All About August

Well, we finished up our last month here in Charleston! I still can’t believe that. We kept going strong until the day that we left and managed to find even more things to try for the first time. I’m not kidding; this place has so much to do.

Blues & BBQ Cruise

One thing that Rusty really wanted to do before we left was this cruise that went out on the harbor at sunset and had a BBQ buffet AND a blues band playing live music. They only happen on Thursdays, and his birthday just happened to be a Thursday this year so I thought, perfect. But then he told me that Boeing was doing that for their interns and so we could go and just pay for my ticket. Weeeeeelllll, that made it 50% off so it was only 20 bucks for both of us instead of 40. So needless to say, we went with the interns. Which was cool… and awkward all at the same time. We ate dinner with them and they are awesome, and then they went and got drunk so we did our own thing for the rest of the ride. It was so pretty! We watched the sunset over the harbor with the Charleston skyline and dolphins… yeah. I really can’t think of a place that is more picturesque than Charleston. The food was so delicious and we ate so much we thought we would blow up.

Kayaking

Another thing that we did was go back to Shem Creek because we liked paddling boarding so much. This time we decided to do kayaking so that we could go a little further away from the creek and out by this island that we were curious about. When we got there they gave Rusty a ‘big, fat luxury’ kind of kayak that sat above the water, was really wide, and had a huge seat. It was like sitting in a lazy boy. They gave me a ‘narrow speed demon’ that was so tipsy I thought I was going to die. When I left, the girl said, “this is what our guides use… good luck” and at first I really didn’t think I was going to make it. But alas, I was too lazy to go back and get it changed and within minutes dolphins were popping up all around me so I was distracted. There were so many dolphins and they were so close to me that I just couldn’t stop laughing. The entire time. I was stoked. After enjoying the plethora of dolphins we voyaged out to the island. Little did we know that it was just a stinky island full of bird poop. We did see lots of baby pelicans that were trying to learn how to fly so I guess it was worth it. But mostly it was just stinky. When we were going back to drop our stuff off we saw all of these dolphins swimming around a shrimp boat that had just come in (Winds of Fortune, which is in Darius Rucker’s music video). So we sat and watched them for a while; my especial favorite was the baby. Then we started to head in when all of a sudden I saw a dolphin jump out of the water and do a flip! I was so shocked and surprised I just started yelling at Rusty to see if he saw it. Then it happened again, and again! The last one was only like 10 feet away from me. It was the coolest thing that I have ever seen.

Sunrise, Chicken and Waffles, and Getting Thrashed by the Waves

So, growing up my family and I spent a lot of time at the Oregon coast. Luckily for me, I have been able to see the sun set over the ocean quite a few times and one of my most favorite things is to watch the sun quietly slip away into nothing. Being on the East coast for the summer has a lot of pros, but watching the sun set over the ocean is not one of them. So I decided that I wanted to watch the sun rise and then I set about trying to convince Rusty that getting up at 5:30 on our only day off was a good idea. Surprisingly, haha, we didn’t do it until the very last Saturday that we had. But we succeeded! We got up early, grabbed some hot chocolate, almost got in a wreck with my sleepy driving, and made our way slowly over the wooden steps to the beach. We laid out our blanket and started watching the sky get brighter. Now I don’t know about you, but I have only seen a few sunrises and every time it surprises me how fast it happens. It seems like it gradually gets brighter and brighter but once the sun actually pops up it just shoots up into the sky so fast. It was absolutely beautiful to see the sun rise up over nothing and light up the clouds and create reflections in the wet sand. And, not to sound too sappy, but holding my lover’s hand and watching dolphins swimming in the waves really did make it unforgettable.

Well, after a little nap we headed on our way to our adventuring. I had been wanting to see the Morris Island Lighthouse but we didn’t know exactly where it was. So we just wandered around until we found some signs that looked promising. We did make it there, and it was really cool. The lighthouse is out in the water so you can’t get close to it but it was cool to see it. It was built in 1870 something but it was the third lighthouse put in that spot. This little area is pretty deserted so it was kind of surreal to stand there and think about someone standing in the same place more than 100 years ago and seeing the same thing.

By this time I was getting hungry. We went to IHOP and found out that the wait was 15 minutes. We were already a little iffy on the whole thing because we would rather eat at a little diner that isn’t a chain but we weren’t sure if we would find one quick enough haha. I get cranky when I am hungry. But we decided to keep on trekking and see what we could find. Literally half a mile down the road we came across a diner called The Early Bird Diner. Miraculously, we found a parking spot and ventured on in. I had heard that chicken and waffles was a southern thing, but I had also heard that it wasn't very good. When we got there the waitress told us that they were famous for theirs, so we decided to give it a shot. Correction: Rusty decided to give it a shot. I thought that was great because I could try it and then have to be stuck with it. :) But honestly his was way better. Way, way better. Which is weird. But I do, I love chicken and waffles for breakfast.

After a good ol' southern breakfast we drove out to Edisto Island and played at the beach there. This was definitely a new beach for us; it was completely different from the other ones. There were a ton of seashells, in fact the sand didn't start until further away from the ocean. Closer to the waves were big shells which hurt. And all of a sudden the ground dropped off, so to get in the water you had to leap off the ground and just jump in: like a swimming pool. I think that was my favorite part. Anyways, we were trying to body surf but it just kept picking me up and carrying me and then throwing me down on the shells. The first time I was so shocked I just stood there with seashells covering my whole body. Rusty laughed so hard that it happened to him too (karma) and that ended our attempts at body surfing. After that we just floated around and swam and body surfed far away from shore haha.

On our drive home we stopped at the Edisto River (which I think I wrote about already) but I had never seen. It was... actually pretty gross. All brown water. And who knows what lives in there.

Hahaha this is Rusty's reaction to the water.

Fresh Shrimp

The last week that we were in Charleston we decided to do our own cookin. We went to a seafood place and bought a pound of fresh shrimp to take home and cook... which was way more than we needed. But delicious none the less. It was cool to be able to buy seafood that had just come off the boat that morning.

Well, there is probably more but I can't think of anything right now. I'll add on later if I remember :)

 

Getting Paid to Swim, Swing, and Sweat

So, I have my dear, beautiful, awesome friend Sierra to thank for getting me to write this post. Not to say that I haven't loved my job this summer, but it has been a little different than I thought. I would have preferred being able to have some opportunities to plan activities or lead some things that we did as a whole group (to let me practice for being a teacher) but the director did almost all of the instruction and all of the planning. It was still a lot of fun and I got to have a lot of interactions with kids, which I do love.

Some overall basics about the camp: There were 20 to 30 kids every week, ranging in age from 4 to 11. This proved to be very difficult because normally we would only have one 4 year old and one 11, so the one would be lost in an activity or the other would be bored. The camp was held at Dunes West in Mt. Pleasant, which is a very ritzy golf club. So these were all very wealthy families, which was a big difference to my experiences working with the kids in state custody. Honestly those kids were a lot easier to work with and make connections with, probably because they wanted to have a relationship with somebody. Don't get me wrong; these kids were great! Just working with some of their lack of appreciation make entertaining them difficult. This is where we had camp every day!

On to the positives! I can't think of a more chill and laid back summer job, especially here in Charleston.  Every morning we went to the playground and played there. I taught the kids the game Lava (seriously, kids these days) and had lots of fun playing with them. We did arts and crafts most days too and created all kinds of crazy things like puff paint, window clings and bracelets. I am even sporting some nice things that kids made for me during the summer. High quality stuff. Also, we went to the pool every day (and it was a beautiful pool WITH a water slide) and unlike some of my" more matured" coworkers, I went on that slide so many times. :)

Every Wednesday was "Wacky Wednesday" and had some crazy theme to it, ranging from world travel to the Olympics. One week we made countries and had to come up with a flag and a song... ours was a rap, about Pacman throwing up a rainbow. And a leprachaun falling off a cliff. Haha kids are hilarious. Every night when I would pick Rusty up he would ask for the quote of the day. And I always had one, ranging from "My dad is older than the days of the week" to a four year old telling me that his swimsuit has "dynamics that make it so the water runs off and it dries faster. Yeah, I know that word- dynamics." Hahaha.

My commute was long but beautiful. I got to pass over the Cooper River on a huge bridge and then later over the Wando River by a cute little drawbridge. Mt. Pleasant is beautiful, so spending my time there was definitely okay with me. These kids drove me nuts but I loved them too. They were so sweet sometimes and so funny all of the time that I couldn't help it.

Myrtle Beach

I have always heard a lot about Myrtle Beach, and honestly when I told people I was moving to South Carolina for the summer the normal response was, "Oh that's where Myrtle Beach is!" We definitely wanted to try it out and see what everyone was talking about. So, we took a day trip and headed up there. It is only 2 hours north of Charleston, which is not bad. We woke up early on Saturday and then went up to a place called Green Swamp in North Carolina. This is something that is really nerdy, but Venus Flytraps are native to the Carolinas, and if you want to see one that's where you need to go. And apparently the best place to see them in the wild is Green Swamp and the best time is the summer. So we decided to make an adventure out of it and go see them! We get there and hike around for a while... and nothing. After about 30 minutes we were concerned. After an hour we gave up. Haha but although it was lame to not see anything, it was fun to be out there hunting around and having an adventure together. Also, this place was actually pretty cool and reminded us of the forests in the West; mostly because there were pine trees and they were spaced out enough that you could see through them instead of the forests here that are like solid walls of green.

After our unsuccessful endeavor we headed to Myrtle Beach and got some quick lunch before making our way to the beach. We found a nice, quiet spot and body surfed and laid out in the sun. While we were out playing in the ocean we saw a jellyfish with a tiny crab stuck on it haha. Anyways we kept playing and then all of the sudden my leg felt like it was on fire! So I ran out of the water (pretty sure Rusty thought I was bit by a shark) and looked down and there was a dark line on my calf. Yup, I got stung by that crabby jellyfish. Contrary to what you may think, I did not pee on my leg nor did I ask Rusty to. It just didn't seem serious enough to involve that. After that whole episode we went to the boardwalk and got some ice cream while we walked around. It was lots of fun just to see the shops and be out walking around like that. Then we walked on the beach some more and sat on the pier and talked together. I love summer nights!

July Adventures!

July has been a little subdued because I kept getting sick. I had a cold that turned into bronchitis, then I got an ear infection that spread to my other ear. So with all of this going on the first few weeks were not quite as exciting or eventful as we would have liked. But I am getting better!! Even though I've been sick we have still managed to do some fun things :)

We went to the temple in Columbia and it was beautiful. It's always fun to see different temples and this one was no exception. It is smaller than a lot of the other ones but people come from all over to be here. It was beautiful inside and out and such a blessing to be able to visit it in the short time that we are here. I LOVE going to the temple. It's the best place on this earth.

We also played for the Fourth of July! We went to the ward breakfast, got some groceries for dinner, went to Sullivan's island with some friends, watched a movie and had a delicious dinner that was just perfect for the 4th (Root Beer, hamburgers, BBQ chips, veggies, watermelon). To watch the fireworks we went to the park in North Charleston right on the Cooper River. They sent the fireworks up from a boat out on the water and it was really beautiful! 

 We also went and walked around in Wannamaker County Park which is close by our house. It has a ton of paths that you can walk on that go to different lakes and forest areas. We sat on a swing by a lake for a while and just watched the turtles and talked about if we wanted to live in Charleston or Seattle. (Side note: this has been the hardest decision of my life.)

Something else that we did that was new for us was go to Cinnebarre. It's a movie theatre and restaurant mixed together, which apparently exists in other places (like Boise, go figure!) but we had never heard of this or been to one. Funny enough, we both heard about it at work and were planning it as a surprise for the other one. Great minds think alike, right? It was really cool though! We went and saw Despicable Me 2 and ate a pizza in these very comfy chairs. 

Maybe one of my favorite things that we have gotten to do is go out on the boat with Rusty's boss, Pat. Pat is the nicest guy you'll ever meet; kind of like a teddy bear. And he is from New Jersey so his accent is hilarious and he says things like, "forget about it" which make everything better. He took us out on his boat with some other people from work and showed us Charleston from the water. We left from Watersedge, after eating some of the half off appetizers, and went out into the harbor. It was super choppy that afternoon so we were all over the place. Then we saw a huge cargo ship coming and Pat asked if I wanted to see it closer. I said yes and then got a little nervous about just how close he was going to get us. He took us pretty close and my stomach dropped when I realized how tiny we were next to that thing, and it dropped another fifty feet when I turned around and saw a HUGE wave that would have eaten us. But Pat saw it too and drove away real quick so we all survived. Then we made our way through the Intracoastal Waterway, which is essentially a water highway that goes from the tip of Florida up to New Jersey. And has now been added to my bucket list. Seriously, how cool is that? You just stop at the cities/towns you want to and dock up for the night, a few days, whatever. We stayed out on the boat and watched the sun set over the trees and then decided to go back in. I've never been out on a boat at nighttime, but it was so peaceful and the stars were so bright. After we got back I was starving. All we had eaten for dinner were those appetizers and so I was ready for something else. We decided to go to Andolini's. (Funny story about Andolini's, especially the one in Mt. Pleasant, is that a few weeks ago a guy climbed up on the Ravenel Bridge and was going to jump off to kill himself. That's not funny at all, but the funny part and the part that made national news was that they got him to come down by getting him a large pepperoni pizza from Andolini's.) We decided to get the special and it was sooooo delicious. And huge. I know I say huge all of the time, but this pizza really was extremely large, AKA huge.

Another adventure that we had was going out to Kiawah Island. On our way there we stopped at Angel Oak, which is a tree that is 500 years old. And it is the biggest tree that I have ever seen.

After Angel Oak we went and played at the beach. This is the same beach where a young boy was bitten by a shark three weeks ago, which made me scared. But it also is one of the only places in the world to see dolphins strand feeding. South Carolina is where it's at man. Anyways, we went out there and walked along the beach to Captain Sam's Inlet where dolphins do that. Sadly we didn't see any dolphins, but we did see a lot of cool things! We also got stuck in 3 storms, which can sound really crappy but it actually wasn't. It was kind of fun to be walking on the beach getting kissed your handsome husband in the rain. One storm passed right behind us and so it just sprinkled and building a fort with our towels was enough to save us. The second one followed us on our walk back (the entire way) and we were absolutely soaking wet. The third one we saw coming and literally ran to the car to avoid it and it started pouring the second I touched the door. Good timing or what?

We also did a carriage tour! It was cool to go around the town and listen to our guide's stories. She reminded us of a lot of things that we learned from the walking tour we did, but we also learned some new things. One thing that I learned was that a lot of the houses downtown had separate buildings for the kitchens because of the fire hazards. When slaves would walk the food over from the kitchen to the house sometimes wild dogs would come and attack them to try to get the food. So they would fry some corn meal and then toss it to the dogs to keep them away, and they would yell "hush puppies!" And that, folks, is where hush puppies came from. 

So, sometimes bad things happen but they can turn into great, awesome, super fun things! I even have an example. Like yesterday. Every Tuesday Rusty has a meeting at 6 in the morning. Yesterday, he woke up and starting repeating "Babe, it's 6:45!!" And then I jumped up and we both ran around like crazy people... until he decided to just call in. I had the day off and he hasn't taken any time off yet so he decided to take a "personal day" and then we just played. All day. We started out by going to breakfast.

Peach french toast.

Sorry ladies, this hunk is mine.

Then we went and did Ft. Sumter. It was actually a lot cooler than I thought it would be! The boat ride out was pretty cool and then getting to see the fort was very interesting. Fort Sumter was built after the War of 1812 in between two other forts to add some additional protection, but there was no land there so they had to manually build the island. Pretty crazy.

Fort Sumter!

This shell has been stuck in the wall since the Civil War. 

The flag that flew over the fort when Anderson was in control.

After Ft. Sumter we stopped for a little pit stop at Sonic to get some much needed tots and cherry limeades. Then we headed over to one of the greatest adventures we have done here. Definitely made it on my top 5 list and on my list of what I would recommend to people visiting the area. It's called Cypress Gardens and you pay $10 to get into the park. Once inside, they have all kinds of things set up for you to do. There are walking paths that go past ponds for you to look for alligators or just look at the beautiful flowers. Also there are exhibits that you can do, like a "swamparium" (anacondas, alligators, lizards, frogs), a butterfly house, and an aviary. Although this is all awesome, the best part is that they have these flat bottomed boats that you can take out onto the pond yourselves! We went out and saw alligators swimming around in the water and just played out there. It was so cool! And, come to find out that this is where they filmed The Notebook scene where Noah and Allie go out in the boat and all of the swans fly around. So, I'm pretty much famous.

Our lovely boat.

Close up of our first gator!

How close the gator was to us!

The whole thing was so beautiful.

Turtles!

Baby alligators.

This bird was hilarious. She really only loves men so Rusty had to talk to her and she had a real conversation with him. So great.

Butterfly house.

After Cypress we went home and made dinner and then met up with our friends Caitlin and Brandon who were visiting. We met up for some dessert and walked around the pineapple park downtown. It was great to see them! It definitely has been too long and Rusty and Brandon seemed to enjoy themselves! Even if it was just because they bonded from laughing at us run away from the nasty roaches that were chasing us down the street as we burst through the unsuspecting tour groups.

The last day of July was still great! I got to go down to the beach before heading into work and see the Charleston Aquarium release some sea turtles that were rehabbed. Three were set free today, one was huge and the other two were smaller. The most interesting one to me was the big guy, named Splinter. He got this name because when they found him he had a splinter that was as big as his whole flipper. But here is the crazy thing. When they did the surgery and removed the splinter, they found that it wasn't wood like they thought. It was a piece of a swordfish bill. WHAT THE?! That is absolutely crazy. What I wouldn't give to know the story behind that.

Splinter!

This guy was crazy! He was so ready to go he just kept flapping his little flippers.

Well, that sums up our last full month here in Charleston! The summer has been crazy, fun, and interesting, and has completely flown. We are sad to leave this adventure but are excited to be back to what feels like home.