Charleston

Thanks to a structural leadership conference, Dain and I got the chance to travel to Charleston earlier this summer.  For those of you keeping track, this is our first (real....out of state....kid free.....no other people involved) trip in a looooong time.  We moved at a slow pace, and ate, and talked, and ate some more, and laughed a lot. 

 

Thanks to the world's slowest boarding plane, we were late arriving for our connection flight which led to a mad dash through the Atlanta Airport....but by some miracle we made it!

 

The second day we were there a tropical storm moved in....devastating rain and wind.......flooding......just kidding ;) There WAS a tropical storm, but the worst of it missed Charleston and  Dain and I were rather unimpressed with the whole thing, but thankful at the same time, because who really wants to spend their vacation stuck inside?

 

 

One day I got "brave" and visited a plantation on my own.  It was beautiful and I was so busy taking everything in that I walked over this bridge to see the statue on the other side.....

 

And nearly stepped on this guy!  I screamed so loud.....and then laughed hysterically because I was the crazy Midwesterner screaming at an alligator.....and then I went back to take a picture because I knew no one would believe me without a picture as proof.  In my defense, it wasn't the size of the thing, but the fact that it totally caught me off guard AND the idea that mama alligator could be around that really freaked me out.  I spent the rest of the time on the trail nervously jumping at every squirrel and bird that crossed my path :)

 

Here's the modest plantation I selected for our retirement home:

 

Grandkids will love it, don't you think?

 

 

 

The area was beautiful and the downtown was great for shopping and with all the historical sites and beautiful views it was great for exploring.  But really, the best part of the trip was getting to hang out with this guy:

 

 

Can't wait to go back!