Massages, Fishing, and Pubs!

On Friday of our trip we separated into girls and guys.  The three girls went and had massages while the boys went fishing on the bay.  The guys were the best sports ever because they even took pictures of each other fishing!  Here are the ones I received via e-mail.

They said they had a lot of fun, but didn't really catch anything.  Apparently the guide was hilarious and really made fun of Trey the whole time.  The guide would say things like "this area sucks" or "do not drop the ice chest lid."  I guess that is a big deal on a boat.  They caught 3 blow-fish and 2 trout. They said it was a wonderful time anyway!

Matthew and the biggest fish caught!

Wow!  That is one HUGE fish.

Way to go, Neil!

We found a great little spa for our massages.  Erinn hasn't had a massage since she was 15 and was a little nervous that she'd be too ticklish...she is a believer now!  So glad she enjoyed it!  We had on no make-up after the massages and still went shopping and to lunch.  I am giving a warning before looking at the next picture of me. Wowzers.

We went to lunch at Poogan's Porch.  It was FABULOUS.  We loved being able to eat on the 2nd story porch of the old house.  A little history on the place is that it used to be a teacher's house and she sometimes haunts the place.  We didn't see her.  Poogan is the dog the place was named after.

One of my favorite meals: Homemade buttermilk biscuits sliders with smoked Gouda and bacon mac and cheese.  I can't quit thinking about this meal.

After lunch, we even had a little time at the pool.  It was so nice to max and relax by the pool without a care in the world.  The boys came and met us and we talked them into eating at Poogan's...they didn't even think it was wonderful!  We were shocked.

We all got cleaned up and went on a pub crawl.  There were 5 pubs on the tour but the girls decided to stop on the 4th.  It was an OK tour.  We determined that the owner/tour guide, a native Charlestonian, is a trust fund baby that decided to come up with a business to keep himself in bars all day.  He did know a lot of Charleston history and had some hilarious comments that I will not include here.  

First pub:

Casey and I shared a "Shamrock" because we knew we wouldn't be there long.  It was delicious!

Our favorite pub, The Blind Tiger

The 3rd pub had $1 all over the walls.  Of course, we had to make one.  We represented Shreveport with ours.

And this is where the tour ended for the girls: Molly Darcy's  We just didn't feel like getting up and walking to the next place.  The guys said we wouldn't have liked the last bar anyway.  We sat outside and listened to a band while we waited for the boys to return.  While we were talking our Culinary tour guide from the day before walked up and sat at the table behind us!  We spent 3 hours with him 1 day before and he had absolutely no clue who we were!  He told us about a fun little dessert place called Kaminsky's.  We headed straight there for a delicious Tollhouse cookie pie. WoW...all we did was eat!!!

Charleston Culinary Tour

After our plantation tour, we went on a culinary tour around downtown Charleston.  This was the activity I researched.  I got the idea from when Leslie and I went on one in Dallas a couple months ago.  It turned out to be one of the highlights.  We got to eat at 4 different restaurants and most of the places gave us 3 courses!  The price was well worth it and we also learned a little bit of history.

Our first stop was Southend Brewery.  They gave us a sampling of beer, She Crab Soup, BBQ pork on a green apple, and shrimp & grits.  This food was phenomenal and the soup was my favorite of the trip.

After Southend, we headed to Leaf.  The atmosphere was really nice and the food was OK.  They served us a grilled romaine heart for the Cesar salad...delish!  We had beef/mashed potatoes, and a goat cheese stuffed eggplant that was not my favorite.

Our last savory stop was Eli's Table.  They served us a delicious melon/tomato salad, pasta, and a tiny dessert that wasn't memorable.

We headed to a Frozen Frog like place for dessert.  It was fun and made me wish Bennett was there to enjoy it.  He would have loved all the toppings.

The group at Southend

All of us at Sweet CeCe's

Trey, me, and Neil

Other side of the table: Casey, Matthew, and Erinn

We thought we would be too full and tired to do anything else, but nothing was stopping this group!  We went to Vendue Rooftop bar for a nightcap.  It was a good time and we didn't even make back to our hotel until 11pm!  Night owls!

Magnolia Plantation

Before we left for Charleston, we all chose 1 thing we wanted to do while we were there.  Each person researched their "thing" and scheduled it.  I really liked having a lot of things scheduled so that we didn't arrive in Charleston wondering what to do.  Casey planned a fabulous Plantation tour for us.  We believe she found the best one.  We went to Magnolia Plantation, the Drayton family residence.  We toured the main house, the slave quarters, and took a marsh boat tour.  It was a great morning and I would highly recommend it!

We had a great tour guide on the slave tour.  She spent some time in Africa and told us that most of the "southern" food we love today is actually of African origin.  Gumbo, Jambalaya, and Shrimp and Grits aren't actually from the southern US?  Tell me more!!  And she did...we learned a ton of information!  I love being a tourist.

The walls in the slave homes were "wallpapered" with Charleston newspapers.  I found papers from Amy's birthday in 1926 and Leslie's from 1926. 

Leslie's b-day

Slave houses

Amy's birthday

Neil and me in front of one of the slave houses

The girls looking out the window onto the grounds

The boys were such good sports with all of our picture taking.  All 3 girls are bloggers and like to document everything!

Way to go, guys!

Here is the main house...  This house became the family's "camping" home.  They literally considered themselves camping in this house!

In front of the house

We took a boat tour last.  Our captain was sort of a grumpy old man.  We asked a few questions and he answered us with questions that were snippy.  Cruising on the boat was a relaxing way to end our plantation experience.

The girls at the Peacock Cafe'.

Charleston Day 1

Erinn and Trey lived in Charleston, SC several years ago and have been wanting to take a couples trip back there.  We have been talking about and planning this trip for 2 years!  Last summer, Casey and I were both pregnant so last year was out and this year was in.  We booked most everything back in February so we have had something fun to look forward to for months.  I love having a trip to look forward to!

My dad picked us up last Wednesday morning at 4:15am to take us to the airport for our big getaway.  Our flight landed in Charleston around 11 am.  As soon as the Montgomery's landed we were off!  We checked one of Neil's favorite TV show (Diners, Drive-ins and Dives) websites for an idea for a place to dine.  We headed to Fuel in downtown Charleston.  Our favorite part was that it was a Wednesday and we were enjoying a leisurely lunch and bocce ball in the middle of the day!  We had no kids to watch and nothing pressing that had to be done.  What a fun way to spend a Wednesday afternoon.  

a toast to our trip!

The crew

The girls (I enjoyed their guava mojitos...they were delicious!)

Trey, Erinn, me, Matthew, and Neil

After we spent 3 hours at Fuel, we headed to check in our hotels.  We stayed at the Mills House Hotel, the oldest hotel in Charleston.  

Our dinner this day was at the Post House.  A common theme on this trip was FOOD.  We planned our dinners while we were eating lunch.  5 out of 6 of us are food lovers.  We think Trey might have come over to the "food lover" side after this trip.  You will notice in these pictures that Erinn and Trey are both wearing pink, Matthew and Casey are both wearing navy, and Neil and I are not matching.  He even brought a green shirt and wouldn't change!  

Girls pic

Neil and me in front of the Post House

Fellows pic

One of my favorite parts of this day was after the meal when we saw the Shrimp and Grits kids clothes store only 2 doors down!

Our 10 month old! (Henry)

Henry, I cannot believe you are 10 months old. You are such a SWEET boy!  What is going on with you these days?

• size 4 diaper
• 9-12 month clothes
• You are into more now than you were at 9 months.  You are opening cabinets and crawling in.  You even opened the ones at the library!
• You can pretty much eat an entire Puffs can in about 2 days.  You enjoy mum mums, bits of table food, and pretty much anything we will give you.
• You now have 2 teeth on the bottom.  There are no signs of top teeth coming in.
• You are a full time clapper.  You love when we clap.  You are also getting good a giving "high-fives."
• You are such a happy baby!
• Bennett says that you say "mama."  It really does sound like mama when you mumble.  Love it.
• You put everything in your mouth. 
• One of your favorite things to do it to throw a ball and then fetch it.  It is so funny to watch!
• We are working on signing the word "more" to you.  
• You are really scheduled as far as sleeping goes compared to last month.  This is probably because I am home with you and actually get to see when you sleep.  You take a nice 2 hour nap in the mornings and the afternoon.  I love when I can get you and Bennett to sleep at the same time.  
• You eat four 7-oz bottles a day plus baby food for breakfast and dinner.
• Now that I am home for the summer, we go on outings everyday.  We are back enrolled in Gymboree, we go to Bennett's swim lessons, lunch with Daddy and Aunt Becky, and the library.  You are such a trooper and you just go with the flow.  
• You love to blow raspberries and make us laugh.  You are such a little ham!
• You have had 3 ear infections during April and May.  We are going back for a check-up tomorrow to see if your ears are clear.  If not, we are going for tubes.  I can stand seeing you in pain.  You pull on your ears all the time.

In 2 short months you will be one.  Where does the time go?  I want you to stay a sweet baby forever!!

We loved Charleston!

We had an absolute wonderful time on our trip to Charleston, South Carolina.  We learned a lot of history, enjoyed the beach, and pretty much ate everything in sight for 4 days.  We had so much fun being with the Montgomery's before they make their big move to Colorado.  We enjoyed having adult time, but also missed our babies.  

I got back into the swing of things this morning when we got home.  I felt like I accomplished so much today even though I've been up since 2:45am!  I've done laundry, shucked corn, cleaned the house, cooked dinner, and even made this cute collage right here on this blog.  Yes, I feel like I deserve a pat on the back AND a cookie.

I will be back with a series of Charleston posts like my friend Amanda did for her San Antonio trip...mine won't be as clever! :)

Greetings from Charleston

We are in Charleston, SC for the weekend and loving it. Here are a couple of our pictures from Magnolia Plantation.