Charleston Vacation

A few weeks ago, our little family of 3 went on vacation to Charleston, SC. I've been DYING to go, and was so thankful we were able to make it a reality this summer. This is the first family vacation we've ever been on as just the 3 of us. In fact, Kota and I hadn't been on vacation alone since our honeymoon! lol

So after working all weekend, they picked me up from work on a Monday morning and we set out. The car ride wasn't too fun. Peylee did pretty well overall, but definitely had her moments of being completely over it. I was trying to sleep since I'd worked all night, but she kept screaming if I wasn't in the backseat with her.

We made good time on the way there, though! We finally made it in the early afternoon and got all settled into our hotel, then hit the beach! We stayed on Isle of Palms, which is about a 20 minute drive into downtown Charleston.

Peylee LOVED the ocean! She took off for the water as soon as we sat her down. She just squatted down and watched the waves coming in over her toes for the longest time.

After leaving the beach and showering, we walked down the street to get some ice cream, then hit the bed early! We were all exhausted!

This was the view from our hotel! SO beautiful!

On Tuesday morning, we got up and headed out for the day. Our first stop was Vintage Coffee Cafe for breakfast. Not only was it the cutest little place ever, their granola bowl and iced chai latte were SO yummy! I wish I could go there every morning for breakfast! lol

How cute was my little breakfast date?!

After breakfast, we drove to see the famous Angel Oak Tree that's like 400 years old! It was massive and so beautiful!

From there, we headed downtown for some shopping and sight seeing on King Street! Some of the stores I was really looking forward to going to were still closed due to Covid, and some even had For Lease signs in the windows. We were required to wear masks in every store.

But the stores were literally SO cute! We didn't buy anything other than 2 bows for Peylee lol, but it was still fun just walking around. (It was also EXTREMELY hot and humid!)

We wore poor Peylee out, so after letting her nap and eating some lunch, we headed to the aquarium to do something fun for her!

She loves the fishies!

Outside the aquarium were the prettiest views of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge over the harbor.

If you talk to Kota about our trip, you're sure to hear about how many bridges we drove over! lol

We left downtown after the aquarium, and found a Tanger Outlets to do more shopping! We definitely made up for our lack of spending earlier in the day there! lol

We finally headed back towards Isle of Palms, but stopped in Mt. Pleasant at Coastal Crust for dinner. This cute little pizza place is right behind Vintage Coffee Cafe (where we had breakfast), and it was also super yummy!

AND SO CUTE!!

This picture just really cracks me up! She was pinching him, but just look at that face!

After dinner, we hit the pool so pool so Peylee could burn off some energy after being in the stroller all day. We ended night number two with ice cream as well!

On day 3, we slept in then hit the beach until it was nap time!

Peylee liked the sand a little more on this day (she wasn't too sure about it the first night), and she enjoyed knocking over all the sand castles Mama built for her!

This girl did not sit still for long, though! She's so friendly! Which is so sweet, but also exhausting! lol She ran around to everyone near us waving, and just plopping down beside whoever she wanted. She also tried to steal a few shoes! Haha

Kota and I determined we're not going to ever have to worry about sending her to school or making friends!

We stayed out until she couldn't take it anymore, then we headed back to the room so she could take a nap. Her daddy laid in bed with her, so I snuck out for a break to lay in the sun and do some reading!

Beach freckles are a real thing over here lol

After Peylee woke up and we all got showered, we headed out for a late lunch at Red's Ice House on Shem Creek. Kota definitely got his seafood fix! Peylee and I shared some chicken tenders and fries, but we all really enjoyed it!

After lunch, we walked along the boardwalk on Shem Creek. Fun fact for any fellow Outer Banks lovers, Shem Creek is where they filmed majority of the boating scenes!

The marsh is so pretty!

We were hot and sweaty after our walk in the 95 degree heat, so we went on an adventure over to Folly Beach to find the Pineapple Hut for some yummy pineapple whip! It tasted just like the dole whip we had in Hawaii, and was delicious!

We drove back to our hotel, got changed, and headed over to the public access part of the beach for some family pics. Just as we got there, it started raining! Ugh! So we had to work quickly, and it was not enjoyable trying to set up my tripod and camera in the rain! I kept stepping on those stupid little poky things that are on the beach with my bare feet! It was quite the experience, but we got at least a few keepers!

This is going on a canvas in our newly renovated master bedroom! It just needs a little photoshop work first, because the beach hates my hair lol

We headed back to our room, got changed out of our wet clothes, then walked right next door to Papi's Taqueria for takeout dinner. Y'all, if you ever go to Charleston, you NEED to make a stop at Papi's! It was SO good! Their queso is YUM!

Peylee enjoyed her cheese quesadilla and curly fries! lol

Not long after dinner, we headed for bed!

We started off our fourth and final day touring the gardens at Magnolia Plantation.

It was seriously straight out of a movie and SO BEAUTIFUL!

All of my Spanish Moss loving dreams come true.

Forever wishing this is what my driveways looks like.

UGH I'm OBSESSED!!

Mom duty called lol had to give the camera to hubby

Needed one more on this bridge! [heart eyes]

Straight out of a movie, am I right?!

Mom duty called again! haha

Look at this sweet little cutie butt! She was seriously so good and happy riding around in her stroller all week.

After the garden tour, we went over to the petting zoo to check out all the fun animals!

She thought she wanted to pet the goat after watching other people do it, but changed her mind when she got close lol look at that grip on her Daddy's shirt!

She didn't mind the deer so much, but they were behind a fence ;)

After we left the Magnolia Plantation, we headed downtown to see the Pineapple Fountain and Rainbow Row!

I could definitely live here!!

This blue house was my favorite!

This picture cracks me up lol she was so happy to be out and walking!

Not sure what she was making that face at! lol

Can't get over these houses! Could you imagine living here?!

And the cobble stone streets! [heart eyes]

We left downtown, grabbed lunch, went back to the hotel to change, then headed to take some more family photos. We went to a park so we could do some under Spanish moss covered trees, but once we got to the park the city police had it closed off due to the recent rioting. BUMMER! So we attempted beach photos for a second time since it wasn't raining lol

This is my new favorite pic of them!

This was the best we got of the 3 of us! haha once again beach vs. my hair [facepalm]

Doing your own family photos is not an easy task for sure! This is why you hire someone ;)

My sweet little mini!

Obsessed with her and this romper!

Hahaha my favorite! She was mad at me because she picked something up out of the sand and put it in her mouth so I swiped it out. You can still see a speck of whatever it was next to her bottom lip lol

After pictures, we headed out to play some more in the water!

She made another friend! lol

This little girl was so cute. Her mom told her they had to go, and she said "But Mom! I wanna play with this baby! She's SO CUTE!"

The way she said it reminded me of the little girl on Despicable Me saying "It's SO FLUFFY!" hahaha

She didn't wanna leave!!

We left the beach, started packing everything up, went out to grab dinner, and went to bed.

We headed out Friday morning after making a second trip to Vintage Coffee Cafe (yes, its THAT good!).

The ride back was honestly terrible lol

It only took us about 7 hours on the way there, but on the way home it took over 10. We got stuck in standstill traffic 3 different times, Peylee had TWO, yes TWO poopy blowouts that went through her clothes all over her carseat, and she screamed for like the last 3 hours because she was so ready to be out of the carseat.

We finally made it home, then I had to get ready and go to work all night. It was miserable!

Other than the ride home, we really had a great trip. It wasn't a very long vacation, but we sure did A LOT! I absolutely loved Charleston and definitely hope to visit again! (just probably not in the summer) lol

Also, have to give a shoutout to Hope Taylor (@hopetaylorphotography). She's a photographer that lives in Charleston, and a lot of the things we did were inspired by her guide to Charleston blog! If you're planning a trip here, you should definitely check her out!