Thursday, April 12, 2007





Kiawah Island Spring Break 2007



Views of beach, Ashley River, cemetary ghost tour and Kiawah entrance.












Day 1
Saturday 12 p.m. –Leaving Chicago and 40 Degrees.

We set out on our trek with the two little ones. The car was mightily equipped with leapster, portable DVD player and plenty of snacks. We made it as far as an hour into the trip when discovered that the DVD player did not have the ac adapter to plug into the car. We visited three truck stops before we found an adapter that fit our system. We weren't in the car for more than 5 minutes before High School Musical came blaring through the speakers. That was a good thing because the travel bingo was wearing thin with the oldest. Meanwhile our son felt only inclined to pop a pretzel into his mouth and watch along. Eight hours later we stopped in Clinton, Tennessee at Holiday Inn Express. Our room had a refrigerator! Who knew? That silly discovery was good news for keeping our perishables from biting the dust.

Day 2
Sunday – Onward to Kiawah

We woke up early, did the continental breakfast thing and set out on the road. We proceeded through the picturesque mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina before proceeding on through South Carolina. We finally reached our destination about 3 p.m. We were all relieved to get out of our car and unpack. We took a late afternoon stroll along the beach. The kids as usual had a good time looking for shells and beach treasures. The wife and I capped off the evening having a beverage on the patio with the sounds of the surf in the background. Good to be back.

Day 3
Monday - Golfing/Beach

I spent the day golfing at Shadowmoss golf club in West Ashley. The course is about ½ hour from our villa. The course is pretty decent and the rates are outstanding. I shot my best round that day. (I should have stopped there). The rest of the family went to the beach for sunbathing and sandcastles. We spent the evening dining at Sticky Fingers Barbecue. This is always a must visit when in town so we were only too happy to oblige.

Day 4
Tuesday – Shopping/Dining

We did some walking along the beach in the morning and decided to have lunch at Bessingers in Charleston. This is another barbecue joint that knows their business. After lunch we proceeded to downtown Charleston and walked the Market. The Market has all sorts of knick-knacks for the tourists and locals to peruse. This is also a good place to find the sweet grass baskets. I walked away only down $10 after purchasing a fresh water pearl ring for my daughter.

Day 5
Wednesday – Bicycling/Golfing

We spent the morning doing some island touring via bicycle. The kids really seemed to enjoy the ride. We were able to spot herons and alligators along our travels. My golf companion and I spent Wednesday afternoon at Stono Ferry golf club. This course is also off the island and sits along the inter-coastal waterway. There are nice looking fairways on this course. We usually play this one at least once when we come down. I shot terribly but enjoyed getting out anyway.

Day 6 – More Charleston

We came down to Charleston and had lunch at the Noisy Oyster. The food was good. We took the kids over to the Charleston Confectioner and they went crazy. Our daughter stocked up on what appeared to be a pound or so of salt water taffy. The rest of the stroll was spent visiting all sorts of shops along Market Street and some of the adjoining avenues. The highlight of the evening was doing the cemetery ghost tour. Whether you believe in these stories or not is entirely up to you, but the guides do provide some interesting history to the city of Charleston. We really enjoyed the tour and so did the “no see ums" ( I am referring to the gnats.... not the ghosts!)

Day 7 – Golf and Packing

We set out early for a final round of golf and we were done by noon. We all went to Freshfield’s village for some lunch. We found a toy and candy store that had the “create your own” stuffed animal concept. Needless to say, we came home with a stuffed pink flamingo. We concluded the day by getting a pizza and some she-crab soup (local favorite).

Day 8 - Home to Chicago

Can’t wait to go back!