Charleston, SC Days 1 through 3

 
 
 
 

Day 1
Mattias was working on the boat so I took the girls to the Charleston Aquarium today. It was a beautiful setting right on the harbor with a bridge that rivals the Golden Gate in beauty. Sorry the picture doesn't give it justice. We had an enjoyable several hours there, had a bite to eat and then walked to the library just a few blocks away for a little quiet time. Heesook, Christopher and Don showed up there as well and we hung out in the kids section while the kids were busy on the computers and/or reading. We all went back to our boat for a cup of tea and later took the shuttle to the historic area for dinner. We were heading to one Thai restaurant and little did we know that our driver was moving to Thailand to start and orphanage with his wife so he steered us to a place he recommended and we had a delicious meal.
Day 2
It was plantation day today and it was my choice to decide which one to see and I was down to three. I selected Magnolia after reading reviews online, a recommendation from Charles Kuralt in the guide books, and thought it would be a good one for the kids since they had a petting zoo, the variety of tours etc.. After lunch, an informative tram ride, house tour and nature boat tour, we decided that we could have skipped all but lunch and the tram ride! The home itself was a little disappointing but we saw some beautiful gardens and alligators lurking around the lake! This plantation is still run by the family who lived in the home until 1975 and probably does not have the national budget like Middleton or Drayton Hall, my other choices.
We did some grocery shopping, had dinner out and arrived home after 8. Don and Christopher surprised us on the dock and invited us for wine and cheese since they moved their boat to the marina for one night. We got the girls in jammies, popped them in the Burley and motored down the mega dock which is like, "pack a lunch long"! I took a nice picture of the biggest yacht here. You too could own this 19 million dollar beauty if you were the attorney winning the tobacco settlement of a couple of years back. I guess he pocketed $100 million. So, this yacht has fenders taller than Liv, and its own monogrammed golf cart! One of the dock guys says he wants to tell her (the yacht) how beautiful she is since she doesn't get used nearly enough. And apparently, the mega rich owner has her registered in the Bahamas where there is no tax. This attorney ain't no dumb box of rocks!
Day 3
This morning, I took the girls with Heesook and Christopher to the park to burn off some steam. Mattias actually drove us there before he went for errands as long as we still had the rental car. He picked us up and after lunch our family went to the Children's Museum while Mattias continued to work on the boat. He changed the oil and did some other messy things while we were out of the way. Because we lost a day for repairs and errands, we decided tonight to stay an extra day here in Charleston to do and see more before we leave. It is a beautiful city--and there is so much to see and so much history, plus it is miles ahead of Minneapolis/St. Paul in the trend quotient...something I never realized! I'm afraid if we don't take advantage of seeing the sights while we are here now it'll be a century before we get back again!
More later,
Carrie