Sometimes the best outings are the ones you never expected or planned. I ended up on the grounds of the State House on a recent Saturday spring afternoon with a friend and our passel of energetic children after eating in the Vista and not wanting to part ways quite yet. Both my and my friend's kids are still talking about how much fun the grounds of the state capitol are.

"Next time we meet, please can it be here? Please, please?" one begged.

"This is so much better than any playground ever!" said another.

"No, even better than an amusement park!" Now that's high praise.

I wouldn't have thought of this as a fantastic outing, but my kids would disagree.

So what did they love? Well, apparently the enormous shrubs are fantastic for games of hide and seek. The ancient trees are perfect for swinging on and playing house under. The steps are great for running up and down. The balustrade at the top is perfect for looking over and making yourself nauseous from the height. In short, a kid wonderland. Who knew?

And my friend and I got to walk around the beautiful gardens and talk uninterrupted while they ran like maniacs.

I'm sure some day we'll go inside to tour the building, and look at the statues, and talk about the history (both distant and recent) of the place and its monuments and flags, but this was not the day. This was a day to soak in the flowering trees and white irises and little kids galloping on the grass.

The South Carolina State House grounds are located at the corner of Gervais and Assembly streets in Columbia. They are free to visit, and open all the time.

Insider Tip: The restaurants on Main Street and in the Vista are an easy walk. It’s a great way to let kids burn off energy before or after sitting still for a meal!

The children pressed their faces up to the plexiglass barrier as Jim Hardee of CoCo's Mini Donuts turned on his machine. Half-dollar sized circles of dough appeared and inched down a tiny conveyor belt, and then disappeared into a pool of oil.

They bubbled and bobbed up to the surface, and before our eyes turned into tiny doughnuts. Hardee scooped them out with a wire net. His wife Linda doused them with sugar and cinnamon and handed them over in a paper tray.

I got to try one; the rest were happily devoured before I finished chewing.

This was not the only treat at the Soda City Market, on the 1500 block of Main Street in downtown Columbia. As the last doughnut was eaten, the kids made a beeline for Laurent Prescelti of Crepes and Croissant, who stood spooning batter onto an enormous round griddle.

We watched as he used a wooden instrument, a cross between a spatula and tiny garden hoe, to swirl the batter around the griddle to make a paper-thin crepe smeared with jam.

But the favorite stall at the market for my two children was, by far, Lime Green.

Angie Mellor, a graphic designer by training, began her business selling lamp shades made of electrical plates and candy dishes made of old record albums as a hobby. Friends began giving her interesting objects and asking her to make fun things with them.

"We take anything used or discarded and bring it to life,” she said. “We repurpose it so it's not thrown away in landfills."

Her imagination seems limitless, and the kids were entranced by aquariums made of coffee pots and games made from old computer keyboards.

While I looked at root vegetables and ravioli, the kids went in search of free samples (happily doled out by places like Cromer's Peanuts and Pangea Bakery, to name just a couple) and talked to a man who makes birdhouses.

If only my children enjoyed eating their vegetables as much as they did shopping for them.

The Soda City Market takes place every Saturday morning from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the 1500 block of Main Street in Columbia. Admission is free.

Insider Tip: Definitely bring a stroller for toddlers and babies.

My name is Kerry Egan, and I'm thrilled to be the new Family Travel Insider.

It's my unbelievably good fortune to travel through South Carolina with my kids and husband and explore all the great places and activities for families in this beautiful state. Plus, I get to share my discoveries with families traveling from far away and families who live right around the corner who are looking to take advantage of every opportunity of being in South Carolina.

My fellow adventurers are my husband, Alex, and my children, Jimmy, 8, and Mary Frances, 6. You might get to spot them in photos, and you'll certainly hear their opinions and reactions to the places we go.

We moved here last summer from a tiny seaside village in Massachusetts. Before that, we lived in a college town in Iowa. In my adulthood (but before children), I've lived in Virginia, New York, Wyoming, Texas and London. As my husband reminded me last summer, in the midst of boxes and the loneliness of the first few days of being in a new place: "You've always said you wanted to live in a dozen different places in your life. You've always said you wanted a life full of big and little adventures."

He was right. I love exploring new places. From living all over, I've learned that every place has breathtaking beauty, quirky places you can barely imagine, and wonderful, loving people.

South Carolina might have the kindest people of all the places I've lived. Within hours of moving in, we had a caramel cake, a bottle of homemade hot-pepper vinegar, and more cookies than my kids could eat.

Exploring a new home with children both changes and adds to the experience. As anyone with children knows, traveling with kids is different than traveling when you only have yourself to take care of.

I remember vividly the day we brought our first child home from the hospital. In a whirl of activity, my husband Alex and I carried the giant car seat and sleeping baby into the house. We let the dogs sniff him, fed him and changed his diaper. We settled him into his new bassinet and unpacked our bags. I think I might have taken a shower. And then we sat down on the couch. We looked at each other, speechless, still in a bit of shock. Alex turned to my mother and asked, "Well, now what do we do?"

She laughed and said: "You just keep living your life."

When you have children, the center of gravity in your life shifts, and yet in some ways, nothing changes. You still go to the beach. You still go hiking. You still travel and go on vacations. And you still go to street fairs and concerts and restaurants.

But the dynamics of your family have shifted and will continue to shift as new little members join your family. As the Family Travel Insider, I'll focus on making sure that travel with children is fun.

I've been writing professionally for more than 10 years. I've written magazine and Internet articles, essays, and a book. I’m working on a second book now. This is my first time writing a travel blog. I'm also a hospice chaplain.

I hope you'll come back and visit this page often as we explore all the great things South Carolina offers to families looking for adventure. If you have favorite places you think people should know about or that you'd like to see us explore, let me know. Everyone with little kids is in this together, and if you've had kids for any length of time, you know we parents need to stick together.