a very long post lies ahead...

it has only been a week since my last post, but a busy week it has been! well, maybe not busy as much as relaxing, but there is much to share and discuss. shall we?


Isle of Palms, SC
last monday, jay and i drove down to isle of palms, sc (a beach near charleston). did you know we are only 3 1/2 hours from the beach? it's true. we are actually closer to the beach than we are to nashville. the drive down there, however, isn't exciting, or pretty, or the least bit interesting, but still.... it's only 3 1/2 hours. we didn't complain about that, for sure. we stayed in a "partial beach view" at the palms hotel, which was quite lovely. it had some great amenities, such as a medium-sized fridge in our room, where we kept water, sodas, and lunch items, as well as a "deluxe" continental breakfast, which was exactly the same every day. exactly. it has a small (and quite chilly) pool on the second floor, which we enjoyed on wednesday (the chairs, not the water). the hotel is beach-front, so a short walk down the stairs and over the pier and there we were.

a room with a partial view

under the hotel... our beach access awaits

we didn't do much on monday due to the fact we didn't get there until 4:30pm. we did find a great place to eat in nearby mt. pleasant. it was a great little pizza/italian restaurant called giuseppi's, which just happened to be across the street from publix. :)

tuesday morning we had a lovely long walk on the beach and then it got quite dreary and cloudy. so, we spent the afternoon at/on the USS Yorktown. the tours were self-guided, and we were all over the ship- viewing the sleeping quarters and kitchens, to the medical wards and the OR, to the flight deck and navigation areas.

to get a photo of the entire ship, we had to take the picture from the car!

we loved the "people"

on deck

a view of ft. sumter from the end of the flight deck

downtown charleston

and, while we're on the subject of tuesday... yes, i did watch american idol! and, without a full rundown, let me just say that i thought the evening was a bit unfair as two of the greatest were totally out of their element. and, skipping ahead, i was glad to see allison depart. america has chosen the correct top 3. (end sidenote.) seeing as tuesday was also cinco de mayo, we decided to partake in some delicious mexican food. well.... our trusty gps wasn't so helpful in guiding us to the restaurants we were looking for. so we settled for acme cantina, just near our hotel. one might also think that cantina sounds like mexican cuisine, right? ha. not quite. the service was terrible. the food was mediocre, at best. the margarita was just okay. but, that was the worst meal we had the entire trip, so we can't complain too much.

on wednesday, we spent most of our time on the beach or pool-side. the weather was beautiful and, unfortunately, with the wind keeping us cool, i didn't quite realize, that despite my reapplications of sunscreen, i got quite sunburned. we had our best meal this evening, at a little place on sullivan's island. we were definitely ready for some seafood and this place, seel's on sullivan's, exceeded our expectations.

on thursday, we ventured out to folly beach, which is quiet and peaceful and lovely. we happened to get there around noon, so we only stayed about an hour because it was so warm and sunny. we really didn't expect to venture out to the beach (which we did), so we weren't prepared with our swimsuits. so, we headed back to our hotel and spent some time in the AC while waiting for soem afternoon time on the beach (yes, i covered up most of my sunburn). we spent both wednesday and thursday afternoons in the ocean, playing in the surf and waves while the tide came in. it only took about 3 big waves to get used to the water and we had forgotten what a good workout "jumping waves" can be. we cleaned up and had dinner at the charleston crab house, at its mt. pleasant location. the food there was good as well, but still couldn't quite top our meal on wednesday night.

most of our evenings we spent relaxing with the tv and taking walks on the beach. we happened to catch the sunset on thursday night, and we just couldn't seem to get our camera settings right, but here are some attempted shots of the sunset over charleston. we also tried to get a shot of the two of us on the beach, but it was a bit dark for that, even with the full moon. however, we used the nighttime setting and, well, you can see the result for yourselves. (it was also quite windy and my hair was totally not cooperating. not that i care about that or anything.)

then, friday, it was time to head home. we got back friday afternoon and have been trying to get back to reality. yard work and laundry have beckoned back without haste. we weed-eated and mowed on saturday before the nasty, brief thunderstorm we had. sunday, after we sent becca, brad, and their sweet labs on their way back home, we headed out to lowes for some things for the yard and some flowers for my pots and the back berm. yesterday, before it rained, i refreshed my planters for summer. today, even in the cool drizzle, i planted the junipers on the berm and gave the dogs a bath. i forgot how excited they got when they see the "doggy" pool.

it's been an unhurried, busy week and it's been wonderful.