ch(ah)leston

Even though Zach and I like to take getaways together frequently, I guess you can call our trip to Charleston an official second honeymoon since it came right after our vow renewal.

In a word, Charleston, is fantastic!  And yes I pretty much pronounced it Ch'ah'leston the whole time because it's just fun and made me feel very southern and prop'ah'.

Charleston incorportates pretty much everything Zach and I love.  It's full of free activities, history, gorgeous architecture, the coast, antiques, fun shops, parks, delicious food and literature connections.  If there was a sports team there we liked it would pretty much have it all! 

We got there on Sunday early afternoon and checked into our hotel which used to be the old Citadel.  It was pretty cool.  The rooms still had the original brick walls and the court yard in the middle was where the cadets would get ready for their formations, or whatever the correct terminology is for that.  We walked around an art festival that was right outside our hotel, Market Street and the Waterfront for a couple hours before heading back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.

On top of having a DELICIOUS free breakfast complete with made to order omelets, the hotel also had a free happy hour from 5-7 with drinks and snacks.  We each tried a couple different ones ;)

Monday we walked a lot around different neighborhoods a lot of which were mentioned in Pat Conroy's books.  We went to south of broad, saw the catholic church the characters attended, went in St Michaels, saw rainbow row, went to battery park, and found some shutters and a pallet table that someone had thrown out.

The homes were all gorgeous  I loved the details, the colors and the window boxes.  Zach got some AMAZING pictures of the different homes.  We also loved that there were live oak trees everywhere.  They are such beautiful trees, plus being Auburn fans, live oaks always make us smile.

On Monday afternoon we headed to Folly Beach.  Andrew and Krista, Zach's brother and wife, were there for a family vacation with their sweet baby girl Olivia.  We hung out and walked on the beach all afternoon and then all went out to dinner.  We don't get to see them very often so it was seriously such a treat to get a whole afternoon especially while on the beach!

Before we left to come  home Tuesday we made one last stop to a place Zach really wanted to visit, The Citadel.  Pat Conroy is his favorite author and The Citadel is a setting or atleast mentioned in most of all his books.  As we walked around Zach showed me the different places he recognized.  We went in the library, the bookstore, and the chapel.  In the chapel we talked to a professor of ethics and leadership who came in to see the flag that was causing a little uproar in local politics.  We brought home a t shirt and then an old military book and calendar from the free cart in the library.

On the way out of town I bought a sweetgrass bangle bracelet from Mrs. Annie who had set up her store in our hotel lobby and then another sweetgrass Christmas ornament from another stand on the side of the road.

I am so thankful that I have a husband who not only loves to go on trips with me but who loves to travel and explore new places and meet new people.  He has encouraged me into being an adventurer, a task that was not easy!