Monday, June 6, 2011

Vacation / Babymoon!!!!!!! WARNING VERY LONG

Last week Steve and I traveled to BEAUTIFUL South Carolina for a much needed vacation.  We had a wonderful time!  We went to Charleston almost every evening and spend most of our days by the beach listening to Jimmy Buffett!  We went shopping, took tours, and ate at the most amazing restaurants!  It is crazy how fast the week went by!  Steve and I both decided that we need to get away more often!  It's hard to believe that the last time we went on vacation alone together was on our honeymoon 2 1/2 years ago!  Steve enjoyed all the tours and just relaxing by the ocean.  My favorite part of this past week was getting to spend uninterrupted time with my husband and best friend!  There was no work and no phone calls...it was AMAZING!

Saturday May 28, 2011

Steve and I got up super early (5:00am) loaded up the car and hit the road.


The drive was surprisingly easy. The thought of sitting in a car for 9 hours was not all that appealing, but it really went by fast!  Around lunch, we stopped at FATZ!  It is similar to O Charlies, but they serve the best poppy seed rolls! AMAZING!  We finally reached our destination on the BEAUTIFUL Isle of Palm, South Carolina!  Once we got there, we quickly unloaded all of our stuff and headed to the beach!  We arrived around 3:30pm and had plenty of time to take a nice long barefoot walk on the beach!  After that, we decided to stay in and enjoy the view/sunset from our deck so we ordered a pizza from a local pizza place!  What a relaxing way to start a wonderful week long vacation!




The view from our condo


The welcome basket we received upon our arrival! 


Sunday May 29, 2011

 Steve and I got up around 6:30am, ate breakfast, got our swimsuits on, and lathered up with sunscreen!  We were on the beach by 7:00am with our awesome beach chairs, huge beach blankets, towels, and a cooler full of adult beverages for Steve and Water for me!  We spent all day on the beach, laying out, sleeping, taking long walks, and playing in the comfortable water.  It was seriously the BEST DAY!



At around 5:30pm we went inside to get ready for our evening in Charleston!  Steve and I decided to try out a restaurant called Coast.  We had read some great reviews and really wanted to try it out!  Once in Charleston, we headed straight for Coast and found that it would be a 2 HOUR WAIT!!!!  Everyone leaving the restaurant just kept talking about the awesome food!  So, we spent the next 2 hours walking around Charleston taking it all in!


Well, the food was GREAT!  If you ever go, they have the best crab cakes in the whole world!

Monday May 30, 2011

After our day on the beach, I got a nasty sunburn! No, I am not one of those confident pregnant women who can strut around in a bikini while sporting their baby bump!  I wish I had the body to do that, but lets face it, that's just not going to happen!  So, I spent my beach days in an ill fitting maternity tankini....  NOT pretty!  In fact, there is only one picture of me on this trip and is definitely not of me looking like a beached whale in my swimsuit!  Anyway, the point is, at least I had my belly covered the whole time so I didn't have to worry about burning my sweet baby (only a crazy pregnant woman would think that, right).   It could have been worse, but I didn't want to be miserable the rest of our vacation, so we made this day our shopping, aquarium, and tour day!   A few minutes North of Charleston there is a Tanger Outlet Mall!  We spent a majority of our morning and early afternoon walking around and shopping!  Because it was Memorial Day there were some AMAZING sales!  Steve got some new shirts, and we bought tonz of new clothes for Hudson!


This is what Steve picked out... haha




At Childrens Place we were able to get so many cute things at $2.00 each!!!  Can you believe it!  That is just awesome!    They also had a Coach store where they were offering an additional 30% off due to the Holiday!  I was drooling over EVERYTHING there!  They had beautiful purses, wallets, and even diaper bags!!!!!!!  It took all the willpower I had not to go crazy!  Even with the 30% off the Outlet prices what I was eying was still more than I could justify spending....  Let's just say Steve was more than relieved that I passed on the purses!  haha  MEN

Around 3:00pm we went to the Charleston Aquarium!  It was very interesting.  Most everything there could be found in South Carolina!  They had everything from birds, turtles, and owls, to an albino alligator, jellyfish, sharks and a bald eagle!




After the Aquarium, we walked around Charleston some more and came across a restaurant called Magnolias.  It was a contemporary Southern place, so we had dinner there!  They had the best fried chicken!



Tuesday May 31, 2011

Steve and I were feeling less crispy and were ready to lay out at the beach again!  We spend the entire day there, and this time we reapplied sunscreen multiple times!


This is my "I look horrible so this is the only shot you will get of me on the beach" picture 

For dinner we went to a fabulous BBQ place called Sticky Fingers!  It was sooo good!  They had AWESOME sweet tea!  Another wonderful day with perfect weather!

Wednesday June 1, 2011

Again, we found ourselves lounging by the beach all day enjoying the soothing sounds of the ocean waves crashing against the coastline.  Sometime in the afternoon, we saw at least eight dolphins swim by looking for fish.  It was so cool!  It was funny watching some of the little kiddos on the beach scream and point at what they thought was a shark!  Speaking of kids, all week Hudson was moving around and kicking!!!!  It was unmistakable!  I could put my hand on my stomach and feel him moving!!!!  Steve still cant feel it, so for now it is our little secret.  With all the practice Hudson is getting, I'm sure it won't be long before his little kicks are strong enough for the proud daddy to be able to feel them! 

I have been having this horrible pregnancy craving for a McAlister's beef and cheddar spud!  Well, this pregnant lady found a McAlister's and demanded that we have it for dinner!  I had been dreaming of this meal for weeks!  When we got there, I was disappointed to find that they didn't have beef and cheddar spud on the menu!!!!!  They said they would make it anyway, but when it came to our table, it was NOT the beef and cheddar spud I have known and loved!  Being the giant ball of raging hormones that I am, I almost started crying right then and there!  Tears literally started filling my eyes.  Poor Steve had no idea what was going on!  I began to tell him everything that was wrong with my potato, and he quietly listened then got up, went to the counter, asked for everything I needed to correct the horribly made beef and cheddar spud, and brought it back walking tall and proud!  He had prevented/stopped a complete breakdown!  All in a days work!  Then he took me out for ice cream!

The perfect end to a perfect day!

Thursday June 2, 2011

We had the best weather on this vacation!!!!   I swear we are the luckiest people on earth!  Steve and I had another wonderful beach day!  Needless to say, we got a lot of good sun!   We saw even more dolphins which was really fun!  For dinner, we found this great Northern Italian restaurant called Al De La in Charleston.  It was nothing like anything I have ever had before, but it was amazing!


Steve had been wanting to take a ghost tour while we were visiting Charleston.  So, we found a tour through Bulldog Tours of an old Haunted Jail!

 
It was actually featured on the Travel Channel as one of the top ten most haunted places!!!!  Steve made our reservations for the 10:00pm tour!!!!!  It was very interesting and we learned a lot!  For example, this was the first reformed jail in South Carolina, and the first women ever to be executed was publicly executed there.   Steve really enjoyed it, and I even had a good time (and I hate all things spooky/scary).  Aside from the extreme heat and nearly passing out, I had a fabulous time! 




Friday June 3, 2011

Before we left for our trip, Steve and I looked on tripadvisor.com and came across a tour of Charleston by a man named Ed Grimball that had rave reviews!  Seriously, I don't think we found a single negative comment.  Most people commented on how this particular tour was the highlight of their trip.   So, we booked our reservation over a week in advance so that all the spaces wouldn't fill up.  It was a good thing we did too, because Mr. Ed Grimball was very popular!

Our tour started around 9:30am and lasted well into the afternoon.  It was probably the best tour I have ever been on!  Ed was a great tour guide!  We would recommend him and his tour to anyone who was traveling to Charleston!  Ed is a older man in his late 60's who is a 13th generation Charlestonion.


This is Ed!


The Pineapple Fountain at Waterfront Park


Fort Sumter


Rainbow Row


The beautiful cobblestone streets!  


The Hat Man!  He is made up of hats (ears, hat, feet, nose, mouth...).  According to Ed this was painted shortly after the Civil War.




One of Charleston's many historic churches.  BEAUTIFUL


This church has the oldest working bell in the country.


The Grave of John C Calhoun


The grave of the youngest man to sign the Deceleration of Independence.



Some of the $6 million homes along the Battery.

After our AMAZING tour, we ate lunch at this great brewhouse in downtown Charleston!  We spent the rest of the day relaxing on the beach!



Saturday June 4, 2011

Steve and I got up really early and headed home!  We only had to stop twice (the baby keeps thinking my bladder is a trampoline)  and made it home in record time!   We played travel games the whole way!  I'm sure Steve really enjoyed that...but it made the car ride go really fast!

We had such a wonderful time together on our vacation!  It was bitter sweet....  It was the last time we would be able to go to the beach or anywhere for that matter without being responsible for another human life!  We will never again have the same relationship we do right now.  With that being said, we are so excited to be parents and can't wait to experience all the changes coming our way!  We are ready.  We know that while EVERYTHING is getting ready to change, there is one thing that will never change.  We will always love each other very much and will work hard to protect our marriage and our family.  We have so much to be thankful for and SOOOO much to look forward to!

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