4/30/14

Places to Go (Vacation) - Charleston Etc.

More photos and memories from our spring break 2014 (does anyone else still giggle a little when saying "spring break" in memory of those horrid MTV "live" broadcasts involving jello shots and Club MTV? Actually as a teenager I dreamed of going to one, so I'm not sure where my 38-year-old smugness comes from. If you're feeling nostalgic click here for the (relatively) good and here for the awful).

charleston (2 of 29)

charleston (3 of 29)

charleston (4 of 29)

We spent some sunny days at the beach.

charleston (6 of 29)

Grandma read books on the couch (LOTS of books).

charleston (1 of 29)

The rental house came with a boat, allowing T to spend HOURS practicing his captain skills (luckily, Grandma T endured "sailing" with him because the rest of us bored quickly).

charleston (7 of 29)

charleston (8 of 29)

When the rain came (in droves), Grandma brought out Scrabble Slam , which the girls found addictive (seriously, best game ever for 1st and 2nd graders).

charleston (9 of 29)

charleston (10 of 29)

While the girls gamed, T became a ghost. A friendly ghost. Well, sort of.

charleston (12 of 29)

charleston (11 of 29)

Once the rain stopped we strawberry picked. And picked. And picked. Until I said, "enough everyone, this is WAY more than we can eat before vacation ends."

charleston (14 of 29)

charleston (16 of 29)

charleston (15 of 29)

charleston (17 of 29)

We spent some cold days at the beach.

charleston (18 of 29)

The girls bought sister/best friend necklaces as souvenirs. (P had never shopped at a Claire's before and I'm pretty sure that was her favorite part of the vacation).

charleston (22 of 29)

charleston (20 of 29)

charleston (21 of 29)

We spent a whole day exploring all the wonders of Charles Towne Landing - a zoo, a boat, an old settlement house, canyons, gardens, spanish moss, etc.

charleston (25 of 29)

My kids attacked each other, ON CAMERA.

charleston (24 of 29)

And discovered hidden treasures.

charleston (26 of 29)

And made the world into a jungle gym.

charleston (27 of 29)

And walked the dogs.

charleston (28 of 29)

Butterflies were found.

charlestonetc (1 of 1)

And, finally, TV was watched (after all, we were on vacation).
________________

Now for the iphone highlights:

charlestonetc (3 of 3)

* Dinner with friends at the Obstinate Daughter (so so good).

charlestonetc (2 of 3)

* Boone Hall Plantation's Gullah Culture presentation (though the rest of the plantation was sort of blah).

charlestonetc (1 of 3)

* Date night at Husk (I could have drank the punch all night long). (I have not quite mastered the selfie).

4/28/14

Places to Go (Vacation) - Dolphin Sighting on Barrier Island Eco Tours (Charleston, SC)

shells

One of the highlights of our week in Charleston was an evening on the water with Barrier Island Eco Tours. A month or so ago, we watched the movie Blackfish for family movie night and since then my kids can't stop talking about the horrors of Seaworld's orca program, so I wanted my kids to see marine mammals in their natural environment. Plus who doesn't love a boat ride?

Anyways, the tour was all sorts of awesome - we learned about crabs, shells, dolphins, and the intracoastal waterway. While we didn't see many dolphins up close (they don't jump as much in the wild as like they do at the aquarium) we saw several from afar. Plus, we walked on a beautiful island (named "Bone-yard beach" because the high rate of erosion has caused so many of the palm trees to fall) and watched a sunset. A perfect night.

laurie

My friend Laurie is 7 months pregnant with twins, doesn't she look amazing?

bones

Bone-yard beach. My kids find it impossible to keep their feet out of the water.

handstand

Balancing on old trees.

sunset

Sunset and ghost crabs = a perfect vacation night.

4/25/14

Things to Do - Cherish This (Beach) Day & Random Links

arrive

Some pics from our trip to Charleston, SC. I wish all beach days were warm (but not hot) and overcast. Perfect weather for book reading and/or dog walking and/or doing nothing.

The girls woke me up at 8 am, ready to venture. Then we returned in the afternoon, this time bringing Odessa (the puppy). Days like this must not be spent inside.

Now click on over to Cherish This Day to check out the rest of the group's images.

afternoon

RANDOM LINKS:

* American Cool (the exhibit at the Smithsonian is also worth checking out, very, um, well, cool for lack of a better adjective).

* Okay, so all these recipes really made me want to jump on the zoodle bandwagon.

* Childbirth around the world.

* Amazon prime is about to get SO MUCH better (I might have to spend a weekend watching hours of TV).

* The essential list of online documentaries on photographers. I. am. completely. overwhelmed.

4/23/14

Things to Do - 12 in 12 Roadtrip Edition (April 2014)

This month the 12th fell on a Saturday. The first Saturday of spring break to be exact. Also, the date of our departure for Charleston, SC.

I had mixed feelings about documenting a road trip (esp. one involving 6 people and 2 dogs in a minivan for hours on end). On one hand, who wants to remember so much time in the car? But on second thought taking pictures would give me something to do on the LONG journey south (um, hopefully).

Anyways, horrendous traffic (oh, I95 S how you always disappoint me) added 3 hours onto our expected commute time. But the beach made it all worth while.

I couldn't decide which twelve photos best captured our day, so I'm going with a photo dump. Once you're finished reading this post, click on over to Not-So-SAHM and Where the Watermelons Grow to see how their Saturdays went.

darcytroutman (1 of 22)

morning

7 am - Car packed (I still can't believe Dan managed to fit it all), we're ready to go.

darcytroutman (3 of 22)

7:30 am - I95 S is a parking lot. Apparently, we did not time this well.

darcytroutman (4 of 22)

somewhere around 9:30 am - First rest stop.

darcytroutman (6 of 22)

darcytroutman (5 of 22)

somewhere around 10 am - Isn't technology amazing? We stream our favorite local radio shows while driving. And I take selfies out the window.

darcytroutman (7 of 22)

darcytroutman (8 of 22)

somewhere around noon - The dogs are restless, but at least they haven't thrown up. We stopped at this huge over-the-top gas station that sells everything from NRA t-shirts to Pirates of the Caribbean merchandise (as in a whole section, with a life sized Jack Sparrow). My mom comments that it reminds her of a gas station we used to frequent years ago on the way to Iowa. Turns out they have the same coffee cups. Small world.

darcytroutman (9 of 22)

darcytroutman (10 of 22)

somewhere around 2 pm - T sleeps while Grandma works on cross word puzzles. Traffic continues to move at a turtle's pace.

darcytroutman (11 of 22)

4 pm - Dan REALLY wanted to stop for authentic North Carolina barbeque (he researched several off the beaten path restaurants). But we're making such horrible time that we settle for truck stop barbeque. Oh well, it's better than nothing.

darcytroutman (13 of 22)

house

darcytroutman (12 of 22)

6 pm - We FINALLY arrive at the rental house. T helps Dan unpack while the rest of us check out our new digs.

darcytroutman (14 of 22)

darcytroutman (15 of 22)

darcytroutman (16 of 22)

6:45 pm - Walk/run to the beach.

darcytroutman (17 of 22)

7:00 pm - BEACH!!!

darcytroutman (19 of 22)

darcytroutman (18 of 22)

darcytroutman (20 of 22)

7:30 pm - We're still beaching.

darcytroutman (21 of 22)

darcytroutman (22 of 22)

8 pm - Sunset and walk home. Excited for vacation to really begin.

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...