Five Kid-Friendly Charleston Favorites

This week, we had Mike's family in town.  His sister, cousin, and her three kids made the 14 hour trip from Connecticut for their spring break.  Since I have such a small family, Mike's family has become so important to me: his sister was my Maid of Honor, and his cousin's kids were our flower girl (and goddaughter!) and ushers at our wedding.  It was so nice to have them here, and it gave us the perfect excuse to play tourists in our own city.  What was awesome for us is that these kids love history and national parks!  They've taken road trips all around the country to see different parks and love the kids' programs where they can answer questions and do different activities through the park to earn special "Junior Ranger" badges.  Leading up to their trip, it was fun to think about all the different things we could do, and while they were here, we narrowed our activities down to these five things, which I think are perfect for any family's trip to Charleston!  Happy Five on Friday:

1. Fort Sumter: The boat ride itself was a blast for the kids.  They loved standing outside and getting blown over by the wind.  This park has a great Junior Ranger program, and the kids ran from sign to sign filling out their packets.  They learned a lot, and the views are fantastic!

2. City Market: We initially planned a quick walk through the market after grabbing a slice of pizza and on our way to free candy samples at Charleston Candy Kitchen (pralines - yum!), but the kids loved it so much that we spent nearly an hour there.  They loved all the different vendors, especially the ones with puzzles, stuffed animals, and tee shirts.

3. Waterfront Park: After our free candy, we took a walk over to Vendue Range to check out the water.  The Park has bench swings on the boardwalk and two fountains that kids can play in.  It was a bit cooler, so the kids didn't run through the bigger fountain, but they loved wading in the Pineapple Fountain.

4. Charles Towne Landing: Click here to check out my full post on the Landing, but for the kids, the best parts were the museum (Crazy, right? It's interactive, concise, and colorful - perfect for them.), Animal Forest Trail, Adventure ship, and gift shop!

5. Eat!  While these kids were great sports and loved all the history and experiences, the one thing they are not adventurous with is food.  We wanted to bring Mike's sister and cousin to places with great Charleston fare, but when the kids tend to stick to hot dogs, grilled cheese, and the occasional chicken finger.  Luckily, we found a good number of kid-friendly places: Sesame Burgers, Five Loaves Cafe, Queen Street Grocery, Callie's Hot Little Biscuit, Waffle House, and Poe's Tavern.

And just because, here are five honorable mention spots that we didn't make it to this time, but are definitely on the to-do list for the next trip: South Carolina Aquarium, Magnolia Plantation, Boone Hall Plantation, Children's Museum of the Lowcountry, and Wild Blue Ropes.