Charleston & Isle of Palm: A Chilly Beach Adventure

Our spring was a busy one.  The weekend after we got back from Texas, we strapped the new car seat in the car (Finally! Emmett was so pleased.) and headed down to the Isle of Palm just outside of Charleston.  We were thrilled to spend the week with friends and to play at the beach with our boy. The weather was moderately warm and beautiful that first evening we got there, but after that it got steadily colder, windier and then rainier.  I actually never even put on my bathing suit, which was a little depressing.  However, that certainly didn't stop us (and especially Emmett) from having a grand time.

 We celebrated Easter Sunday with church service, an egg hunt and afternoon walks on the beach.  Emmett was thoroughly impressed with the "tandy."  Hey guys.  Clark here.  I find it interesting how kids are so naturally drawn to candy and things with sugar.  Honestly, other than a visit to "pop pop's" house, Emmett just hasn't ever had sweet stuff and the attraction was instant.  He still asks for "tandy" all of the time, although now he asks for "two tandies" usually.  It's a good bribing mechanism.

Mouthful of robin eggs.  Gosh, this boy was in baaaad need of a haircut.

 The egg-hunting crew

 Windy beach afternoon

 This boy is a beach walker.  Who knows how many miles down the beach he'd have walked if we didn't physically force him to stop and turn around.

Even though we didn't have fabulous beach weather, we did have Charleston close by.  And what a city!  So charming and so much history.  We went into the city on a couple of different occasions.  I'm looking forward to the day when we can go sans toddler so we can more fully enjoy the many interesting museums and delicious restaurants.

 We walked along the waterfront between White Point Gardens and Waterfront Park.   Emmett pointed out birds and boats, and we did our best to keep him on the sidewalk.  :)

 White Point Gardens--not shown, but azaleas were in full bloom!

 Lunch to-go (not a place to take a bunch of kids) from S.N.O.B.   Amazing Reuben sandwich, coleslaw and sour cream apple pie.  Mmmmm.  I'm not even going to mention the single piece of apple pie that Amy bought that cost something like $8.95.

 The pier at  Waterfront Park.  Loved that it was full of porch swings.

 One morning, Jenny, Aimee, Eliza and I visited Middleton Place--home to America's oldest landscaped garden.  The scenery was breath-taking.  We also did the house tour, which had some interesting artifacts, including a pass to cross war lines with Lincoln's signature.  We definitely could have spent more than half a day there.  We were also really glad that we hadn't dragged the men along!  Me too!

 Huge, beautiful trees.

 Rolling terraces, alligators and turtles hanging out at the water's edge.

 The bird is the only part of the statue.  I had to watch for a long time before I was convinced that the turtle and frog at the base were not.

 In the stable yard...

Demonstrating the enormous size of this tree trunk.

 When we weren't in Charleston and it was too cold to be at the beach, we had plenty of other activities to entertain us.  In a great park nearby we played tennis, baseball, soccer and played on the playground.  The first night we played some pick up soccer with some kids that were all younger than 14.  Some of them were better at soccer than I was.  I felt bad, because this one kid was playing pretty hard and he was going for a header and his jaw hit my shoulder.  He held his jaw and kept playing, but I figured he was probably pretty hurt.  The next morning, my shoulder felt like I had been punched 10 times.  I can't imagine what his jaw felt like.  It was his fault anyways :)

We had a vanilla ice cream tasting.  It was a very serious endeavor complete with steps how to place the spoon in your mouth.  Winners weren't surprising--Blue Bell, Haagen Dazs were at the top.  Just want to point out that I correctly named all the ice creams except for two.

 We bundled up for a golf cart ride down to the pier.  It was freezing. 

 Video game challenges--Jeopardy and Family Feud were just a few.  I've always considered myself pretty good at trivia games and such.  I aspire to be on Jeopardy one day.  I have nothing on Julie Paxton.

Pretty much each evening ended with games.  Sequence was once again a favorite, though Wits and Wagers was pretty entertaining as well.

 After a day of rain, Emmett and I headed to the beach in the evening.  It really wasn't very cold at all and the beach looked so mystical and beautiful with the clouds, mist and abandoned shore.  We stayed an played for over an hour. 

 This beachy grin pretty much sums up this boy's feelings.  So dang cute.

 That evening the adults went out to dinner (and celebrate Jen's birthday) in Charleston.  Here we are in front of "Rainbow Row."

 The boys in front of manly artillery at Water Point Gardens. (My phone camera took terrible pics in this lighting.)

 Beautiful dream homes

 Charming gas street lamps

 Beautiful entry ways

 Delicious dinner at Magnolia's.  The fried green tomatoes were especially phenomenal.  This restaurant was awesome.  Go there if you are ever in Charleston.

A rather poor picture at the pineapple fountain at Waterfront Park.