Are you looking in Charleston only or will you be travelling throughout the Southeast?

Chimiler2 appears to have the correct attitute toward beach weather.

I looked at the peaches thread but couldn't think of a peach shed near the interstate. As you come through Spartanburg county on 26, perhaps you could look for signs...Spartanburg county is (or was) the largest peach producing county in the US. (My Mom walks across the street to pick peaches for me so I don't know much about sheds!)

For BBQ, i understand that a place called Sweatman's is the bomb. Check out Chowhound.com , the South board, and search for threads about BBQ. I don't think it's right on I26, but I don't think it's far off...somewhere maybe 45 minutes before you get to Charleston.

And to Maureen...I'd go w/ McCrady's for "cool". In my opinion, many of the restaurants commonly recommended (Magnolia,SNOB,Poogans have menus that are rife w/ trite "southernisms". Please no flaming, just my humble opinion) Or, again, check CHowhound.com for details on going to a hole in the wall called, I think, Bowen's Island for oysters.

Well, Slightly North of Broad is a fine dining restaurant that is kid friendly. Or you could just visit for a romantic evening,its one you won't want to miss

We are also vacationing on Kiawah, but the week of August 21st. We live in Richmond, Va, is the weather in Charleston that different from Richmond in August?

Having visited Kiawah every summer for the last 25 years please don't fret about the heat. I started visiting with my family when I was a child and now take my son. Some good suggestions with kids: Hit Charleston in the early morning if you'd like to walk around and see the houses, etc. or the late afternoon. There's a terrific fountain that kids play in every day near the east end of Vendue at the park near the swings. If you bring swimsuits for the kids they can play and cool off for a while before lunch or heading back to the island. The beach also works well if you go when the tots first get up, spend the morning, head back to the room/condo for a late lunch then ours always took naps - leaving a little adult reading/relaxing time. You can hit the beach again in the late afternoon/early evening and avoid the strong midday sun. Picnics on the beach are nice, too. You could pick up sandwiches and all from the Market at East Beach or the General Store.

I loved the first post about Angel Oak. We take our kids there every year for the annual photo 'in' the tree. It's HUGE and as we go to Kiawah every year it's become a tradition to stop.

SNOB has always been accomodating with kids, though I've only taken mine for lunch or an early dinner. We had a couple of the kids share their burger as I don't remember them having a specific children's menu. Every time we've been there with kids they've brought a fruit platter to keep them busy until the food arrived. Close to Kiawah you could try Rosebank Farms Cafe for lunch - it's a boisterous family-friendly place. My mom loves their fried green tomatoes. Dinner is a bit pricey. One note - Chez Fish near Kiawah is not little-kid-friendly.

The Nature Center at Night Heron Park is great for kids to look around - they have lots of live animals there - and naturalists on staff. Most of the nature tours are arranged through the office there. If the adults are taking turns doing something without the kids, any of the kayak tours are great. I really enjoyed the sunrise one on the Kiawah River. You can also rent bikes on the island with child seats. They'll provide you with helmets for the kids. The Aquarium is fantastic...but with only four days I'd use that if there is inclement weather.

The suggestions about restaurants are good ones. I never would have recommended Hyman's before this Easter, but I was conned into going and had a really good meal. Their hush puppies are great. It is 'touristy' and kitchy but we had a good time for a casual meal with 3 kids in tow.

For local cuisine, I'd have shrimp and grits and she-crab soup. I've never had Frogmore stew, though it is local. Jestine's (on King)is a southern diner that serves collard greens, corn bread, etc.

Oh, and peaches...the best I ever had I bought at a farm stand in North Carolina on our way down to SC. We got off 77 north of Lake Norman, went west, then south on the road that borders the lake. It will connect you back up with 77 in Charlotte. The stand/market was near Denver, NC. There are lots in that aread. We bought a peck and enjoyed them the whole time we were on vacation.

This is great. I haven't check this site for the last week and its filled with some great info. Thanks everyone.

Litespeed Chick -- should I take my own bike to rent one? I'm guessing you are a cyclist. Not sure what the roads are like or the if the rental bikes are more than just cruisers. I read that the island has 35 miles of bike trails. I presume they are paved, which is ok. Any off road trails?

dsgmi -- great advise. I like your plan to avoid the mid day sun. We did this when we were down in the Florida Keys and it seemed to work. I'll add your food picks to the list. I'll also see what info I can find on Heron Park. The kids would probably love it.

Over at Kiawah are the beaches at all shaded or pretty much sand dune like? Would one of those tent like sun shades work or would it pick up and blow away after 15 minutes?

Sorry, I can't help much with riding on Kiawah. I've never been on the island, always stay on IOP or Folly.

I would bet it will be like Hilton Head...cruisers for rent on the beach and mountain bikes for rent to ride the paved bike paths(but of course that's pure conjecture). I have never had much luck finding any place to mountain bike in the lowcountry. Too flat, too sandy, to many snakes.

As far as road riding, that's been tough, too. The geography (islands, creeks, etc.) means there are few roads for the number of cars. I'm a little freaked out about traffic. Especially since a racer on the George Hincappie-sponsored cycling team was killed by a truck that just ran over him from behind last month. Below is a link to the local cycling club, if you want to give them a try. They have info on both road and "mountain".

BTW, the chef at McCrady's is a former pro and has Campy tattooed on his thigh.

http://www.coastalcyclists.org/index.htm

The beautiful beaches on Kiawah aren't shady or terribly breezy, but they are great for riding bikes. Once over the dunes, they're wide and flat. Kiawah also has extensive bike trails covering most of the island. In fact, I wish Seabrook Island, next door had such bike trails. Both of these islands get busy with summer traffic which can make bike riding difficult and annoying if you're not on a bike path. Although you can easily rent bikes once there, you may want to bring a bike lock from home.