South Carolina Aquarium & Taco Boy

I usually get to brag about the weather here in Charleston but I think February has cured me of that. It seems like we have had enough rain to last all year. For the first time in forever we arrived at Saturday morning with a (long overdue) afternoon absent a massive to-do list. It felt great to announce to the kids that we were headed downtown to the South Carolina Aquarium (expensive- look for coupons- they are out there!) and out to lunch. The kids were like “who are you and what have you done with our parents”? We had a great time and an hour or so into our aquarium visit someone pulled the fire-alarm and the whole place had to be evacuated out into the rain storm. My husband and I found it serendipitous as we were feeling a little peckish and were ready for Toco Boy (more on that later).

Never fear, tickets are good all day so after eating too much and dreaming of a siesta in the sunshine of the Baja Peninsula, we marched back through the rain and spent the rest of the afternoon in the aquarium.

TIP’s

  • For the aquarium visit~ I think you should plan 2-4 hours with a fire alarm/lunch break in the middle.
  • The special presentation schedule probably changes but we were able to catch the 3:00 diver show (diver goes into giant tank and narrates exhibit) and the 4:00 Animal show (they had a live tiny owl for the kids to see and discussed natural habitats and conservation). These were the perfect breaks for mom and dad and my children loved them and learned a lot. So in the front next to admission there is a digital display with the daily schedule~ it’s worth checking out.
  • Toco Boy is my favorite Mexican joint in Charleston – so far. I loved the Guacamole, Taco Al Pastor (Thinly shaved spit-fire pork, roasted pineapple salsa & pickled red onion), and the Mexican street corn.
  • Charleston (the peninsula) is over-run with fried chicken and southern/soul food fusion restaurants, but good ethnic food is terribly under-represented (don’t send hate mail).
  • The South Carolina Aquarium and lunch are a perfect way to kill a rainy Saturday!