A Day in Davidson with Two Little Girls.

This week's post is from my friend Natalie, a fellow Charlotte mom and stay-at-home mom to her two girls, Claire (3) and Katherine (1). She took the girls up to Davidson recently and reported back. Going to let her take it from here.

We drove up to Davidson on a weekday after morning traffic cleared, which I'd recommend if you have any flexibility on timing. Once you're there, downtown parking is genuinely plentiful. You get two free hours pretty much anywhere along the main drag. (Two hours becomes important later. Make a mental note.)

First stop: a tiny playground tucked behind Kindred. It's behind the coffee shop, slightly hidden, and small. Slightly too small for my 3-year-old if I'm being honest, but Claire still had a blast on it. It would be perfect for a kid who's a little younger. Jamie's age, I'd say. After playground time, we did the standard small-children logistics run at the CVS across the street: potty break for Claire, snack purchase for everyone. You know the drill.

Then we walked the Davidson College campus, which is right there and gorgeous. Claire was completely captivated by the sculptures. Davidson has a serious public art collection scattered across the grounds, and there's a self-guided sculpture map online if you want to plan a route. We didn't bother with a route and just wandered. Claire kept circling back to a giant pair of bronze hands (which, as I learned afterward, is With These Hands by Hank Willis Thomas, a memorial honoring the enslaved and exploited people whose labor built the college. Worth knowing about before you go.) and a colorful piece nearby that stopped her in her tracks. I used the walk to explain what college is. "The last part of school." Now she uses the word and watched the students heading to class with a very serious, considered expression.

The Davidson town library is right next to campus and has a kids' section with toys and sensory bins, so we popped in for a bit. This was clutch for Katherine, who had been strapped to me in the carrier for the entire morning and finally got the chance to crawl around and grab things on her own terms. Highly recommend a library detour if you've got a little one in a carrier. They need it.

By that point, our two free hours were up (told you), so back to the car and over to Milkbread for lunch. Ten out of ten. Milkbread is from the same team as Kindred (also in downtown Davidson), and they do $6 kids' meals. Chicken nuggets and fruit. Heads up: kids' meals are dine-in only, the staff at the counter told me, so plan accordingly. The food is great, the parking lot is its own win (Harris Teeter-style, full lot, easy stroller access), and the dining room is family-friendly. The Davidson Milkbread is at 624 Jetton Street, Suite 110, open daily 7am to 8pm.

A few other things we noticed:

• The whole downtown is very stroller-friendly. Wide sidewalks, low curbs, easy to navigate.
• Davidson has beautiful old houses if you're into a little drive-by house-looking on the way out. Not for us. Just fun to look at.
• The walk between the playground, CVS, library, and campus is genuinely doable on foot with a stroller. You don't need to keep moving the car.

That was the day. Drove home happy. If you've been thinking about a Davidson day with littles, consider this your sign.

Natalie

Want to be a guest contributor? Hit reply and tell me about your favorite Charlotte-area family adventure.