Charleston! Downtown + Bee City

We arrived in Charleston on Monday night after two very short, uneventful, on time flights (and a surprisingly enjoyable trip to a random sculpture park in St. Louis before we dropped the car off). This week we’re having a ton of fun staying with my cousin, who has two kids that are close in age to, and get along great with, my kids.

It’s pretty crazy to me that my closest cousin and I had kids that are so close. It makes me very happy, and it’s not lost on me how lucky I am to have it. My cousin and I see so much more of each other as adults because our kids love each other, and my kids get to have a special bond with a set of cousins, just like I had. I just feel really grateful.

Our first day in Charleston we got up late and puttered about. My cousin and I went grocery shopping (I popped my Publix cherry and holy shit was it big), then we had lunch and headed downtown to walk around. We walked along the water, then through the old City Market (which was built hundreds of years ago to sell enslaved people), and then through some picturesque streets and finally though a cemetery (my daughter loved that).

At home we BBQed with my other cousin (he moved to a house down the street from his sister!) and the kids played on the trampoline and chased around the chickens.

Yesterday we went to Bee City Zoo, which used to be an animal rescue/reserve and which still allows guests to feed the animals. The kids has a great time letting lemurs snatch snacks from their hands.

At the end of the visit we went on a “safari,” where they pulled a couple platforms into a giant pen and all the animals came up to visit (and get treats).

Yesterday afternoon we swam in my other cousin’s pool. It was so nice to cool off.

The first two days have been super fun. The perfect mix of memorable activities and downtime with cousins. I’m looking forward to the next three days. This is a great trip.