This past week, my family moved my sister and her fiancé to Charleston. After spending New Years' Eve together, we set out on our road trip from Naperville, IL to Charleston, SC. We took three cars and one U-Haul trailer through six states, driving 948 miles over two days. It was a lot of time spent in the car, but so fun. We brought three walkie-talkies so each car was able to communicate with the other two. For anyone going on a road trip - highly recommend bringing them along! We had a wonderful week spending time as a family, while also exploring my sister's new home.
DAY 1: DRIVE TO KNOXVILLE, TN
Itinerary: Leave Naperville and drive straight through to our Knoxville Airbnb. Stops included gas fill-ups and a Chick-fil-A lunch. We made it to our Airbnb by 9:00 - it was stunning! (Tomorrow, I'll give you a complete tour.)
DAY 2: DRIVE TO CHARLESTON, SC
Itinerary: Eat breakfast at OliBea in Knoxville and then drive straight through to our Charleston Airbnb. Stops included gas fill-ups and a Panera Bread lunch. We arrived at our Airbnb, unloaded the cars, and then headed to my sister's new apartment. It is gorgeous! They gave us a complete tour and then we headed out for dinner at King Street Grille.
DAY 3: MOVE INTO THE APARTMENT
Itinerary: Have a quick breakfast at Starbucks and then move into the apartment. We unloaded three cars and a u-haul. Our only hiccup - the elevator breaking down halfway through the move. Thankfully, there were some lovely people who helped us with the rest. Once we were fully unloaded, we went into downtown Charleston. We ate dinner at Poogan's Porch, explored some shops, and had coffee and dessert at Kaminsky's.
DAY 4: UNPACK THE APARTMENT
Itinerary: The goal of the day was to unpack most of the apartment. We were able to eliminate all the boxes, unpack the kitchen, install televisions and internet, and build some furniture. It was a crazy productive day! Once unpacked, we went to Target for some essentials and then to dinner at Steel City Pizza (where I gave Kenneth his going-away gift).
DAY 5: EXPLORE CHARLESTON
Itinerary: Spend the day in downtown Charleston. We had never been (other than dinner two nights prior), so Bethany and Kenneth wanted to show us around their new city. We started out at Saltwater Cowboys for lunch; went to the pier to see the sailboats (and a great view of the water); went on a historic carriage ride through the city; walked around the Charleston City Market (where I found some adorable charms for my bracelet!); walked the famous Rainbow Row; ate dinner at Swig & Swine; shopped at Pepper Palace, where my dad and sister tried some very spicy hot sauce; picked up some fudge and ice cream at The Fudgery; and ended the day with drinks at Gin Joint. We packed a ton into our Saturday, but had the best time seeing Charleston. For our last night as a family, we played Yahtzee before heading to bed.
DAY 6: RETURN HOME
Itinerary: Have coffee with my family in the morning and then head to the airport to fly back to Chicago.
I'm so excited to see where this new adventure takes my sister and her fiancé. Kenneth starts fire academy in a couple of weeks, so they're enjoying the rest of the month settling into their new home. I'm already planning to visit again in March and I can't wait!
Add your comment