Charleston SC

I have ALWAYS wanted to visit Charleston SC & that finally came true the first weekend in June!

John's brother, Matt, currently lives in Charleston, which made it easy to find a place to stay! It was a great rate too! :)

John's parents asked us to join them to celebrate the end of Steve's treatment for hepatitis C. He has been on a treatment called interferon for a year, which consists of 6 pills a day and 1 shot a week. It's a miracle that he was able to get this treatment since he's been turned down in the past. It's also been such a testament to God that his side effects haven't been as bad as they could have been. Most importantly we're thrilled that his blood work now shows no sign of hep C! Through the flu-like symptoms, fatigue, insomnia, minor depression, leg cramps, 70 lb weight loss and change in taste buds it was all worth it in the end!!!

We decided to celebrate this & John's birthday in one of the oldest cities in the US! It will be awhile before Steve's taste buds are back to normal so he only got to watch us eat ourselves sick off seafood, but still enjoyed himself none-the-less.

It was a rush to get out the door Thursday night, but it was smooth sailing after that. I utterly enjoyed every moment of the weekend away. We were able to bring our dogs with us, which would have ruined the trip for some of you, but for us it made life grand! I didn't feel guilty for leaving them alone & they got to swim in the lake and in the ocean (hilarious)!

Friday:
After sleeping in we went to a dog-friendly restaurant close to Matt's house. The dogs enjoyed the treat of getting to go with us & it .

I was eager to hit the road runnin', but it was John's birthday & he decided a nice nap on the couch was in order next! After he woke up, we headed to Boone Hall Plantation just the two of us in Matt's convertible! Such a neat place full of history! For those of you that love the movie "the notebook" this is Alli's summer house. They eat in the backyard & jump into the river here, but the inside of the house is another plantation in charleston (hello hollywood).


Friday evening we ate at Fleet Landing and enjoyed an amazing view of the ocean while eating delicious seafood!

Saturday:
We tour downtown Charleston & visit the market after brunch at Poogan's Porch. We cooled down in one of the fountains & watched Brooke play before heading to the dog park on James Island. The dogs loved this place & both swam the whole time. I was fine until I saw a sign that said "alligators may live here" with a picture of a large alligator. It was hard for me to relax after that. Janet has pics of us here, but I left my camera. We also visited the angel tree that is 1500+ years old!

We then headed to the beach & enjoyed watching Brooke build a sand castle & the dogs try to figure out how to swim over the waves. We ate at another dog friendly restaurant on Folly Beach called Loggerhead's, which was excellent!

Sunday:
We got a late breakfast at Joseph's before packing up & heading home. I highly recommend Joseph's & get the sweet-potatoe pancakes! You won't be disappointed.

Although the trip started with last minute packing and rushing out the door, it ended up being remarkable! I was actually nice to not have everyday planned out & to just go with the flow! I wasn't stressed ever & slept long and hard! It was the perfect weekend away!