Heading into the colder winter months, while I love the snow, the crisp, bitter bite of the chilly air gets me thinking about warmer weather ahead. Our family usually plans our summer vacation right after the winter holidays, pretty much around this time. Sometimes we do vacations on our own, sometimes we meet up with family and sometimes we meet up with friends! This past summer we took advantage of a great deal on a cozy little sea cabin that I booked to meet up with some friends (and of course their children as well). Even though it's winter right now, you may be like me, looking for your next adventure for this summer! So in that case, I would LOVE to share my experience from this past summer at the Isle of Palms in South Carolina. I should also note, it was my very first vacation alone with just my children...it was a wild ride but we loved every minute!!

This vacation was booked using VRBO which I highly recommend if you're not looking for a hotel room. If you've never used it before, you can check out that site by clicking HERE. When I search for beach vacations, I want to be on the beach...literally. I don't want to drive there and get sand all over my car, let alone, find somewhere to park. Plus, as a parent of younger kids, having a bathroom nearby is key! Ocean front, to me, means I can literally walk out of the entrance of where I'm staying and my feet are in the sand within a matter of seconds. On this aspect, these sea cabins did not disappoint!

I chose to visit the Isle of Palms in South Carolina because I wanted to get close to Charleston but still have plenty of privacy just minutes away from downtown. I wasn't sure what to expect with a rental description of "sea cabins", but I was pleasantly surprised that this place had everything it promised in it's description! I got a beautiful ocean view that was within steps of a beautiful sandy beach. All amenities were equipped with a passcode to ensure access to tenants only, this includes gated beach access, the pool, laundry facility, beach bathrooms and a gorgeous, long board walk.

When we arrived to our sea cabin at the Isle of Palms in South Carolina, I had no idea what to expect. To start, what the heck is a "sea cabin", and going into this fully knowing there is no elevator available, how was the unloading process going to work? In most situations, there is typically more than one adult with children so this isn't as big of an issue as it was for me. However, this time, I wanted to take my children on my own and I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it! We place expectations on ourselves and limit our abilities because it could be hard...but when you open your eyes and allow your children to become valuable members of the family who all pitch in to get a task done, it can be SOOOO rewarding for everyone!

The specific sea cabin I rented was on the 2nd floor and had close access to both the beach and the parking lot. Our spot had a nice balcony to relax on and the view was so worth the work of hauling luggage up one flight of stairs! This unit was quaint and very well laid out. It had one bedroom with a queen bed/tv, one full bathroom, and there were two bunk beds that were uniquely tucked into the hallway which my all my children adored. Obviously for a child, having a bunk bed with a pull curtain for privacy was the highlight of this sea cabin! The kitchen was perfect for the four of us and we had enough space to lounge in the living room as well. The biggest issue we faced in this sea cabin was all the sand. SO. MUCH. SAND. But...when I said I wanted to be "on" the beach, that is exactly what this property gave me...beach availability at a 30 second walk from my unit. 

In Charleston, there were so many amazing things our family did that every single one of us enjoyed! From visiting old historical buildings (remember this is one of the oldest cities in our country!) to tasting all the amazing food (foodies - this is your spot!), we had an action filled vacation that was lovely for our little family and left us wanting more. In fact, by the time we we left, two of my three children were ready to move here permanently, lol! If you choose to make this your vacation spot...there are a  few things that you absolutely must do as a family! I've highlighted a couple tourist attractions below, but in addition, we also loved shopping in downtown Charleston, looking for shark's teeth on random beaches, and the one thing we would have loved to do but ran out of time....was a horse-drawn carriage through downtown!

Provost Dungeon

Ferry to Fort Sumter

Fort Sumter

Provost Dungeon - the infamous pirate, Blackbeard, was held captive here along with several others. This tour was super interesting as we viewed the dungeon and listed to the history that occurred between 1767 - 1771. Above the dungeon are lots of  artifacts, including the setup of a post office during that era that made visual learners like me, truly understand how life was back then.

Ferry to Fort Sumter - the Spirit of Charleston is a ferry boat that takes you to Fort Sumter. The reason I've included this is because you get full historical lesson about what happened at Fort Sumter AND there are over 150 dolphins that frequent these waters (we were lucky enough to see a Mama and baby dolphin swimming together!)

Fort Sumter - a truly humbling experience where you can walk everywhere on the island to soak in the history of what happened on those battlegrounds. From little crawl spaces to huge cannons, this place has it all and the restoration is very well done. Inside the fort, they have the exact flag on display that was surrendered along with a plethora of of other historical goodies to view as you cool off in their museum!

For my family, this experience rated as a 4.5 star family vacation destination! The sea cabins were great on a budget for a family of four (I'm sure there are larger cabins as well), the location couldn't have been more perfect, and the driving distance to Charleston wasn't bad at all (about 20 minutes). There were so many cool things for us to do right out our door step so we didn't have to drive unless we wanted to. There's a boutique strip mall right across from the sea cabins that had a Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop, lots of cute shops for souvenirs, and if you're looking for a Target...it's just a five minute drive down the road.  All in all, this destination was a great experience for my family and I would highly recommend checking it out!

I could write about these family travel experience for days...but pictures tend to do it justice for a quick skim! So many cool moments were captured, including petting a baby shark that was caught off the end of the board walk (don't worry, the shark was thrown back in). We even got to see dolphins swim in a bay while we ate lunch! The sand was wonderful and the atmosphere was highly desirable, although I could have turned down the heat index just a tad! LOL  Enjoy!! 

Cheese!!

Original flag at Fort Sumter

Baby shark caught off the board walk of IOP

Petting the baby shark before throwing it back

Post office setup from 1771

Maintaining my weight loss goals on the go! CLICK HERE TO TRY TRIM TODAY!

Dolphins playing in the bay leading to ocean

Cheesin in front of a military ship

Looking for shells and shark teeth at night

Bridge from IOP to Charleston

Nice big pool (pool house in background)

Inside Fort Sumter

One of my favorite things to do is provide experience reviews and give other families travel ideas to create lasting memories that are good for the soul! 

If you would like to take a look at renting this same condo, you can find it by clicking HERE.