charleston or bust...

i am part of an organization called Naval Officers Spouses Club... we are a non profit that raises a little money that is used for military families... mostly NOSC is an organization for support and entertainment and fellowship of fellow navy wives.... which is much needed as we are so few on this very large marine base we live on.... we decided to take a girls trip down to charleston, sc the last weekend of april...

five of us loaded up into my awesome mom moblie van and drove down... we talked the entire time and had many laughs and several bathroom breaks.. haha... 2 more ladies met us down there later that evening... we stopped into our hotel quickly to check it out then quickly caught the free trolley and headed down town... we strolled the shops and nearly broke things in really expensive antique shops... and our favorite was this jewelry shop... it was all used or whatever you call that.... it had previous owners... so fun to see the different styles of estate jewelry.  then we headed back to the hotel to change and get all dolled up for dinner and drinks... it was Sarah-Louise's birthday so we had a good reason to celebrate... dinner was sooo good and i tried as much as i could to be adventurous and eat some true southern food.... yum!! the outdoor bar we went to had a live band and these fun little seating areas.... we danced a little and enjoyed the nice weather... then we got back to the hotel and got in jammies and met up in my room (roomed with sarah-louise and linda) we chatted and for some reason were all starving so we ventured to the vending machines and had some chips and some wasabi peas i had brought with me...

woke up and had the breakfast at the hotel and then headed to the city market to get on a historical carriage ride.... the tour guide was so good... local boy all grown up.  he had a lot of fun things to share about the city and history... i took pics with my nice camera on that ride... the houses are just so fun... will always be my favorite thing about the south...

we then ate lunch at a little place down by the city market... and i ate my first fried green tomato... yum!!!! seriously so yummy.  then we went shopping in the city market... first we found this guy selling silver jewelry and he had several different styles of little anchor charms... so we all picked one out since we are navy gals... then i also bought an ornament for my collection and a sweet grass basket... its the thing of charleston... these really pretty hand made baskets that are crazy expensive... so i bought a little one... after that we headed back to the hotel to change for dinner... we went to magnolias.  so yummy!!!! i had lobster, scallop, and shrimp grits... i was nervous since i had never had lobster or scallops... but wow.... it was soooo good  i ate every little bit of it.  then we walked around for a bit and i was hugged/mauled by a very drunk bride to be... this city is the center for bachlorette parties.. 

next day we packed up had brunch at 82 queen... just a cute place with yummy food... then we checked out rainbow row, the market place where they used to sell slaves... and of course the pineapple fountain... 

whole group: me, Dill, Laina, Sarah-Louise, Linda, Mimi, Noskia

it was such a good weekend and we had such a good drive home and many memories.... hopefully we can meet up again in charleston in our future when we have all gone our ways....

april... and all things golf... cont...

first thing in savannah we drove to the apartment we had rented for the next 4 nights.... and wow... it was beautiful.  right in downtown savannah.  it was the basement floor of a building.  beautiful original floors and bricks... nice new kitchen and bathroom.... just really nice....

the couch had a nice pull out bed which jeff slept on the first night there and chris and i and daniel took the bedroom... we spent the evening getting a few groceries and then we walked to the nearby park... forsyth park... the whole downtown area is a grid and has 24 parks throughout the whole area.   this park is the largest... by far.  it has a play ground and fountain and large grass field.  and the trees!!!! you haven't seen anything like it unless you have been to savannah... they look like they are dripping with history.  haha

the next morning we dropped jeff off at the airport and we headed to this small childrens museum.  it was built out doors at this old railroad depot.... the setting was so cool with these brick walls and old trains.... daniel had a good time exploring... kicking giant balls around... going down the slide and of course playing with the cars... the funniest was he latched onto this small toy of a girl in a wheelchair and pushed it around for a long time... so funny... he also had fun just running around crazy and chasing his dad....

i can't help but take pictures of trains when i see them and they will always remind me of grandpa!!

after the childrens museum we walked around down town. found a place to have some lunch and then head back to the apartment for daniels nap time.  i think for dinner that night we just made something in the kitchen.  after his nap we just enjoyed the incredible weather and walked all over downtown... 

the next day we got up and went to the park... daniel played on the playground and then a stranger woman asked us to fly a kite with she and her daughter.  it only flew for a minute... just not enough wind to get it in the air... then we walked down to this restaurant down by the water that was a pirate house... good southern food... people dressed in costumes... just really fun.  then we walked over to our favorite part of downtown called the city market.... they had this fountain for kids to play in... daniel was scared at first but pretty soon running in and out no problem and getting soaked... he had so much fun chasing his dad in circles.... after his nap he had a picnic dinner in a park and then walked down to the city market again for a little dessert and entertainment...

today we visited an old house that general sherman had used for a bit while in savannah... the family had offered it to him so he wouldn't burn it down since he had been burning everything else in georgia.. it was a neat house... then we walked over to a cemetery.... i love old cemeteries... well, my sister emily loves cemeteries and always makes us see them on any vacation... so i have learned to love them... these ones were neat with a lot of above ground tombs. 

we then walked down to the river walk... got to see a giant shipping boat go by... huge.... and then checked out shops and the little market place by the river.... afterwords we ate lunch outdoors at a cafe.... then we headed back to the apartment for nap time and lots of masters watching... that evening we went back down town for one more visit to the city market area... we just loved it... we also found the park where the bench scene from forrest gump was filmed... 

forrest gump park...

one of my favorite things about walking around are the houses... they are just so fun... so much character and beauty... seriously just love it... here are my two favorite homes...

 the next morning we slowly packed up and cleaned a little and headed home... i drove and chris and daniel sat in the back... we drove the 6 hours straight never stopping and it was perfect... daniel is such a trooper in the car... 

the rest of the weekend we watched the masters on our tv.... and let me tell you.... i was so excited when my favorite bubba pulled ahead and then managed to hang onto his lead to finish as the winner again!!!! and this time so cute with wife and son there to congratulate him!! we even took our traditional masters photo of chris and daniel watching together... we also made french toast and then daniel decided that afternoon to be cute and pretend to cook himself... but of course he was cooking cars...

love these shots with bubba and his little family

this one cracks me up with his finger in his nose.. haha

april... and all things golf...

we started off the month in the most exciting way... with a big trip planned!!! jeff came out to visit here in jacksonville for 2 days... we took him out to the beach his first day here and then he and chris went golfing on base the next day.  of course there was constant talk of all things dentisrty going on (pretty much non stop the entire trip)

twin oreo shakes...

hunting for sharks teeth and intense dentistry convo

looking at jeff's typical schedule.... boring!!! (to me)

monday morning we jumped in the car and headed to augusta, georgia.... for.... wait for it.... the masters!!!!!!! we won practice round tickets in the raffle... super excited.  and yes even i was really excited.  since i met chris he has shared his love of the master with me and i over time have truly grown to love it myself... it helped when bubba watson won and he just bawled like a baby and hugged his mom... haha i know i'm such a girl but it really did make me like the sport more... 

daniel was amazing in the car.  5 hours and he never made a peep... he slept a little and was thoroughly entertained watching movies.  we got into augusta in time to have a little dinner and head to bed... sadly the hotel we booked was super nasty.... some lodge... that was just dirty and smelled and run down but we were on a budget and everything was sooooo expensive for the masters so this $175 option was the best we could do... and next time we will fork out more money!!! haha the boys all fell asleep instantly and it took me a little longer so i was watching a movie on my little dvd player when  a cockroach crawled across the screen!!!! i instantly jumped up and freaked out shining my phone light on the night stand and seeing several more crawling all over it... gah!!!! so  i woke chris up and he offered to switch me sides of the bed... next to sleeping in the van (would have but super sketchy neighborhood) this was the only option.  he fell right back to sleep and i turned some music on my phone put in ear plugs, wrapped my hair in a bun so it wouldn't feel like things were crawling on me and i closed my eyes... i never slept... too creeped out.... maybe slept for an hour.... 

we woke bright and early got ready and i ran out of the room!!!! haha we got to the masters and i had another little problem once we got there... wont share the details but seriously hasn't happened to me since i was like 12!  the good news is the rest of the day was amazing so it didn't matter that my night and morning were less than awesome.

our first stop was watching a few guys warm up at the driving range.... i didnt know any of those guys... so i wasn't as entertained... then we headed out onto the course... holy beautiful!!!! and holy cow that was a ton of people walking around on the course... 

we walked over to the practice greens and first thing saw rory!! so we watched him for a while and then walked over and watched him t off.... i flinched so bad when that ball when wizzing past our heads.... never heard a sound like that.. it was loud and fast and man if it ever hit you you would probably die... good thing pros generally dont hit people that close to them...

we walked the entire course the rest of the day.... not in order.  totally random and whatever was nearby.  we got to see quite a few golfers.... our favorite group to watch was phil, dufner, fowler, and i think dustin.... they were out there having a good time... we even got to watch phil practicing in the sand and he chipped in 3 in a row... it was so fun! 

my favorite part was sitting on the 16th hole and watching the skipping contest... they would hit their balls so the skipped across the little lake up to the green... it was fun to see some miss and some hit awesome shots!! we even got daniel to take an decent nap on my lap while we sat there... i will say daniel was soo good the whole day!!!! he was quiet and carried around his puppy and favorite green car the whole time and amazingly we didn't lose either!! he also looked so cute with his ticket tied to the back of his pants...

i was really sad that bubba t-d off too late so we didn't get a chance to see him.... but here is the famous spot he hit that crazy shot through the trees to win 2 years ago..

the whole course was just beautiful... so green and grass everywhere!!! 

chris was fascinated that everything there had the masters logo on it.... like everything... even the decorative holes on the table....

here are the good we came home with.... they will be treasures... forever... hahaha but seriously...

we left late in the afternoon and headed off to savannah for the rest of our georgia trip... daniel and i both fell asleep the instant we got in the car.... it was such a good day and so many memories will stay with us from this day.... for chris it was a dream come true just to be in Augusta.  the rest of the trip is to be continued...