Even though I live in vacationland, I still get that rat race feeling in Charleston. Work, family, and juggling a social schedule wipes me out by Friday. What keeps my sanity is easy weekend getaways with the family, and one of my favorite destinations is only 30 minutes away. Kiawah is my happy place. Why should all the visitors and people with vacation homes get to enjoy this beautiful place? Here’s a recap of our wonderful weekend getaway in Kiawah!

We always love to stay at the Andell Inn and bring the dogs. I love that I don’t have to find a puppy sitter for the weekend and the pups like to explore Freshfields Village, especially Dolittle’s.

We love getting bikes from Seacoast Outfitters and cruising around the village and beyond. Mateo opted for the skateboard. I think he was pretty siked to that he can wear adult clothes now from cool stores like Las Olas.

The best part of going to the Andell Inn on the off season is that you get the pool all to yourself. Living in Charleston you can enjoy the pool until late October.

Tres Carmen always has the cutest things in store. They have 3 locations in the Charleston area and their Kiawah store has such a different mix of merchandise from the other 2 stores. I love this Show Me Your Mumu coverup from them.

Who says Wonder Works Toys is just for kids? They’re always getting the hottest new toys and interactive tech products and this Carpool Karaoke microphone is a music lovers dream. You can be just like James Corden and his celebrity passengers and sing your heart out in the car. It hooks up to your bluetooth and super easy to use. No more boring road trips and it’s an activity the whole family can do.

What’s a Shashibo? It’s equal parts origami, magnetism, geometry, creativity and shape shifting. This magnetic puzzle transforms into more than 70 dimensional shapes. Each Shashibo is powered by 36 rare earth magnets. Combine 2 or more Shashibos to build larger shapes and create more possibilities.

If your kids love slime like mine do then they’ll love Pop Snots from Wonder Works Toys. Inside this ooey gooey slime is a surprise little toy.

This was actually my anniversary weekend. 16 blissful years with Gustavo! Even though we had the kids with us, a couple of days with no cooking and cleaning was pretty romantic to us.

God bless my photographer Libby Williams who has the patience and stamina to hang out and photograph the Serrano’s. Photographing kids is not an easy task and she always captures the best moments with my boys.

Whenever I come to Freshfields it’s hard not to eat at my 2 favorite restaurants – Fuji and La Tela. Now that my kids are more adventurous with their cuisine we can enjoy food that we can all appreciate. Both Sebastian and Mateo love ramen and Mateo has really been getting into sushi.

Fuji has the most creative sushi rolls and you won’t find these one of kind bites anywhere in Charleston unless you visit one of their other locations. I obsess over their rolls! The trick is to come with more than a few people so you can sample as much as you can stuff into your mouth.

So if you’re looking to escape but don’t want to be stuck in the car for hours, maximize your time and have a weekend getaway in Kiawah. Be sure to stop by Freshfields Village, too!

All photography by Libby Williams