South Atlantic Trip: Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina

“Sweet Caroline. Good times never seemed so good… so good, so good, so good!” Not quite Carolina, but I can’t help and sing that song when I think about the Carolinas. This was one of the first state tour trips we decided to take. We knew these states offered rich history mixed with beautiful beaches. Plus, this was an area of the country that my husband and I had heard a lot about, but hadn’t yet explored ourselves.

We took this trip in mid-late May, so the weather would be warm enough to enjoy the beaches but mild enough that the Colorado mountain people wouldn’t melt. It was the perfect time to go and we enjoyed pristine weather while there.

We started in Charleston, South Carolina and rented a car to explore the area. We stayed in Charleston for two nights and had enough time to see many things, but if you’ve ever been to this rich, historical city, you know you can easily spend a week. We were able to explore the heart of Charleston and visited Waterfront Park where we watched dolphins playing in the East Bay. We toured Rainbow Row and the City Market, and concluded our day with dinner in the area.

The next morning we took a tour or Fort Sumter. It was fun to ferry out to Fort Sumter and enjoyed learning about the history while the kids earned their Junior Park Ranger badges. After lunch we drove to the Angel Oak tree.

It was other-worldly, in fact, we felt like we had entered a hobbit world or fairy tale. The kids were slightly disappointing that they couldn’t touch or climb on the tree, but it was fun to see nonetheless. From there we went to the Magnolia Plantation and took a tour of the grounds. I wanted to kids to experience the southern landscape and vegetation, and the tour was very informative and enjoyed by us all.

This concluded our tour of the Charleston area. I was disappointed that we missed the Old Slave Mart Museum, because I didn’t realize it was closed on Sunday, the day we had planned to tour. I reminded myself that these trips are meant to expose us to the area and not necessarily see everything. When we come back one day, we will have something new to explore.

After Charleston, we drove to Hilton Head Island for some beach time. This was perfect since the kids wanted a break after two packed days of sightseeing. It is a quick two hour drive from Charleston so we had plenty of time to play on the beach that day. We were having a blast until my sweet 7-year-old stepped on a sting ray and had a bloody foot. He fully enjoyed the attention from the lifeguards, but it did take him out of the sand for the day. We put on lots of ice and enjoyed the resort’s pool instead. Stingray lacerations are impressive! He had quite the slash in his foot, but this is my brave kid and he handled it very well.

The next day we visited Savannah, Georgia which is a short 45 minute drive from Hilton Head. It worked out well so my son could keep his wounded foot out of the sand a little longer. In Savannah we toured Forsyth Park, the historic district and River Street, and the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. After lunch the kids begged to go back to the beach, and who can blame them? This is why we are in Georgia and not Washington D.C. yet. Back to the beach it was! They played until bedtime.

We were sad to leave Hilton Head, but we had more to explore so the next day we drove to Myrtle Beach, S.C., about a 4 hour drive. Once we arrived, it didn’t take long for us to settle in and hit the beach. There were shells to collect and tide pools filled horseshoe crabs to explore. The beach was nice, but nothing could quite compare to Hilton Head. If you have to pick between the two, I’d direct you to Hilton Head, but we played until dark having a blast, because how can you not? That night we went to the best restaurant that is worth mentioning. If you are ever in Myrtle Beach with your kids, you have to take them to Simply Southern Smokehouse. We wanted the kids to try some authentic cuisine, which they did, but the staff there made the night truly special. We still had one more beach day in Myrtle Beach and we absolutely loved it!

In the morning, we set out for North Carolina. We made the 2 hour drive to the cutest little beach town on Carolina Beach. Unfortunately, it was getting close to Memorial Day weekend and we were there with tons of people. We didn’t let it cramp our fun and enjoyed exploring the town’s carnival, ice cream shop, and fireworks on the beach that night. It was our first Memorial Day weekend on a beach and it was really fun…no wonder so many travel to experience it.

The next day we went into historic Wilmington to tour around and enjoy an snow cone on the riverwalk. When we had enjoyed our fill, we set off to our finally destination of Raleigh, North Carolina where we planned to fly home the next day. We arrived in Raleigh with a few hours of day light left and found a wonderful park, Pullen Park. The kids enjoyed the rides and after we found a yummy restaurant to cap off a great trip.