Things we must do in Charleston, SC

Allworth wrote:
Eat!

Anywhere in particular that we need to eat? Needs to be kid friendly, of course :)

Terryallan wrote:
IMOP. The most important thing would be showing your children the History. After all, Charleston is where the "War Against Northern Aggression" started. Take them To Boone Hall Plantation, just North of Charleston. A still working plantation. Much to be learned.

Ride the boat out to Fort Sumter. Walk along the battery, and historic Charleston, and see the way rich folks lived back in the day.

Don't just look and guess, or go by what you have heard. Look up places so you will know. Like the "Slave Market". Now pretty much a long Flea Market. Is not the area that slaves were bought, and sold. In fact. Slaves ran the "Slave Market", and got to keep much of the profit. The "Ryan's Mart" was the actual site of slave auctions.

And what is the difference between a Graveyard, and Cemetery. To learn as much as possible. Take a Carriage ride, AND do a Ghost walk. It's fun, and informative.

BTW. Don't be a dumb tourist, and pick up the little balls with sticks in them, you see in the street. Those are thrown out to mark where the horse used the bathroom, so the street washers know where to clean.

Thank you for all of this information! I'm homeschooling my son, so this is a perfect opportunity for a great history lesson! We plan to study up on the Civil War prior to our trip! Like I said, I didn't even know where to start on places to go! Thanks again!

:B Cross the river to Mt Pleasant and eat at Red's Ice House on Shem Creek! Great food and atmosphere. Homemade chips and cold adult beverages. Will be there next month at KOA for a small mini-rally

Thank you to everyone!!! My son is quite interested in the Revolutionary War. He also loves learning about WWII. I think the historical points of Charleston will be our best bet! I just didn't even know where to start! I was hoping for a longer stay since there's so much to do and see, but I guess we'll have to come back to see it all. We'll have to do Patriots Point because my son will LOVE it! I'm sure we won't get to see all of it because of his little sister, but some is better than none :) I'd like to do the carriage ride too! And thanks for the tourist tip about the things on the street :)

With 6 and 3 year olds, the Aquarium will keep them occupied. When we went with our Gkids in 2005, they also had a Trolley that will take you downtown to the City Market.

If it were warm, you could have taken them through the fountains at Waterfront Park that spring out of the sidewalk. Also a good place to stand and watch the ships, just what little ones like to do.

Fort Sumter Tour, South Carolina Aquarium

I mostly agree with Pawz4me, but its also true for older folks that can't climb a lot of very steep steps. The Navy doesn't call them "ladders" for nothing. For both of these groups there's a lot to see in the hangar bay and there are elevators for folks that can't do steps, both young and old. One up to the hangar bay and another up to the flight deck.

Just walking around the historic district and looking at all the houses is one of our favorite things. We like Sunday mornings when all the church bells are ringing. We find the graveyards very interesting.

Shop your way through the city market.

Eat.

Drive out to one of the beaches for a few hours.

I will disagree a bit with the others and say that given the ages of your kids, I probably wouldn't spend the money on Patriot's Point. There is a lot of walking and climbing narrow/steep stairs. I doubt your 3-yo would last long, and the 6-yo probably wouldn't last much longer.

IMOP. The most important thing would be showing your children the History. After all, Charleston is where the "War Against Northern Aggression" started. Take them To Boone Hall Plantation, just North of Charleston. A still working plantation. Much to be learned.

Ride the boat out to Fort Sumter. Walk along the battery, and historic Charleston, and see the way rich folks lived back in the day.

Don't just look and guess, or go by what you have heard. Look up places so you will know. Like the "Slave Market". Now pretty much a long Flea Market. Is not the area that slaves were bought, and sold. In fact. Slaves ran the "Slave Market", and got to keep much of the profit. The "Ryan's Mart" was the actual site of slave auctions.

And what is the difference between a Graveyard, and Cemetery. To learn as much as possible. Take a Carriage ride, AND do a Ghost walk. It's fun, and informative.

BTW. Don't be a dumb tourist, and pick up the little balls with sticks in them, you see in the street. Those are thrown out to mark where the horse used the bathroom, so the street washers know where to clean.

Patriot's Point is a must see. They've expanded since I was there last. They now have a mockup of a Viet Nam Naval Support Base, complete with a patrol boat, and several Viet Nam era planes. I spent a couple years on Yorktown's sister ship, the Lexington, now a museum in Corpus Christi, TX. Not many WWII Carriers left.