Thanksgiving in Charleston, SC

We just returned from a wonderful family vacation to Charleston, SC to visit Kari, JB, and the sweet little Avery Ann. We were joined by Alysa and Anders, so it was a great time of seeing Kyle's siblings and their families! I will attempt here to capture the highlights of the trip, although understand that no blog post is going to adequately capture the experience. Another note, Kari, JB and Avery technically live in Mount Pleasant, SC, which is within Charleston County.

We arrived on Sunday, 11/20, in the early afternoon. Our plane left GR at 8:00 AM so it was an early start to the day for us, but it was great to be there in time for Kaleb's normal nap schedule. JB had been traveling for work the week before, so we actually met up with him in the Detroit airport and we were all on the same flight to SC where Kari and Avery were waiting to pick us up. After Kaleb's nap we went out to Shem Creek Park and walked to the end of the boardwalk, where we got to see a gorgeous sunset. That night we had dinner at a local spot right near Shem Creek. Kari says in the summer time it is "poppin'" (her term, which the guys jumped all over teasing her for) and I could see why. We got to sit out on a deck right on the water, and the food and drink menu seemed perfect for after a day of adventure in the SC sun!

On Monday morning, Kari took us to Palmetto Island County Park which was quite possibly the coolest park I have ever been to (sorry, Seidman, but this place had palm trees and playgrounds!). The playground areas were massive and Kaleb went crazy climbing and sliding until he was completely exhausted. The boardwalks and walking paths were beautiful. We climbed up a 50-foot observation tower to enjoy a great view, Kaleb loved climbing all those stairs and also had a blast playing in the really long tunnel slide. We stopped by the water for a picnic lunch that Kari had packed us, and then she took Kaleb down by the water to cool off his feet while I got to hang out with Avery. Then it was back to the house for nap, and after nap Alysa and Anders arrived from Maine so we spent the evening catching up with them. Kari served a yummy home cooked dinner of enchiladas with fresh tomato and avocado.

Tuesday, the temps were in the upper 70's and we took full advantage by heading to the beach in Isle of Palms. It was pretty sweet to be at the beach the same week as Thanksgiving! Kaleb was in heaven playing in the sand and water, Avery was happy and grinning away in her stroller, and the adults thoroughly enjoyed a beautiful morning walk and play on the beach! We had lunch in town and then headed back home. Kyle went on a work meeting with JB at 3:00, and the rest of us went and walked the Historic Charleston City Market, which is 4 blocks of open air buildings filled with vendors selling everything from homemade sweetgrass baskets (which Charleston is well known for) to paintings and spices and scarves and jewelry. It's probably just as well that I had forgotten to get cash before we went, since I would have impulse shopped a ton! We did pick up a sack of stone ground grits to make for dinner. Kyle and JB met us after their work meeting and we all took a walk along the waterfront, then had dinner out (on the waterfront again, we really took advantage of that!), then made our way back home.

Wednesday morning was filled with a walking tour of historic Charleston, guided by our gracious hostesses, Kari and Avery. We walked along the waterfront of Charleston Harbor, toured Battery Park, and walked through the residential area where we saw a lot of really cool historic homes. After lunch at home and a nap for Kaleb, we were beach bound again! Kaleb worked with Kyle, Anders, and JB to build his first official sandcastle. When we asked him what it was he told us it was a Pancake Dinosaur with Syrup on Top. Quite the imagination! That night we had a homecooked southern specialty dinner. Alysa made creamy grits and collard greens and Kari sauteed some fresh shrimp. We got to eat together on the screened porch. After dinner was put away, we got to work on prepping dishes for Thanksgiving dinner the next day. It was fun to spend time with family in the kitchen!

Thursday was the big feast day. We attempted a return trip to Palmetto Island County Park, only to find it closed for the holiday. Since we had promised Kaleb fun on the slides, Kari and JB re-routed us to another park with slides that Kaleb found more than adequate :) Upon return home, it was time for Kyle, Anders, and JB to begin assembling the deep fryer purchased for the turkey while the rest of us worked on pulling together the sides and appetizers. Dinner came together beautifully, the turkey was deep fried without incident, and all the food was delicious! We were joined by JB's mom and grandma for dinner and it was a great time of good food and good company.

On Friday morning, we saw Alysa and Anders off on their journey back home to Maine. Then we went to Patriot's Point where we walked the docks of the marina and saw lots and lots of boats, a big hit for Kaleb! Our flight home departed at 5:00 so we got Kaleb down for his nap, packed everything up, then tried to go get sushi for Kyle. No luck on the sushi, everything was closed for the holidays. However, we went to a different restaurant for lunch and then got to the airport in plenty of time for our flight.

As we sat in the plane waiting for take-off we were informed that there was a mechanical issue with the radio communicating with the tower, and we had to wait for it to be fixed. The wait meant we would miss our connecting flight in Detroit. So, we got a bonus night of vacation. Kari came back to the airport to pick us up, we rented a movie, and had a quite night in. Our flight was re-booked for this morning (Saturday) at 9:00 AM. Kari brought us back to the airport and this time we traveled incident free all the way home to Grand Rapids.

The trip was everything we hoped it would be and then some. Kari was an astounding hostess, she even had chocolates on our pillows when we arrived, area brochures on our dresser, and a hand painted card (by Kari) welcoming Kaleb! We got to experience all kinds of beautiful and exciting things around Charleston, and got to do so with family which is priceless. Kaleb did great on his first plane ride, with only a 5 minute mini-meltdown on the way there when he wanted to get down and play. We got to meet and spend quality time with the lovely Avery, and at such a fun age (4 months) she was full of smiles and sunshine. It is clear that she is a secure, loved, happy, and extremely well cared for little girl.

Now we get to look forward to Kari, JB, and Avery traveling up here for Christmas. It made saying "bye" a lot easier knowing it was only for a month!