Totality!: Congaree National Park and Newberry, SC, for the Great American Eclipse

A reasonably close by total solar eclipse?  Well, that is a definite reason for a E and K road trip!  We took off for upstate South Carolina, visiting Congaree National Park along the way.

Congaree National Park was a great destination.  E quickly gave it five stars for a wonderfully easy-and-interesting hike along its boardwalk, affording outstanding glimpses of old cypress trees, cypress "knees," golden orb spiders, and other natural delights.  K finds "swamps" fascinating, and this was no exception.  There's a small visitor's center, decked out for the eclipse on our visit, with interpretive exhibits that highlight the conservation of the area in particular.  From the center, it's easy to catch a brief interpretive hike that will get you started with a rich experience on the boardwalk.  This is another fine park site for Every Kid in a Park--the boardwalk loop trail is easy to take with kids, and the Junior Ranger badge tasks are accessible and interesting.  

As the highlight of our trip, we enjoyed totality for the 2017 Great American Eclipse in the small South Carolina town of Newberry for Newberry Eclipse Fest.  Newberry itself is a nifty treasure of a town--and truly extremely friendly.  The residents did a fabulous job making sure everything was prepared and safe for a ton of visitors, and they set a great tone in being exceedingly welcoming to visitors.  We met great people from Maryland, New Jersey, and South Carolina; supported a fundraiser lemonade stand; spent a ton of time in festival bounce houses (well, E did); got a book signed by an astronaut; and generally hung out in a great, safe atmosphere.  We'd highly recommend your any day visit to Newberry--they have a beautiful opera house that hosts an impressive performance series spanning bluegrass to contemporary "circus-style" acrobatics.  They are also delightfully close to various National Park Service sites and other natural and cultural treasures, including being about a half-hour from Ninety Six National Historic Site (a Revolutionary War site) and locally-recommended Musgrove Mill State Historic Site (also a Revolutionary War site).  Really, Newberry is not that far from Greenville, SC, either.  In short, Newberry fully impressed us, and we will be back. (For photos of the eclipse in Newberry, click here and check out their Facebook pages for both the town and the Eclipse Fest.)

If you go out Eclipse-ing in 2024 (or at any other point), E and I would highly recommend heading for totality.  We'd been told our hometown Roanoke, VA, would be much darker than it really was, and we were so pleased with our decision to "move to totality."  Definitely consider planning to be at a well-interpreted National Park Service site and/or in a small town, and keep a special eye to where the NASA folks are--they, unsurprisingly, know what they are doing when it comes to celestial events.  Book early and take more than one set of eclipse glasses per person--you can share them or have a spare if you get a scratch.  Expect lots of roller-coaster style screaming during totality--it really is spectacular and awe-inspiring, creating diamonds in the sky.  Do bring a generous spirit for crowds, a full tank of gas, food and drinks you can keep with you in your car, and similar "think ahead" travel provisions.  Trust us, it will all be worth it.

Yorktown, Virginia: The Revolutionary Experiment

Yorktown, Virginia--well, it can be a little overlooked.  Part of America's Historic Triangle, it previously hadn't seen the "updates" to visitor spaces and museums of nearby Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown.  However, a major renovation resulted in the newly-revitalized American Revolution Museum at Yorktown.  Not to be confused with a similarly-named museum in Philadelphia, this site updates the museum space that contextualizes the last battle of the American Revolutionary War.

The museum does do a bit of "dazzing" as indicated in its promo materials--there's a video with multi-dimension effects, multiple exhibits that make use of touch screens to provide different perspectives and data, and kid-oriented hands-on components that intrigue younger and older visitors alike.  The changing exhibit space is large and currently contains AfterWARd, an exhibit about what happened to various revolutionary figures after the war (and yes, it includes Alexander Hamilton). There's also an outdoor living history area where one can visit a small Virginia farm and see artillery demonstrations.  There are not, however, a ton of artifacts on display in the museum; this space is designed in a more open, less busy contemporary style.  However, we Haltermans missed more artifacts and more related signage--that is still something we enjoy.  We will still recommend your visit, forgiving some points of weaker interpretation in favor of the overall importance of Yorktown.  While visiting the museum, your experience will be enriched if you pay close attention to the photographs--there are some common individuals that figure in several exhibits if you are paying attention.

The nearby National Parks Service Yorktown Battlefield Park is worth your time as well--and the nominal entry fee.  In the visitor's center, check out George Washington's actual tents from the Revolutionary War, as well as the kid-famous walk-through "boat."  On the battlefield, the cannons are unique.  And in the town?  Visit the Thomas Nelson House and Grace Episcopal Church.  We passed by a guided tour, which appeared to be quite well-interpreted.  Engage the staff in chatting about the role of the Nelson House(s) and Cornwallis Cave--like many historic sites, Yorktown has its share of real history and myth.  There's even a ghost tour we'll have to take in someday.  For more on our previous adventures in this park, including the Moore House, click here.

If you go, know that the American Revolution Museum as well as the nearby National Park Service site provide ample free parking.  There are walking paths between the sites that are reasonably easy to access and that also connect you to Riverwalk Landing and the Yorktown Waterfront.  The living history area at the American Revolution Museum is gated, making it a great place for a trip with kids. In the busy and hot summer, consider starting your visit early in the day and making the museum area your air conditioned destination for last.  A family could easily make a day of Yorktown, especially with a picnic.  There are restaurants on the waterfront that are lovely--but there are not a ton of super-casual, hot-day, just-grab-a-bite family options.

Several friends have asked us about our lodging on this trip--we stayed in Colonial Williamsburg at the Colonial Houses.  This was a great experience that was paradoxically both quaint and luxurious, an excellent choice for a couples weekend.  We secured a nice rate on Hotels.com.  Do ask questions upon reservation, especially if you are looking for particular accessibility features.  Staying in the Houses comes with nice perks associated with the Inn at Colonial Williamsburg and affords you the opportunity to say you've stayed at an Historic Hotels of America property.

Contained Kid Fun: Great Wolf Lodge

In an unusual turn of events, E and his sitter/our family friend A got an opportunity to take in Williamsburg, Virginia's Great Wolf Lodge this summer!  Great Wolf is simply kid legendary in the area--E was thrilled and gave it two thumbs up.  The lodge itself is convenient to I-64 in the Williamsburg area, which also makes a fabulous excuse for visiting Colonial Williamsburg and other great area attractions including but not limited to Jamestown, Yorktown, the Virginia Living Museum, and the US Army Transportation Museum.  We opted to have E and A enjoy a total in-resort two days (really a half day, full day, and a half day) to take full advantage of the water park, however, on their trip.

E had a lot of fun in the water park area, which is nicely contained and thoroughly supervised.  It was a bit smaller than we expected, and the more grown up slides, which are basically all enclosed, had a clear element of mystery about them.  If you can, go sliding with friends and family after dark--there are many options for tandem/group slides and some unique lighting in the slide tubes.  The lazy river and the wave pool are also winners, being reasonable places to relax.  Do, however, expect sensory overload--it's a noisy, busy place.  Other places where you can get a dose of sensory overload include the sprayground water playground in the center of the park.  You will get seriously drenched here, and you will do serious climbing as well--consider water shoes if your feet are sensitive.  Other items we enjoyed included the water obstacle course, which is more difficult than it looks but which E navigated with skill.

If you go, know the resort area can definitely keep kids busy for at least a day or two, particularly if they have a friend present.  We'd recommend taking full advantage of the indoor water park, but summer travelers should know there are not a lot of water features outside.  E also recommends MagiQuest and thinks it's cool you can keep your wand for playing at other sites.  If you already have a wand, consider bringing it along for potential cost savings for your MagiQuest play.  Take a look at various packages offered for activities--and know you can trade passes between kids.  Not every kid is going to want to do every activity (and we judged some overpriced), so take a good look at the resort layout itself.  Also, consider toting your food in from the very nearby Walmart for a cost savings.  And adults, the play areas of this resort can get loud--bring some quiet activities for the kids to chill with in your room (some nice board games or something) so they can get away a bit every now and again.  Other items you may wish to be aware of: life jackets are available, everyone wears digitized room keys that are plastic bracelets (and to which you can load funds for incidentals), the resort grounds are quite large (expect long hallway walks), there are long lines at peak check-in times in the lobby, and there are a handful of casual restaurants including Pierce's Pitt BBQ really nearby if you wish to leave the resort and sit down and eat as well.