Eesh, I need to get better at this blogging thing. My excuse is that I was trying to juggle two jobs and it was making me crazy. Thankfully, one of those jobs is no more, so I have time to focus on funner things again. :)
A few weekends ago, Paul and I went on a weekend adventure to Charleston, SC. Paul had some nerdy math school thing, where he and the other math teachers at his school did nerdy math games with various students in different locations around South Carolina. On Wednesday, they went to Greenville to do a nerdy math/history tour with those Greenville-centered students. On Thursday, they went to Columbia, and then on Friday they went to Charleston. We decided to make it a fun weekend in Charleston since Paul had to be there anyway.
We left with our carsick dog on Thursday morning. While Paul did his nerdy math stuff in Columbia, I cleaned up the gallons and gallons of dog barf and drool and walked the dog in a nearby park. Paul was done by 3pm, so then we went off to Charleston from there and crashed in our hotel room. We found out two things on this trip: (1) Charleston is only 4 hours from our home! We are totally going again. :) and (2) There are hotels, like Red Roof Inn, that are pretty classy AND allow dogs for free! That was nice to know. We were going to camp, but we found out that the Red Roof Inn was going to cost the same price as camping, and a hotel sounded more comfortable. We aren't exactly super prepared for camping. For example, last time we went camping, we slept on a foam mattress thing that we found in our camper and after two days, we had huge bruises up and down our hips. Every year we buy more camping supplies, but until we have the right stuff, if a hotel room is going to cost the same as camping, hotel rooms win every time. :)
On Friday, Paul had to do his final nerdy math thing, so we drove into downtown Charleston together, decided on a meetup place, and then went our separate ways. He had to work from 11-2pm-ish, so I had plenty of time to explore Charleston before we met up. I had already decided to walk up and down The Battery. The Battery is a long stretch of parks in Charleston that borders the ocean on one side and tons and tons of historic and super beautiful mansions on the other side. Here's a picture of one of the multiple fountains and statues located here:
I was drooling at all of the historic mansions. I had totally forgotten that Charleston was originally in love with England (before the Civil War) and they imitated the English with their homes and styles. I felt like I was in an European town because of the way the homes were put together.
I read every single plaque and sign, and soaked in hundreds of years of history. It was really cool. It was also nice to soak in the ocean breeze and the warm sunlight, and end my casual walk with some delicious chocolate gelato. :) Paul and I met by this fantastic fountain, I didn't mind waiting for him since it was so cool:
By the time we met up, we had both walked for many miles and we were sun-burnt and tired. We were GOING to do a historical carriage ride, but we were too tired. There's always next time! We ended the day with a tour of the Old Exchange Building (where historical events such as George Washington's visit and the decision to break from the North during the Civil War took place) and the Dungeon, where American patriots and famous pirates spent their last days. It was pretty nice, but they could have done a better job with the Old Exchange Building information.
On Saturday, we went to two plantations. First was Drayton Plantation, one of only two plantations that were not destroyed by evil Union soldiers during the Civil War. This plantation was kept in perfect form and was fascinating to see:
Can you tell that the Charlestonians were obsessed with England?!? This is a perfect imitation of an English manor from the 1700s.
We then went to Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, which is just down the street. The house tour was both lame and depressing. Anyone who goes here, don't spend the money on the house tour, just go see the free video presentation. I swear the lady who did the house tour just watched the video a few times and quoted it back to us. However, the gardens were amazing. I want to go back later this year when more of the flowers are in bloom.
After seeing the plantations, we went for a seafood dinner. YUM. There are all-you-can-eat crab legs places all over the place. Also, we ate she-crap soup, which is a famous dish in Charleston and it was SO GOOD. We also split a bucket of shrimp, mussels, clams, and oysters. YUM. And a crab dip appetizer. AMAZING. This is a really good town for seafood. The problem is that most of the restaurants do icky fried seafood. We had to do some research to find the good stuff. :)
We ended our trip on Sunday with some time walking up and down Folly's beach, a local hangout. Achilles loved that long hike! We left for home and made good time. It was a great weekend getaway, and I must say, it is so wonderful living this close to the ocean! Whenever we need a little break from the awesomeness of the mountains and lakes (or just crave fresh seafood), it's nice to know that a beautiful city like Charleston is only 4 hours away.
We love it down here! Now please come visit. :)
~Paul and Cris
