Charleston

I forgot to put this first picture on the other post. This was in one of the gardens at Magnolia. We thought this was so cool...wonder how long that 'bench' had been there that the trees grew around it....

 Our friend, Scott Lalli texted us when he found out we were in SC and told us we had to find a boiled peanut stand along the side of the road and try them out....and we could thank him later.

 So, on our way into the 'city' part of Charleston, we saw Timbos Hot Boiled Peanut stand.  We stopped and told Timbo we were from Utah and our friend told us to stop and try these.  Mr. Timbo with only 2 teeth in his mouth and his cute wife, let us sample the peanuts and we were sold! We bought the Cajun peanuts and the Ham peanuts and a diet coke for the road.  If you've never tried boiled peanuts before, they have the texture of a kidney bean and they are a great snack.  We got to sign Timbo's trailer, so Mike put Mike & Jill Arveseth, Kaysville, Utah GO UTES!

 Loved Charleston! The houses were awesome. I love that 'look' the two-story wrapped porches.  These two pictures were across the bay.

 Picture of the park at the Battery.

 One of the Forts.  The first shot in the Civil War was shot from Fort Johnson....

 Yep...this is what I'm talking about.....

 Here is famous Rainbow Row. A bunch of row houses that were 'salvaged' and painted bright colors.

 I  always love the window boxes full of beautiful plants that you see in warm, humid climates.  Not many look like this in Utah.

 Real gas lanterns....so quaint!

 Courtyard...hope this family didn't mind me snapping a picture. I loved it!

 We loved Charleston and wished we had more time.  We ate at a sushi place we found along the way. There's quite a happening night life here.....fun area!

 On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at this giant ferris wheel they had in Myrtle Beach.

 We rode in a similar one in Chicago and didn't take pictures of us in the ferris wheel, so I made sure I did here.  It was fun to see the town at night. Great lights and we were right on the beach and could watch the waves roll in as we went around and around!

As we were leaving, there was a fireworks show, so we stopped and oohh'd and aaahhh'd....Great day!

Caledonia and Magnolia Plantation

Mike and I were able to 'borrow the car' (we shared a rental with his boss) and head out on our own Saturday.  Mike really wanted to show me his favorite golf course in Myrtle Beach. Caledonia!

These pictures are from the drive in up to the clubhouse.  These trees with the spanish moss hanging from them are gorgeous!

 Mike said every hole on this course is like this and even more beautiful.  You feel like you are in a forest of these type of trees.  On Mike's first trip to this course several years ago, he bought a t-shirt.  This has been his favorite t-shirt as evidenced by how worn it is. He calls it Golden Boy now.  I hid it before the trip because I don't want him to wear it in public anymore.  I suggested he buy a new Golden Boy since the other is so worn and then I would return the original GB.  He bought two, but since being home, he still loves the original.  :)  I was glad we took the side trip to see some of this course.

 This was the coolest bridge! We had to cross it to get to Charleston.

 We stopped at Magnolia Plantation. This plantation has been owned by the same family since the late 1600's.  That almost never happens our tour guide told us.  Most plantation owners did not live in their country houses during the summer because they would get sick....the problem was the mosquito bites that carried malaria, although the people didn't know this at the time.  They had city houses (in Charleston).  This home was occupied by the family until about 1976 and then they decided to open it to the public for tours/weddings, etc.

 The house is not the original built on the site.  The first home was three stories and quite grand, but was hit by lightening and burned to the ground.  If I remember right, there was another house built, but it also burned during the Civil War. They are not sure how it caught fire.  This current house was the 3rd and last house to be built.  The tower used to have a bell or something in it, but one of the family members had it taken out and the stairs don't even go all the way up there anymore.

 The family member that occupied it the longest had a fascination with gardens and quite a few acres of this plantation are covered with gardens.  We walked through some of it and it is quite impressive.  Gardens of all styes, bridges all over and everything is beautiful.  Of course, we were not there at the time of year that everything is in bloom.  There are a type of magnolia that grows here that blooms throughout the winter (when the family would be here) and they say it is breathtaking.  Enjoy a few of the photos I took along the way:

We wished we had more time to stroll throughout this plantation, but there is a lot in Charleston to see in just a few hours! Up next: Charleston

Myrtle Beach - shop and relax

I had the next morning to myself. I hadn't heard from the other ladies, so I headed to the beach. I stopped in the gift shop for a yummy carrot raisin muffin and headed out to the sand.  It isn't very often that I get to hang out by myself with nothing to do! I get to hang out by myself quite a bit, but I'm always on an errand or trying to clean the house.  

This morning was completely relaxing and I enjoyed every minute! 

 I decided I really like the ocean. I'm not a beach-type person.  I won't just lay on the beach all day or stay by the pool and read a book. It's just not me.  But I love walking on the beach and letting the waves come up and kiss my toes before they retreat back into mother ocean.

 I love to watch the waves roll.  Every time it is different.  It never follows the same path.  

 The beauty of this world is incredible and amazing! It wasn't contained in one area and it isn't the same everywhere you go.  The possibilities of finding beauty are everywhere, whether it be in something huge like the ocean, or something small like this butterfly or even smaller, like the eyelashes on a child.

I talked to my Mom while I was on the beach, too.  I had to call her and let her know that the doc's office called with results of my blood test and I don't have Rheumatoid Arthritis.  That was a relief, but they still don't really know what's wrong with my knees.  Must be a little arthritis because of the swelling, is all they say.

I started back the hotel after talking with my Mom.  As I was walking, I saw a cute little old man and a woman walking on the beach.  He had a cane and was hesitant in his steps.  As I got closer, I saw the man spin the lady and realized they were dancing! Cutest thing ever!

I stopped as I neared them and said, "How cute are you, two?"

The little old man, who was wearing a 'Veteran' baseball cap, told me that he had served in three wars.  He told me he was 92 years old.  

He asked me if I thought he was 92 years old and I told him, 'No! Not at all!" 

That was the truth.  

He was so full of life and had a contagious personality.  He wife was just as darling and happy!

I hope Mikey and I dance on the beach when we are 92 years old!

I tried to sit by the pool and read a book after getting back to the hotel, but that lasted about 10 minutes. Like I said, it's just not me.  I like to read, but when I'm in a new place, I would rather explore.

I did talk to Tyra and Judy after I returned to my hotel room. They were both laying on the beach that morning. I don't know how we didn't see each other.  But, we decided to meet downstairs and have lunch by the pool.  That was fun.

Then we got dressed and went shopping.  There was an area called Broadway at the Beach with some fun shops and this building was like an arcade.



Even though I don't like this picture of myself, I wanted to post it because it is of the three of us.  Judy and Tyra and then me:  Shopping partners.

I think it must have been that evening that was the closing night.  It was a yummy surf and turf dinner: filet and lobster tail.  Wow! Best food of the whole trip!  The best part-the sponsors were giving away iPads and I won one! Awesome!

I keep trying to tell the kids and Mike that it's mine.  They can use the one we bought, but no one is agreeing with me.  Oh well, it was fun to win. Mike and I usually don't win anything!

More to come on our Myrtle Beach trip: Mike and I headed out on our own to explore Charleston and a quick trip to see his favorite golf course: Calendonia.  Also, Amanda's birthday recap that Mike and I miss again this year because we were on  this trip.....

'Deep Sea' Fishing - Myrtle Beach

Our second day, we were slated for Deep Sea Fishing! We were envisioning big boats and reeling in some marlin!  We we got was a cattle car/boat where we were taken 17 miles off shore and just dropped lines into the water!

It was still tons of fun, though!  The ocean is beautiful! We saw some beautiful red colored jellyfish.

 Mike & decided to have a fishing contest. True to being a Gibson, I only caught 5, while Mike caught 15!  There was one way to win big though...and it was to catch a shark!

 I started making Mike kiss the fish he was catching.....

 I still think my fish were bigger...

 We didn't catch a shark, but Spencer caught 2 and Tyra caught 1! Crazy!

I thought this was a cool shot.  As we went out of the bays, there were awesome lake houses and then lots of fisherman in dingy boats fishing for dinner. :) Quite the experience!  Ya, and Mikey was the winner of our little contest.....there, I said it.

Myrtle Beach

The Allied convention was held in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina this year.  We left on Monday the 3rd....right after I took Sydney to the doctor to discover she had croup!  A prescription for steroids and a quick call to Grandma to see if she could come up sooner and then we were off!  I felt really bad leaving Sydney, but she was in good hands.

Here is the view from our hotel window.  The funny thing is we got stuck with two double beds again this year!  Same with Spencer and Tyra and Barry and Julie.  Barry & Julie ended up just pushing their beds together.  Spencer complained to the hotel staff (we had reserved kings for all of us), until they changed their room a couple of days later.  We just stayed in ours..

 The first morning there we took a walk on the beach. When we went to San Diego for our anniversary, walking on the beach ended up being our favorite thing to do! So we were excited to dip our toes in the Atlantic and stroll along.  There were some big old beach houses here.

 We saw dolphins, searched for sand dollars (they don't get them here....a good research project to figure out why-we even asked a local about it) and then saw some guys catch a shark!

 We touched it and took pictures.  Pretty crazy!

 Here's my honey on the beach!

 View looking north...the water was warmer than I expected

Gorgeous view of the ocean and a little dolphin out there....can you see it?

More to come on Myrtle...