston. It was baby's first vacation. Her first weeklong trip where there were sights to see! This is the house (a little carriage house behind a larger residence) where we stayed. It was in Historic Charleston - so close to all the things we wanted to see and do. We got to walk everywhere - and baby got to ride in her new stroller!
Baby did great! She loved rolling around town, along the cobblestone and uneven sidewalks. She loves the bumps! She even did great napping and eating, pretty much staying on her schedule, which made the vacation much more enjoyable for all! It was nice to have the house - with a kitchen for lunches and snacks - and doors for nap times! And it was great to have a place to come back to during the middle of the day. Charleston is HOT. And while we were there, they had record heat. Even our rental owner said that it was extraordinarily hot. The heat index was unbelievable. So having a place we could relax and hang out and cool off was a blessing!
Whenever we go on vacation now, I love to see water. I love the water! Not necessarily the beach, but water. And being on the coast in Charleston was beautiful. In a different way than I have really seen and enjoyed before. This is the Arther Ravenel Bridge. We saw it from a distance - and even walked it for a little bit (on a pedestrian track that is on it). But the breeze did not balance the heat. So we headed on to the beach. It was baby's first time to the beach. She was not impressed with the itchy, weird-feeling sand when she crawled on it. She did NOT like the water when we dipped her feet in. But she did enjoy watching the kids play on the shore.
We did some walking around the Historic area - the old beautiful homes. It's amazing that all these homes are still there, and taken such good care of. What I noticed about Charleston is that they treasure the old. In most places, new is better. But in Charleston - older is better. And if you are going to build something new, you have to make it look old. It so good to see the preservation of beauty and history. One thing I did notice that the houses are big - and tall - and the road are quite small. Hard to take pictures, which results in weird angles of homes. And these are people's houses. Places that they just call home. So I also wanted to respect that too. How strange to have people reading the plaque on your house - about it's history - and then take a picture of your house. Guess that comes with the historical territory.
We passed this park everyday - heading to all the eating, shopping and sightseeing. We walked by mainly in the mid-morning (heading back to the house) or in the evening (heading out to eat). This picture does not capture the beauty of the setting sun - its colors and shadows that it was casting. There was beauty in buildings and structures, beauty in nature - and beauty when they came together.
