Charleston, SC - Part 2

We started Saturday off with breakfast on the terrace, headed to the market for a few souvenirs, and checked out of the hotel to explore more in the car.  At this point we were really winging our vacation...no hotel reservations (which makes me nervous) & we hadn't decided if we were going to stay in Charleston or head north or south. We drove by College of Charleston, the Medical University of South Carolina, the Citadel, & then grabbed pulled pork sandwiches to go from a local market that our carriage driver had recommended.

 

We headed over the Arthur Ravenel bridge to Sullivan Island for our first beach of the day. We took a blanket & had a picnic lunch on the beach and loved watching Jack as he tried to figure out what was going on. This was his first time to a beach so it was thoroughly entertaining. He was very hesitant about the soft sand, but eventually decided he'd walk on it. When we got to the hard sand he took off and LOVED the seagulls. I promise he was talking another language to the seagulls & enjoyed chasing them.

After driving around to look at some of the beautiful houses on the island, we headed across town to the Angel Oak Tree. This was definitely a Tyler stop on the trip (he appreciates old oak trees more than me), but it was pretty cool to see. They say it is 400-550 years old and said to be one of the oldest trees in the country. Jack loved climbing over & under all its limbs and ruining the peaceful environment of everyone looking at the tree by continually yelling.

 

Then we headed to Folly Beach for more beach time. Jack napped a bit in the car & we tried to transfer him to the stroller but were unsuccessful so he was a bit grumpier about the sand this time around. We set up a blanket & just relaxed in the sun. 

 

We headed to dinner at nearby Bowen's Island Restaurant that we had read about in Architectural Digest. This place is popular. The view over Folly's creek is beautiful & the building looks like a hole in the wall, but it is popular. We waited 45 minutes in line to order & then got a table right near the window which was perfect for sunset while we were eating. Everyone around us was eating DIY oysters, but due to a food poisoning incident in New Orleans a few years ago Tyler and I stayed away.  It was only cooked food for us and the fried shrimp were delicious!

After dinner we discussed what we wanted to do the next few days and after much thought & indecision we decided to stay in Charleston. We grabbed a great hotel rate outside of downtown & were excited for Easter the next day.

Charleston, SC - Part 1

Yes...there are 3 parts to our vacation and a lot of pictures.  As part of my scrapbooking I'm documenting it all, but you have been warned about the picture overload :)

 

We took our first official family vacation and it was a blast.

It was just the three of us, a roadtrip, lots of meals eating out, some great weather, and winging it as we went.

Sure, we've been back to Texas & all around to visit family, but this was the first time it was just us 3 far away from home and it was so much fun. Yes...there were a couple of Jack meltdowns, but that's to be expected. He did so good being off schedule & riding in the car for long periods of time.

Tyler had two weeks off so I let him decide where we went and he chose Charleston, South Carolina.  Every break Tyler has gotten we have tried to get back to Texas & jam packed the trip where he often came back more tired than when we left.  This time we decided to take a little trip & then Tyler had about a week to recover, rest, & catch up on some studying, organizing, & admin stuff.  It's nice being in a new part of the country and knowing we could just drive to the east coast & that is what we did.

We left Nashville on Wednesday morning & stopped in Knoxville to take a look at the University of Tennessee campus & ate lunch at Litton's. We got back on the road & headed through the mountains to Asheville, NC. It is a cute little city, with a definite hippie vibe. Dinner at Tupelo Honey Cafe in downtown was delicious. Tuesday morning we had breakfast at Sunny Pointe Cafe & then headed to explore a bit more & check out the Biltmore Estate (altough with a $60 admission per person it was not on our agenda for the day). It is definitely something Tyler and I have on our list of places to visit maybe on a quick weekend get-a-way without Jack.

We were Charleston bound around lunch time and got into the city around 5. We drove around downtown a bit to get our bearings & figure out what our plan for the night & next day would be. Our hotel was in a great location near the market, King Street, & Bay Street.  We checked in and headed out to explore Bay Street & grabbed a delicious seafood dinner.

Nighttime in the hotels was interesting with Jack. We brought the pack 'n play for him to sleep in, but our nightly bedtime routine normally involves tears. Trying to limit the tears, we would let him fall asleep in bed with us and then move him to his bed. He wanted to play when he layed in bed with us, so I think a couple of nights that Jack was up later than me.

Our hotel stay included breakfast on a terrace each morning and it was one of our favorite things. The weather was beautiful & a bit cool in the mornings, but we loved looking out over the city as we started our day.

We spent pretty much all day Friday on foot exploring the city. The history and architecture is beautiful. I loved looking at all the flower boxes in bloom. We explored King Street, the Market, the Battery, and made our way to water where Jack ran & played at White Point Garden. After a fussy stroller ride back to the area near our hotel, Jack finally fell asleep in the stroller for the first time in over a year (he literally fell asleep holding a cracker up to his mouth).  Tyler & I took advantage & had a peaceful lunch with a sleeping Jack in the stroller next to us.

 

 After lunch (Jack woke up right as we were paying), we contemplated Jack's ability to be content on a carriage ride with 14 other people for an hour and decided it was a go. We are so glad we did & we would have taken a few more if we could have! The carriage industry in the historic district is so big that the city has 3 designated routes & only a certain number of carriages can be out at once. It is a lottery which route you recieve. We didn't get the best route, but we were able to explore an area of the city we hadn't covered by foot which was nice. We sat in the very back row & Jack loved looking at the horses. The ride was over an hour & we only had once incident where Jack's snack cup went flying off the carriage & I had to jump down to retrieve it (embarrassing).

 

After the carriage ride, we visited the park & pier that overlooked Fort Sumter for Jack to run around in for a while.  We headed back to the hotel for a quick clean up & went to an early dinner at High Cotton. Jack was thoroughly entertained by the Jazz band while we were at dinner and we followed it up with Key Lime Pie for desert on the water at Fleet Landing.

Bloomer...Family of 4!

 

Jack is proud to announce that he is going to be a BIG BROTHER! 

Baby Bloomer #2 is due AUGUST 2ND!
I'm 23 weeks and the pregnancy has been flying by.

Now onto the next announcement...

IT'S A GIRL!

We had to wait until 21 weeks, but we finally know.

Jack is going to love his sister & Tyler & I can't wait to have a daughter. 

I'm sure she will keep us on our toes!

All prayers are greatly appreciated for a healthy baby & pregnancy & for our family as we go through this adventure of expanding. We are truly blessed!