It was a nice drive up, and just fun to enjoy talking without interruptions from the little man in the back seat...always wanting to get in on the conversation. It was like traveling together pre-Eli, which we loved and haven't done since he was born. We made a couple of random and unplanned stops/detours....because we could. No schedule or time line = nice! One of the detours brought us to these church ruins on back roads of South Carolina.
It was cool to walk among the ruins and walk where history happened. (Those that know me well know that I'm no history buff, but had I made more trips to places like this, I may have enjoyed history a bit more.)
The not-so-great-moment of this stop included me inhaling a mosquito while trying to capture photos. I always take a breath in and hold it while I'm snapping a picture, and in went the bug. After coughing, hacking, gagging, and spitting for almost 20 minutes, I finally managed to get the stubborn bug (he refused to be swallowed and stayed lodged at the top of my windpipe) out. Whew. I was sure he had stung my throat after all of that. Blech!
Charleston is such a neat and "charming" place. We stayed smack dab in the middle of the historic district which made it easy to walk most everywhere we went. Taking in the sights.
We didn't have great weather, as it was cloudy and rainy most of the time, but at least it wasn't over 100 degrees! We met up with our friend, Shannon, and her boy, Aidan, one afternoon and "walked the Battery" in a drizzle.
Again, being where history happened was just neat in itself. Off the shore and amidst the haze you could spy Fort Sumter...where the Civil War all started.
Some random things we both found "charming" about Charleston were the firehouses (We knew Eli would have loved seeing them. They were all as cute as this...at least in the historic district.)
and the old tiled entryways to many of the shops in the historic district.
Saturday, we found ourselves walking through the summer Farmer's Market that sets up in the park across the street from our hotel every Saturday from April to October (I think that was it.)
I definitely wanted to be a local and buy some of the beautiful produce.
But most importantly, we ate our way through Charleston. Literally! We had the tastiest lunches
which were followed by cupcakes from a local bakery, Cupcake (thanks for the head's-up tip, Shannon! and my apologies for the horribly blurry photo, ew.)
You know you are in the Carolinas when you can buy this stuff.
Don't you just love the old-timey bottles?
Dinners were amazingly delicious. This was Matt's meal our second night there and was cooked by a James Beard winning chef at FIG.
Despite not usually liking steak, I could have honestly eaten half of Matt's plate of waygu. Mmmm! Just thinking about it makes my mouth water. I want more. Dessert was divine as well.
It is always hard to believe how time flies. We all say it; we all know it happens, and it is true. Who knew that after meeting Matt my freshman year of college....15 1/2 years later, we'd be celebrating 10 years of marriage. Neither of us is perfect, so to call it "wedded bliss" seems a bit extreme and over the top. But I can honestly say, that my life is better with him in it. I continually thank God for the gift of a loving and devoted husband and father. We are blessed. It was truly a great weekend to celebrate a wonderful 10 years of marriage....and hoping for many many more!
That last pic of u two is so beautiful. Congrats on ten years! May God bless u with many, many more!
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