Savannah/Charleston Spring Break Trip - Part IV

 

Our last full day of our Spring Break trip started just 10 minutes away from our Vrbo at the Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. One of the oldest plantations in the South dating from 1679! It’s a beautiful place to wander, take in the scenery, and reflect on the history of plantation life. 

Brock and Kade said they enjoyed the bamboo area the best! 

Spanish moss! 

Photo credit to Kade - he wanted to capture the dragonfly!

Also on the property are five cabins restored to different time periods representing how enslaved people continued to live here - ranging from 1850 to 1900.

What did Brent spot??

That's an alligator!

The Magnolia Plantation is also home to non-releasable animals in their Wildlife Center - animals that cannot be released back into the wild due to injuries or being orphaned too young. 

A much bigger alligator than we saw in the pond! 

Followed by a "baby" alligator (probably 2 years old)! 

We came, we explored, and by the end, we were more than ready for a good lunch and a relaxing afternoon nap.

Riding on our second wind, we got dressed up and headed back into downtown Charleston for dinner. We had a little time to explore South of Broad before our reservation, starting with the Pineapple Fountain along the waterfront.

My handsome boys!

Just a few blocks and we arrived on Rainbow Row!

We made our way down Broad Street and wandered into a fascinating historic cemetery tucked behind St. Michael’s Church. The current church building dates to 1761, but the site is even older as the site of the very first church in Charleston, dating from the 1860's (destroyed by fire). 

Two co-signers of the US Constitution are buried here - John Rutledge and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney.

We enjoyed Steak dinner at the Oak Steakhouse with a very Charleston view! 

The Eason Family all decided we were ready to sleep in our own beds and made the crazy decision to head out after dinner (instead of one more sleep) and so departed at 7:30pm from Charleston, South Carolina, making one coordinated stop at the infamous Buc-ee's Travel Center in Florence, South Carolina (53,000 sq ft travel center with 120 fueling positions!!) and arrived back in Apex, North Carolina right at midnight! 

The trip was memorable learning about Southern history! I know it may not have been the boys’ first choice for spring break - there were definitely a few disappointed comments about not being back in the Dominican Republic - but I think they’ll come to appreciate trips like this just as much (like when they're our age!). There were several moments when they connected what they’ve learned in school to what we were seeing firsthand, which was a neat thing to see! Overall, grateful for all the family time and shared experiences.

Savannah/Charleston Spring Break Trip - Part III

Surprisingly, Savannah and Charleston are a two hour drive apart. With a gap between our Vrbo Check-out/Check-Ins, we had just enough time to stop at the Angel Oak Tree - a huge Live Southern Oak tree estimated to be 400-500 years old. 

I mixed up my numbers on the video - the tree is 28 feet in circumference and 66 feet tall! 

Brent waiting with Moose for his turn to check out the tree. 

This Vrbo was a completely different vibe—set in the suburbs and much more modern. I couldn’t find a three-bedroom, pet-friendly place downtown Charleston that wasn’t triple the price, so this ended up being the best fit. After unpacking and letting Moose explore yet another fenced-in backyard, we headed to the nearby Tanger Outlets for some shopping. Kade, who’s currently obsessed with Columbia, had a great time on a shopping spree with Dad (you’ll spot him in his new green jacket below!).

Our only early morning of the trip had us heading downtown for a 9:30 a.m. departure to Fort Sumter—and Charleston traffic did not make it easy. Brock and Kade picked out these front row seats for the boat ride over to Fort Sumter. 

Busy harbor - a huge container ship passed by! 

Fort Sumter - the site where the American Civil War began on April 12, 1861. 

This is most definitely more Brent's passion and I loved hearing him share his military knowledge with Brock and Kade. 

We worked up quite an appetite after the tour, so we headed to Lewis Barbecue for lunch. Highly, highly recommend! It’s such a cool setup: you order right at the counter while they slice and portion everything in front of you. Brent, Kade, and I went with brisket sandwiches, while Brock opted for pulled pork (North Carolina style actually!).

Look at that meat!!

Found an outside table and enjoyed our spread! We also ordered french fries and a mac & cheese side - everything was delicious!

We headed back to our Vrbo after that amazing meal and all needed a little downtime. Low-key night of pizza and watching basketball was a perfect ending to our day! 

Savannah/Charleston Spring Break Trip - Part II

Savannah offers so many historic house tours, it was hard to choose! Ultimately, I landed on the 1820 built Davenport Home as it was the first project saved by the Historic Savannah Foundation. 

Our guide did a good job explaining what life was like for the Davenport family - and the thirteen enslaved people who lived in the home. 

The home has been thoughtfully restored with an emphasis on authenticity - look at that wallpaper! 

Fireplace mantel detail!

Each Georgia Pine floor plank is over 20' long - spanning the full length of the room!

I found this wallpaper fascinating! We learned there are companies that can recreate custom designs to match historic wallpapers no longer in production.

This is the master bedroom! 

Family photo in the back courtyard of the home. 

After the tour, my suburbanite boys ran off to scare the pigeons and thought it was absolutely hilarious.

This is as close as we ever got to the famous Leopold's Ice Cream. There was a line out the door and down the block every single time we passed this place! 

The next day, we took an Uber to brunch at Little Duck Diner on Cousin Katherin’s recommendation. Brock loved the chocolate chip pancakes and Kade loved his little duck! 

We had a little time before our next scheduled event, so after some shopping, we trekked over to Oglethorpe Avenue, specifically Juliette Gordon Low's birthplace.  Proud Girl Scout of 10 years! 

Brent was looking good in front of the Nathanael Greene Monument.

We cruised the Savannah River aboard the Georgia Queen Riverboat!

Primo seats in the front of the boat meant we had amazing panoramic views! 

(At least for most of us. Brock was happy to be on his own bench)

We found John Wesley (the founder of the Methodist Church) for my Dad! 

(See my Dad was right here in July!)

With Moose holding down the fort, we felt perfectly comfortable leaving the boys at home for a date night out. We enjoyed a delicious Italian dinner at Garibaldi’s in the Historic District, then strolled through City Market to end our last day in Savannah.