Charleston trip

For David's birthday this year I thought we should take a grown up trip to Charleston, SC without the kids.  We have never been anywhere without our kids, the only exception being a racing event, since Hunter was born.  We needed to get away.  We needed to spend a few days together and we needed to really celebrate his 40th birthday.  We decided on Charleston because David had never been before, it had been a really long time for me and it was close enough for us to drive on the short 2 night stint we had!  We almost cancelled at the last minute.  You know how it goes…life is busy, life is expensive and a luxury vacation seems silly, but it was one of the best trips we have taken in a really, really long time. I would do it over in a second and I think we are going to try and do this for every birthday.  Of course, this trip was made possible by my mom who agreed to come up to Abingdon and watch the boys so we could go.  Thanks Mom!!

It seems silly to take pictures of food but we were so giddy to be out eating in a fancy Charleston restaurant we didn't care.  Thanks to our good friend LeeAnne we make our first stop at 81 Queen.  It was this delicious little spot that had the most romantic atmosphere.  We sat outside and there were twinkling lights in the trees.  It was stunning and the food and company were amazing.

Trying to get a picture of the two of us in the dark!  It was a beautiful night but hard to capture a good picture with our cell phones!

After dinner we ran into a local coffee/desert near the hotel because it started to pour down rain!  Yummy coffee and a delicious cheesecake shared until it was dry enough to walk back to the Inn.

Another recommendation was for us to stay at the Harbor View Inn.  It was fantastic and I would recommend it to anyone traveling to Charleston.  These are some of the views from our balcony.  We had two balconies from our room and they overlooked the harbor.

Ginormous chair at one of the local ice cream parlors.  The ice cream cone I am holding is almost as big as the chair and in case you were wondering, David and I shared!

The love of my life.  I couldn't imagine my life without him in it.  He is the best father and husband.

We tried, and let me emphasize TRIED to get in some biking while on our mini vacation.  THIS WAS THE WORST CITY TO BIKE IN EVER!!!!!  We thought it would be a great way to investigate the area and explore the nearby coastal towns.  BIG MISTAKE!  It was bumper to bumper traffic, no bike lanes worth a damn and motorists zipping by and screaming at us like maniacs.  It was dangerous and stressful and so not fun.  We enjoyed the time together and seeing parts of Folly beach but my oh my was it a cycling nightmare.  We stopped and took pictures on the bridge, I believe it is close to 2 miles long, and this was the safest part of our ride.

Beautiful views.

I feel like these pictures are our testimony that we survived a 50 mile ride on the busiest road in SC!

WE DID IT!  and we lived to tell about it.  I know I am making a big deal about riding in all the traffic, but it was a big deal.  It was a night mare and motorists are so hateful at times.  This ride made me appreciate our hilly isolated mountain roads.

A huge cruise liner was always docked in the bay.  It was fun watching the people on deck and the tug boats bring these huge ships in to port.

After our death defying cycling ride we took showers and spend the rest of the day bar hopping.  We tried different drinks and ordered appetizers from fun looking spots scattered all around downtown.  It was a great trip!