day 5️⃣ of CHARLESTON 🌴☀️⛵️
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□ started the day off early by visiting Boone Hall Plantation & Gardens
□ yes - this is Ally Hamiltons summer home from the Notebook and no - Ryan Gosling was not there waiting for me lol
□ took us about 3.5 hours to get through everything and that includes the house tour, the grounds tour by tractor, walking through the gardens and slave homes, and "lessons" that you could sit in on
□ this property though is 😍 and those Magnolia trees with Spanish moss
□ went back inland to downtown and parked at the parking garage on Garden - Queen street parking garage (pretty cheep)
□ walked many blocks around The Battery, Rainbow Row, the American Theater in The Notebook where Noah & Ally danced in the street, gift shops next to the City Market, got pineapple and mango whip from The Pineapple Hut
□ finished the evening with putt - putt at Frankie's Fun Park (definitely recommend). It was $20 for 2 people of putt - putt, but they also have an arcade, batting cages, food station
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05.23.2024
day 4️⃣ of CHARLESTON 🌴☀️⛵️
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□ the start of the day did not go as planned due to needing much sleep but that's okay, sometimes you just have to go with it
□ take a drive to Sullivan's Island and Isle of Palms
□ these are great areas if you want a beach day
□ parking can be limited as there many beautiful residential homes on these islands
□ two spots I recommend area the Station 22 public access and Thomas Park on Sullivan's Island
□ Sullivan's Island has a good handful of cute coastal shops and places to eat so you could easily spend an afternoon / day here
□ ate dinner off the island at Lewis Barbeque - got the pulled pork BBQ sandwiches, Mac n cheese, tallored French fries (deep fried in beef fat), with a sweet tea of course 😋
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05.22.2024
day 3️⃣ ➡️ CHARLESTON ☀️🌴
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□ we arrived on Tuesday afternoon (the 21st)
□ got a hotel at the Comfort Inn & Suites Airport Convention Center
□ visited the City Market off Market St. & Meeting St.
□ parking garages can be hard to find so we parked at the one located next door to the Grand Bohemian Hotel Charleston then walked around that area
□ take a stroll through the French Quarter - they have many colorful houses to see, places to eat and shops to buy expensive items at lol
□ got some strawberry and Salted Carmel gelato at Tínto Y Crema 😋 👌 - they do offer free samples
□ look up the Pineapple Fountain / Waterfront Park Pier - they have a beautiful park you could walk around and enjoy 🌴☀️⛵️
□ we ended the night by going over the bridge to am on - the - water restaurant called Reds - the shrimp & chips were good, hushpuppy that comes with meal had a little spice kick to it but still good
day 2️⃣ in A S H E V I L L E
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□ hopped back on the day two of the hop on / off trolley tour and got off at the downtown stop 🚎
□ found the Double D's Coffee & Dessert double decker bus - tried the Sunny Day fruit smoothie 😋
□ toured the Biltmore Estate 😍 - I was walking through my Hallmark / Beauty and the Beast dreams. The property was beautiful and you could easily spend more than 3 hours exploring
□ made a MUST stop at The Pretty Place by the YMCA. To best describe this location, it's a chapel up in the mountains where you can see God's beauty and feel His peace. This hot spot is about an hour south of Asheville with MANY twists and turns 🚗 ✝️
□ ended the night by getting a hotel in Simponsville, South Carolina called Quality Inn Simponville - Greenville (Monday 20th / Tuesday 21st)
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05.20.2024
Hello Dutch Village! 🇲🇫
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□ This is called Nelis Dutch Village
□ It is a seasonal attraction off of US 31
□ You can purchase tickets online ahead of time to save a few bucks
□ We spent maybe 2 - 3 hours there, but if you have kiddos, you could definitely spend longer time there
□ They have an ice cream shop and their Salty Carmel was DE-LIC-IOUS 😋🤤
□ It does get busy during the Tulip Festival, but not so busy they had a long wait to get in
Holland MI Tulip Festival 2024 🌷😍☀️
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May 4 - 12, 2024
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We visited Friday May 3rd and came back home later on the 4th but here is our 2025 preview for all you future interested travelers! 🧳✈️🚗🌎
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◇ get to Holland maybe a week or two prior to the festival to see the flowers in Centennial Park without as many people (maybe) and the flowers might not be as dead as many of these were due to early heat
◇ everyone wants to take pictures and videos so be prepared to be annoyed with everyone around you lol
◇ the city offers free parking. Just look for the blue parking flags that say public parking
◇ if you go the day before the festival, they have a "pre-festival" celebration with a Carnival at the end of 8th street and Dutch dancing in the park at select times
◇ the website, Tulip Time, is their main website for all information to their festival
◇ hotels in the area can be expensive so we stayed in Grand Haven, 30 minutes north on US 31 for about $90 per night
◇ all around the area are shops to visit and places to eat, so it is definitely a spot you could spend the day at by itself
