Day 4 of our road trip we got up and headed straight to Greenville, South Carolina. It was about a 4 hour drive, but the kids did great. We made it to Brad and Alicia's, got settled in, and then ordered some delicious steamed bagels for lunch. After lunch, we headed to the zoo. It was much smaller than the one in Tennessee, but also very nice! The kids loved being able to explore this one with Auntie Esha & Uncle Brad. Plus, each zoo had different animals.
After the zoo we walked went back to Alicia and Brad house and Alicia read the kids an adorable new book {
Mice on Main} that she got for them and gave them shirts that went along with it. The book is written by a local author and downtown Greenville has these little metal mice along the main street that go along with the book. I'm explaining it terribly, but it's really adorable. If you're around Greenville, you should really check it out. So after the book, we walked downtown and found all of the mice and explored for a while before heading to an
amazing dinner on the patio of The Lazy Goat. We spent the evening watching the sun set in mid 70 degree weather. An outdoor wedding reception was going on just across the river, so we listened to a live band all night. It was definitely perfection.
Doesn't their street look like it's straight out of a movie?
After dinner we went back to the house and had a little birthday celebration that Alicia planned for Jordyn. With the exception of me {not a night owl!} the adults stayed up and played games for a bit before calling it a night.
The next morning we made breakfast and headed to the mountains for a picnic lunch. It's crazy to me that this place is only 45 minutes from Brad and Alicia's house! We ate a picnic lunch and took a short little hike. So peaceful! Next time we take an adult trip to visit, I really want to hike more.
After the hike, we went back to Brad and Alicia's place and and I honestly can't remember the details of the last part of the trip. Sad, I know! This is why you shouldn't wait months after the vacation to blog about it {I can only imagine how spotty the New York trip details will be since that was over 4 months ago!} :(
What I do remember is savoring the time with had with Alicia and Brad. We played soccer in the park across the street from their house {below--isn't is adorable?!} and watched the game at a sports bar downtown {my favorite part of Greenville} and soaked up as much time as possible in their gorgeous weather! It was such a fun trip, I'm SO glad we made the drive. It really wasn't that bad {definitely easier than the drive to Florida, obviously--it's shorter and the kids are a little older} We headed for home around nap time {after a busy morning spent wearing the kids out} which was a great move. The kids napped for a bit, woke up, ate dinner, watched a movie and fell asleep. Since they drive was going so well and the kiddos were sleeping, we decided not to stop in St. Louis like we had previously talked about and instead push forward. We listened to the Cubs game until the wee hours of the morning. It was truly a blessing from God that the game went into 13 innings and kept Adam awake until nearly 3a when we made it back home.
The leaves were starting to turn colors our entire drive home, it was the sweetest surprise! Perfect time of year to be in South Carolina, that's for sure!
Since I foresee us taking many more trips to Greenville, I thought I would include a list of things we want to do next time...
Take a photo on the rocks in the river downtown
Explore the shops downtown
Go ice skating downtown {if it's winter}
Take a real hike
Extend the trip to 4 days
