Mother-Daughter Overnight to Greenville, South Carolina

This is a special post for me because when my daughter is older she will have these words to read and these pictures to look at from our first mother-daughter overnight trip to Greenville, South Carolina. I told my husband that I wanted to take solo trips with the girls as they got older, and I planned to start when they were 5 years old.

After Ryan turned 5, I started thinking about where we would go. We’ve been to Greenville one other time as a family, and we loved it! I remember how much fun Ryan had playing on the rocks at Falls Park on the Reedy, and I figured with it only being a 2-hour drive, it was perfect for our first trip together. I researched a few things beforehand, so I would have a general idea of how things would go, but I wanted to follow her lead too!

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We left our house around 930am and started things off at the Tree House Cafe & Studio in Traveler’s Rest. I knew we wouldn’t be able to check in to our hotel right away, so I planned on having some fun at this cute little art studio first. Y’all- it was perfect! It was filled with all kinds of artwork and had tables scattered throughout. There was a section with small wooden pieces that you could pick from to paint. Ryan and I each chose a mask ($5 each) and then Ryan also picked out a little dog house for Champ (also $5). I grabbed a latte from the cafe and we headed to a cozy spot in the corner. One of the workers gave us each an apron and a plate of paint colors and brushes, and we got to work.

The face masks ended up being a huge hit, which led me to look them up on Amazon when we got home. My girls love to do crafts, so I found these Wooden Masks and these Paper Masks that they can decorate.

Ryan and I chatted back and forth as we painted, and I sat there wishing time would stop. It’s not often that I get one-on-one time with Ryan anymore, and I wanted to soak it all in. Watching her paint, I realized how much she had grown and what an amazing little girl she was. She of course had no idea all the things I was thinking, but I knew the next 24 hours was going to be special.

I ordered lunch, as Ryan finished up painting, and wow – the food was amazing! It was hard for me to choose what to get, as so many things looked good, but I went with the southern peachy chicken with a side of macaroni and cheese. It was delicious! Ryan only wanted a few bites of the macaroni and cheese (she is my picky eater) and then she opted for Chick-Fil-A on the drive to the hotel, lol.

We were able to check into our hotel a couple hours early- I always recommend calling and asking to do this. I booked a room at the AC Hotel Greenville and it was the perfect location downtown! We could walk everywhere, and it was also the closest hotel to the park with all the rocks 🙂

After we dropped off everything in our hotel room, we headed straight for Falls Park on the Reedy. We took our shoes off, and ventured out on the top rocks first. Ryan was having a blast, until we hit the mossy areas (I really can’t believe we didn’t fall in, lol). Then we dried our feet and went down to the bottom rocks to jump around. Besides taking a few pictures, I put my phone away and decided to act like a kid again. As an adult, it’s hard to just play sometimes, but it’s so nice to give your mind a break. I think Ryan could have played here all day, but y’all it was hot. After almost two hours, we decided to make a pitstop back at the hotel to cool down before heading anywhere else. We didn’t make it over to the The Children’s Garden at Linky Stone Park, but it looks like a cute spot. Ryan wanted to keep playing at the rocks, so I decided we could check it out another time.

While we were resting in the hotel, I looked up the menu to a few places I had researched for dinner. I gave Ryan some choices and she told me she wanted macaroni and cheese, strawberries, and salad. Nose Dive looked like a cute spot, and they had all the things she wanted. The pictures looked more on the fancy side, but the prices were good, so we decided to try it out. We got there early (5pm) so we were able to snag a table right along the street! I ordered a caesar salad with shrimp and all the food was great. The service was also really good. When I asked the server if strawberries came in the fruit cup, she told me she would just give her all strawberries 🙂 The last time we stayed in Greenville, we went to Grill Marks for dinner, and I highly recommend it too.

After dinner, we started our walk along Main St. We made our first stop at River Street Sweets. I told Ryan she could grab a bag to fill with candy, but after looking around, she settled on a push pop, lol. Not only did they have barrels of candy, they sold more delicious treats and gelato. We kept walking up to the Mast General Store and went inside to grab some souvenirs. I love looking at all the random things in this store- it’s so fun! Ryan chose a sticker book (which turned out to be the hit of the night), we grabbed some slime for Reagan, juggling balls for daddy, and I chose a whoopee cushion.

Our last stop was to grab some ice cream before heading back to the hotel. Our server from dinner told us to try out Marble Slab Creamery and it was across the street from the Mast General Store. It was really good! I also read about Spill the Beans being a popular place (located right near our hotel and the rocks), but the last time we came to Greenville there was a huge line and it just wasn’t worth it to us. As we walked back to our hotel, someone pointed out a little mouse statue on the edge of the sidewalk. This was part of the scavenger hunt called Mice on Main. I had also read about this, but knew it would take a while and didn’t think Ryan was old enough to really enjoy it. It’s definitely on my list for future visits!

We arrived back at our hotel around 730pm and Ryan was so excited to open her Melissa & Doug Make-a-Face Sticker Pad. Y’all- this book was so fun! We did about half the book at the hotel and Ryan finished the rest at home. She even hung them in her room and continues to switch around their faces. I decided to look for more on Amazon and ordered the Jewelry and Nails Glitter Sticker Pad and the Fashion Diva Create-A-Face Sticker Pad. She loves them!

The next morning, we decided to grab bagel sandwiches for breakfast. We had been to Sully’s Steamers on our last visit and I had to go back it was so good. As we were walking to get our breakfast, we realized there was a huge Saturday Market right on Main Street! I had no idea this would be going on and it was so fun. There were a ton of vendors set up with different things and Ryan loved looking at everything. She asked if we could take pictures of each other, which I thought was so cute. You’ll notice I’m wearing my favorite Black Romper. I knew Ryan was packing hers, so I decided to do a little matching 🙂

We had about an hour before we had to check out of the hotel and Ryan wanted to visit the rocks again (of course). She jumped around while I ate my sandwich, and the weather was gorgeous outside. We also walked across the Liberty Bridge and took pictures of the Wings of the City statue and the Medusa Tree. Ryan and I both wanted to stay another day, but we had to get back to daddy and Reagan.

Our first Mother-Daughter overnight trip was amazing. Ryan was so fun and Greenville is such a beautiful city. Whether you are looking for a one-on-one trip with your child, a family trip, or a girls getaway, Greenville has a lot to offer. I was able to capture this last picture before Ryan woke up. She is the sweetest and I am so grateful to be her mom.