The Great Charleston Earthquake of 1886: pictures, stories, facts and quacks on display at the SC State Museum in Columbia

The most destructive earthquake ever recorded in the eastern United States occurred near Charleston at 9:51PM on August 31st, 1886. The quake was felt by two out every three people living in the country! Estimated at a 7.3 magnitude (more powerful than the Haiti earthquake in 2010) the shock lasted about a minute. The following [...]

Beautiful bird encounters while traveling in South Carolina

My favorite thing to do while traveling in South Carolina is to take pictures of wildlife, especially birds. Spotting a bald eagle last December while kayaking in the marsh at Cherry Grove Beach is by far the most cherished bird watching moment. Witnessing a great white egret couple, delicately preparing their nest for the upcoming [...]

Monkeying around the Greenville Zoo, the kids wild fun things to do

The baby is so cute! The most interesting exhibit at the Greenville Zoo featured the Angola Colobus Monkeys. Adanna was born in January 2011, a third successful pregnancy for mother Lami and father Valentino. At birth, a baby Colobus monkey is completely white. It will start changing color after one month. Colobus monkeys are the [...]

Got mill skills? Be a doffer at the Upcountry History Museum in Greenville

Can you doff it? It’s not as easy as it looks. How about doing it over, and over, and over? In late 19th century and early 20th century children worked, sometimes up to 14 hours a day, in hot, lint-filled, and extremely loud textile mills for a meager pay. If that wasn’t enough, in the [...]

Crazy, cool science experiments at Discovery Place, Charlotte fun things to do with kids

On a bed of nails she makes me wait… Some wacky, educational, yet always cool stuff at Discovery Place downtown Charlotte. I love this place! Admission is $12 adults, $10 seniors and $9 children 2-13.

Fun family weekend at Spakleberry Fair in Columbia: cool rides, yummy food and exotic petting zoo

Sparkleberry Fair is the best spring festival in the Midlands. It is held every year the last weekend in April near Sandhills Village and Carolina Children’s Garden in northeast Columbia. Parking is $5, rides are $3-$5 (unlimited rides stamp is $25, excludes bungee jumping and water balls), food items are $4-6, while the petting zoo [...]

Hello Columbia! Most adorable baby baboon is playing at Riverbanks Zoo

“I want to hug her!” my daughter kept yelling. That’s when you know you found cute. C’mon look at these big ears, little pink rump pads and round sparkling eyes! Yara, the baby baboon is the new Hamadryas star at Riverbanks Zoo, which hasn’t had one for over 25 years. While mom Imi and dad [...]

Dolphins swimming at Springmaid pier, free wild things to do in Myrtle Beach

Best things in life are free…amen! Want to watch dolphins swimm in the ocean? Save the $40 or so on dolphin cruises and instead take a stroll on the beach. On my second trip this winter we stayed on the south side of the Grand Strand at historic Springmaid Resort. Once again we were delighted [...]

Middleton Place self guided walking tour photos and travel tips

This year we started our Charleston spring vacation at Middleton Place. It was the fair thing to do, since last year we visited Magnolia Plantation. Middleton Place is more expensive ($25 adults / $5 children 7-15 general admission vs. $15 adults / $10 children 6-12 at Magnolia). They both have beautiful landscaped gardens, history and [...]

Good times roll at the Greensboro Children’s Museum!

My 5 years old daughter loved this place! She made me promise we will come back to Greensboro just so she can play there again… The Greensboro Children’s Museum is located downtown, across from the public library. Admission is only $6 (free for kids under 1), however you can get in for just $3 every [...]