We were in Charleston, SC for a week (DH had business) and I went for fun and to keep him company. Charleston is such a lovely old city.....just beyond gorgeous. We were fortunate to be staying in the heart of Historic Downtown in the old Citadel, turned Embassy Suites. Not every day a girl gets to stay in a castle!!
Day #1 - We picked up our rental car and headed out Monday morning about 8 am. Hubs and I have fun together and he enjoys driving so that works well for us. We don't believe in stopping either....we stop every 3-4 hours for gas and that is it....we like to just "get there". Our biggest problem is I can talk and babble non-stop and Hubs, well, let's just say in the morning, listening to me is not high on his list!! LOL So, we always get a couple books on tape to listen to when we travel figuring we had 12+ hours (6 coming and 6 going). So we got Michael Crighton's Pirate Latitudes.....sounded like a good compromise. Ugh!! It was awful.....and brutal....let's just say Women didn't fair too well. The guy reading it had a monotone voice that drones on and on and on......but hey....I survived it!! LOL I spent the first hours programming my new cell phone and the rest crocheting on a bag. Our drive was uneventful and we arrived in Charleston about 2 and went to check in to the hotel. Guess what, they don't have our reservation. Yep....they have EVERYONE else in our group but us!! Argh!! After some tense moments with the front desk staff and about an hour later, we finally got a room. Now we have stayed a lot of places with hiss company and at a lot of Embassy Suites, but this one was unique. It had been the old Citadel, military fortress and school. It did have character. http://tiny.cc/citadelES So we unpacked and headed down King Street for a bit of shopping and some dinner. We opted for something quick and simple and went to Five Guys for a burger. http://tiny.cc/5guys Met up with our group for drinks and snacks in the lobby.
Day #2 - Hubs and company leave @ 8 and I returned to the room for some beading on a bracelet order. Back story.....Shelly is NOT sure about taking off on her own in a strange city. She is a sissy. She and her hubby go EVERYWHERE TOGETHER!! So, I said I would be in the hotel, waiting. Well Hubs and company were all trying to get me to go out and about....not happening. So, I'm beading away and think it should be around 11 or so and it is 9:15!! Argh!! I am in trouble......I'm going to go crazy if I have to do this for 3 days, So, what to do?? Well, I put on big girls pants, grabbed my camera, my purse and my phone and walked out the front door of the hotel. Yep....sure did. I was terrified but I wanted my guys to be shocked and proud of me. So, where to go? Well, the only destination to really get me out of the hotel was the Aquarium which is located at the harbor. It was about a mile away....so off I went. I was pretty freaked out on the walk there but was so thrilled once I got there. I stood on the deck on the aquarium for the longest time watching a group of 80 dolphins that live in the harbor. :) The aquarium was great.....not too big but enough to be enjoyable! Well, now I have walked TO the aquarium, and around the aquarium and am thinking about the mile walk home!! Ugh!! Well, along comes one of the cute little trolleys that peruse the city. Mr. Trolley man says for $1.50 he can take me within a block of my hotel. I am now secretly in love with the Trolley Man!! :) Dinner out at a seafood place with our group that is right on the harbor....would have been nice if it wasn't so freaking cold.
Day #3 - Armed with my new confidence I vowed to leave the hotel again and told DH I would generously be relieving him of some of his money and going shopping. So, I headed out in search of some fun shops. First up was a knitting yarn shop. http://www.knitk.com/ Holy cow. I have never been to a yarn shop. It is amazing and overwhelming and EXPENSIVE. I don't know how anyone can pay those prices for yarn. You couldn't possibly make things to sell.....maybe special things for yourself or family. I did buy a crochet book and some totally awesome pirate buttons. I also went to Williams Sonoma.....now we're talking. I may not be able to buy yarn, but I can buy funky cooking toys. I bought this: http://tiny.cc/pocketpies to make funky sweet or savory pies....mine is the star. I also bought this: http://tiny.cc/pizzasticks a pizza stick pan. I would have liked to buy MORE but keep in mind I was walking and carrying. This brings up a point.....I never realized one BIG reason I like shopping WITH my guy. He carries things.....LOL Really cramps your style to be schlepping your purse, phone, camera, 2 lenses, water bottle and then anything you buy!! Geesh!! I also went to this little divine French Chocolatier.....yummo. When he got back (early yippee) he took me to the bead store I was dying to go to. It was in walking distance, but I was told it wasn't safe to walk there alone.....yes....they were right. Glad I had my sweetie and our car. I did manage to bring home a bag of beads to play with!! Poor Hubs always gets a little green when he sees how small the bag is that he just paid $60 for!! Poor baby! This was my reward for agreeing to go to Fort Sumter with him. Dinner out with our group at a glorified sports bar.....atmosphere was nice....food was so-so. It's very alarming to eat in the Low Country and be allergic to Cayenne Pepper. :::Sigh:::
Day #4 - Was by far the coldest so far so I saved the museum that was only a block away as my destination. It was again smallish, but nice. There was a crazy quilt display that was heavenly. Making one is definitely on my bucket list. And they had a very interesting Mourning Jewelry display. Much of it was made from the deceased's hair. Sounds sort of odd, but it was gorgeous. After the museum.....I had time on my hands still so I did more shopping.....took off down another street and hit the jackpot of great stores and vendors. I really enjoyed watching the ladies making the grass baskets and really wanted one, but they are so over the top in price. A tiny little 6 inch basket was $45. Ummm no, I can think of way more things I need for $45. I did find a great ARTsy store filled with handmade treasures. And THEN I found a candy store http://www.riverstreetsweets.com/ making my very favorite thing in the whole wide world.....Pralines. Uh-oh.....Shelly bought a pound of those puppies and ate one for lunch!! LOL Headed back to meet DH & Co. and say goodbye to most of our group. Ah.....no more meetings. It was just us now. We went on a tour of a Historical Home near the hotel that John enjoyed a lot. We were going to go out for a special dinner, but just couldn't do it. We were both so tired, wanted to watch the Olympics so we ordered in some pizza. DH, bless his heart, fell asleep at 8 and slept all night long....guess the romance is over!! ROTFLOL. But I LOVE him anyway.
Day #5 - Hubs day to choose. He wants to go to Fort Sumter. Oky dokey then. Ft. Sumter you understand is WAY out in Charleston Harbor......30 minutes by boat. It is 37 degrees before the 20 mph winds are factored in. It is the coldest I have been since leaving Illinois 2 years ago....but did I mention I LOVE this man? So, off we go......we and about 10 other couples are waiting to board the boat when the captain says.....Just so you folks know...we have another trip @ 2 if you would rather. We are taking 200 third graders with us on this cruise. LOL Yep.....that's right 200 8 year-olds. Personally, I LOVED it....because I am happiest surrounded by kids.....many of the other couples...well, not so much. SO, being the good wife I videotape his trip to Ft. Sumter.....my finger was literally frozen to the camera!!But, he is happy. So, we hit a few of the fun shops I had found the day before (including the candy store where I bought 2 more pounds of candy!! By 4 we were on our way home. Now, the mistake I made on the trip home was not realizing that it would be dark fro MOST of it. I cannot stand to just "sit" and ride. I am always crocheting or reading. Finally when I was literally trying to crochet by the dashboard and GPS light, I had to succumb to the darkness and the madness of the monotone droning pirate man. This was 7 o'clock and we didn't arrive home until 10:30. I was going loony.....I did manage to watch the hour footage I had video taped but the rest of the time I sat in the dark with the pirate man. But we arrived home safe and sound, albeit a bit road weary. And hey, we are going back in the fall....hopefully it will be warmer......but either way I get more pralines.....The End!!
Day #3 - Armed with my new confidence I vowed to leave the hotel again and told DH I would generously be relieving him of some of his money and going shopping. So, I headed out in search of some fun shops. First up was a knitting yarn shop. http://www.knitk.com/ Holy cow. I have never been to a yarn shop. It is amazing and overwhelming and EXPENSIVE. I don't know how anyone can pay those prices for yarn. You couldn't possibly make things to sell.....maybe special things for yourself or family. I did buy a crochet book and some totally awesome pirate buttons. I also went to Williams Sonoma.....now we're talking. I may not be able to buy yarn, but I can buy funky cooking toys. I bought this: http://tiny.cc/pocketpies to make funky sweet or savory pies....mine is the star. I also bought this: http://tiny.cc/pizzasticks a pizza stick pan. I would have liked to buy MORE but keep in mind I was walking and carrying. This brings up a point.....I never realized one BIG reason I like shopping WITH my guy. He carries things.....LOL Really cramps your style to be schlepping your purse, phone, camera, 2 lenses, water bottle and then anything you buy!! Geesh!! I also went to this little divine French Chocolatier.....yummo. When he got back (early yippee) he took me to the bead store I was dying to go to. It was in walking distance, but I was told it wasn't safe to walk there alone.....yes....they were right. Glad I had my sweetie and our car. I did manage to bring home a bag of beads to play with!! Poor Hubs always gets a little green when he sees how small the bag is that he just paid $60 for!! Poor baby! This was my reward for agreeing to go to Fort Sumter with him. Dinner out with our group at a glorified sports bar.....atmosphere was nice....food was so-so. It's very alarming to eat in the Low Country and be allergic to Cayenne Pepper. :::Sigh:::
Day #4 - Was by far the coldest so far so I saved the museum that was only a block away as my destination. It was again smallish, but nice. There was a crazy quilt display that was heavenly. Making one is definitely on my bucket list. And they had a very interesting Mourning Jewelry display. Much of it was made from the deceased's hair. Sounds sort of odd, but it was gorgeous. After the museum.....I had time on my hands still so I did more shopping.....took off down another street and hit the jackpot of great stores and vendors. I really enjoyed watching the ladies making the grass baskets and really wanted one, but they are so over the top in price. A tiny little 6 inch basket was $45. Ummm no, I can think of way more things I need for $45. I did find a great ARTsy store filled with handmade treasures. And THEN I found a candy store http://www.riverstreetsweets.com/ making my very favorite thing in the whole wide world.....Pralines. Uh-oh.....Shelly bought a pound of those puppies and ate one for lunch!! LOL Headed back to meet DH & Co. and say goodbye to most of our group. Ah.....no more meetings. It was just us now. We went on a tour of a Historical Home near the hotel that John enjoyed a lot. We were going to go out for a special dinner, but just couldn't do it. We were both so tired, wanted to watch the Olympics so we ordered in some pizza. DH, bless his heart, fell asleep at 8 and slept all night long....guess the romance is over!! ROTFLOL. But I LOVE him anyway.
Day #5 - Hubs day to choose. He wants to go to Fort Sumter. Oky dokey then. Ft. Sumter you understand is WAY out in Charleston Harbor......30 minutes by boat. It is 37 degrees before the 20 mph winds are factored in. It is the coldest I have been since leaving Illinois 2 years ago....but did I mention I LOVE this man? So, off we go......we and about 10 other couples are waiting to board the boat when the captain says.....Just so you folks know...we have another trip @ 2 if you would rather. We are taking 200 third graders with us on this cruise. LOL Yep.....that's right 200 8 year-olds. Personally, I LOVED it....because I am happiest surrounded by kids.....many of the other couples...well, not so much. SO, being the good wife I videotape his trip to Ft. Sumter.....my finger was literally frozen to the camera!!
Posts
1 comment:
It looks as if you had a great trip, Shelly - it's one we have enjoyed before too and I never tire of Charleston...too many fun things to do and see! Glad that you had such a good time! Diann
Post a Comment