{day 1} in a small city

So you've decided to visit Charleston...GREAT! 

Now, what are you going to do when you get there. 

That's a great question. 

Because of where Charleston is located, we experience all four seasons. We have a HOT summer, a COLD winter, and a pretty mild spring and fall. Honestly, if you were to visit, right about now would be the best time. The weather is typically pretty mild, some sunshine, and the leaves on the mountains (some call them hills...depends on what you're used to) are bursting with gorgeous color. I'm going to do my best to give you a well rounded look at our city, so I'll share things to do throughout the year.

Let's start with those hot, dog-days of summer. 

You could visit one of Charleston's free swimming pools. 

Yes. I said, "free"! It doesn't get much better than that. 

The City of Charleston owns and operates 4 communities centers that are free to the public. Each center has a weight room, small cardio room, rooms available for parties/classes/etc, and a pool. 

Over the summer we took advantage of this several times. Sometimes the pool was really crowded and others times it wasn't. It all depended on the day. 

They even offered swimming lessons this summer. For $10 your child could participate in one week of swimming lessons. The above picture is of Hubs and our littles waiting for their first day of swim lessons this year! 

Honestly, the lessons weren't that helpful. 

G-man was terrified of the instructor (the swim cap is what it was...I think). 

E did well once she warmed up but really learned to swim better as the summer went on.

We really enjoyed taking advantage of these pools this summer. 

All the pools have a baby pool area. The shallow end of the pools are no more than 2.5 feet deep which means Little E can stand! That is a big relief when trying to take 2 littles to the pool when neither can swim very well. She felt so independent being able to touch the bottom of the pool! And I felt comfortable with her swimming basically on her own. 

You can take your own food/coolers which is really helpful for those of us with dietary restrictions. 

Another huge bonus? 

Its free! 

I know I already mentioned that, but any of you tried to take a 3-year-old and less than 1-year-old to the pool? Its hard work. Once you get there and get everyone ready to swim its time for snack and nap! 

My favorite part about it being free was that I didn't feel like I had wasted money when everyone started melting down after we had only been there an hour. We could just pack up and leave without any guilt of wasted money. 

So, next time you're in Charleston (between Memorial Day and Labor Day), check out the free pools! They are definitely worth your time! 

Did you know this is {day 1} in a 31 day series?!?

I'm linking up with The Nester and others in the Write31Days challenge!

Go check out the other blogs and check back here tomorrow for another "day in a small city"