When you're Downtown - Charleston Day 3

On Saturday of our Charleston visit, we decided to tour downtown. I can honestly say this is the prettiest downtown I've ever seen! Upon the suggestion of my good friend Margaret, we stopped by the farmer's market (pictured above). This isn't like Jackson's farmer's market. This place had EVERYTHING. It was more like and food and crafts fair, which was pretty amazing. Here are some pictures from our walk through:

I bought a really interesting photo collage of a row of houses in Charleston from a local photographer. He was super nice, and I decided that would be an appropriate souvenir for me...a photographer. We also stopped by the crepe stand (another suggestion from Margaret). This was my first crepe, and I assure you it will not be my last! OH MY GOODNESS that thing was tasty. I got the baby spinach, tomato, mushrooms and feta crepe.

From there we walked around Charleston, all the way to the river(?) or whatever body of water that was. It was an exhausting day, but I enjoyed every minute of it. What a gorgeous city! I'm so glad Ana, Mallory and I made it downtown during the visit. It was probably my favorite day of the whole trip.

We also went to another market that is apparently meant for tourists. There were tons of t-shirt stands and various other souvenir places. It was fun, but not as good as the farmer's market. I did get a delicious cup of mango tea from Caviar and Bananas. It was incredibly refreshing on such a hot day!

Our last stop before heading to find some food was the pineapple fountain. I remember that fountain from the time I went with my other uncle when he lived there. I was in middle school, I think. It's very iconic! After we hung out by the water for a bit, we headed to the Crab House for some food. I got a delicious Mahi Mahi sandwich. YUMMM. The hush puppies they brought out were delicious too, though I think anything would have been delicious to my rumbling stomach.

Well after that we headed back to the house to enjoy a movie and some pizza for dinner. It really was a great day, but I could have done without the insane traffic. I've never had so much trouble finding parking in my life! Luckily having Ana and Mallory there kept my road rage at bay... for the most part :)

Read about the rest of my time in SC here

South Carolina day 2 - rain and fireworks

Well we're on to day two of my Charleston trip. When we arrived at my aunt and uncle's house from the beach, we dragged ourselves through the house for a tour and then hit the sack. We slept for about 3 hours and then got up to hang out with Ana (my aunt). Ana took us for a walk around the area to a pretty lake. It was a nice day and it felt great to move around after being in the car for so long.

I don't remember why we were doing this...but there you have it. Ana, Mallory, me

See how clear that sky is behind me? No clouds whatsoever. Well, literally seconds after we took the picture, it just started pouring. We were about 2 miles away from where we parked...so that was fun. I would have actually enjoyed the rain if I didn't have my camera to protect, and if Ana weren't wearing a white dress. It was not ideal. I guess a small part of me still enjoyed stomping through the puddles back to the car. When it's hot out, cool rain feels incredible. We took a picture when we got back to the house, but I don't know if I want "wet dog Kristi" to make her debut quite yet. 

Uncle James had to work at the festival on the Naval base that night, so we got cleaned up and headed out to see him and enjoy the fireworks show. Fact: I LOVE LOVE LOVE festivals of any kind. I don't know why, but I just love to walk around and see people having a great time. This was actually on July 1st, but we'll pretend it was the 4th. 

Ana and Mallory decided to climb the rock wall. I stayed grounded and took the pictures because I am not a fan of dangling in the air. You will never see me bungee jumping or sky diving unless I'm being held at gun point (even then, I might not do it). They seemed to have fun though, and once they finished, we walked around and danced to M.C. Hammer until the fireworks started. 

It was a great show! I haven't really been to any fireworks shows since I've been a little older. I went to one as a young kid, but I barely remember it. I love the huge fireworks and all the colors. This was the best one I'd seen until the one we saw on the 4th, but I'll post about that later. 

When we got home, Ana heated up some stuffed peppers that she had made the day before. I haven't mentioned it yet, but Ana is a great cook! The picture doesn't make the peppers look incredibly appetizing, but they were...they definitely were. I've only been back home a few days and I already miss her cooking. 

All SC posts

300th post - hellooo South Carolina!

I'm finally back in my routine after a much needed vacation to the lovely Charleston, South Carolina. My cousin Mallory and I went there to visit my aunt and uncle for the holiday weekend. We left immediately after I got off work Thursday afternoon and drove 11 hours through the night. The first 7 hours went by so quickly! We stopped for some food, snacks, gas, etc., and it seemed to fly. Once we were about 4 hours away, it started to drag. I guess that was when I started to get really sleepy. But we did end up making it!

I discovered something new (to me) on the trip. Perfume machines! I saw it and thought "hey, that's neat. I can get a little perfume sample as a little travel souvenir." So I put my quarter in, selected "Sunflowers" and pulled the lever. Out comes a powerful stream of thick liquid loosely called "perfume." Mallory and I pretty much fell on the floor laughing. She thought about warning me, but decided against it for comedy's sake. If I had read the machine, I'm sure the word SPRAY would have clued me in, but I just don't roll that way. So I spent the rest of the drive smelling like...something. I don't know what it smelled like, but it definitely wasn't sunflowers.

Since we arrived right around 5 AM, we decided to drive straight to the beach to see the sunrise. Getting to the beach was an adventure! We ended up not actually facing east, but it was still a beautiful sight. I wish I could see this every single day. I'm insanely jealous of all the people that live on the coast, especially those that were out running and walking their dogs while the sun rose. WHAT A LIFE!

 

I hope you all enjoyed the pictures! I look totally sexy, right? I always look my best after an 11 hour road trip.

Oh, I should mention that this is my 300th post on this blog! All of you readers make me feel so special with ever single comment. I don't know a lot of you, but that doesn't stop me from loving you all! Thanks for being readers. I hope I've entertained you sufficiently for the past 300 posts.

Happy 4th of July!

I am still in Charleston, SC, with my family. That is why you haven't seen any posts from me since Thursday. I'll be back to regular posting later this week :) I hope you all have a wonderful Independence Day! We've got a beach day planned ending with another fireworks shows. I can't wait!

Road Trippin'

Today at 4pm I'll be leaving for a 13hr trip to Charleston, South Carolina. My cousin, Mallory, and I are driving there to see my uncle (dad's brother) and aunt and spend a few days with them. I'm ridiculously excited about it! I haven't been on a proper vacation in a couple of years, and I haven't been to Charleston since I was in middle school.

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I know we're planning a trip to Magnolia Plantation, the beach, and probably a fireworks show. The rest of the time is for whatever we feel like doing! If anyone knows of some places we MUST go, let me know. Look for lots of pictures from my trip when I get back on Wednesday!