Play's the thing

For wanderings around historic downtown Charleston, we opted for a self-guided tour (we thought it would be unfair to subject other tourists to a potentially cranky toddler). We hit the highlights — one-time meat-selling center Market Hall, the colorful merchant houses called “Rainbow Row,’’ Charleston Harbor, the Old Slave Mart — in roughly an hour, then stopped for ice cream.

The next day, my sister and brother-in-law returned to Charleston for a romantic dinner at Blossom restaurant on East Bay Street while my parents and I babysat. Two nights later, my parents and I returned for a relaxing meal.