We're back!!!!

[donna723]

My son and I had the most wonderful trip to Charleston, South Carolina to spend Christmas with my daughter, sister in law, and little baby grandson! Just got home about two hours ago - exhausted, but it went very well.

We left out from Tennessee Wednesday evening and got to their house Christmas Eve morning, a ten hour drive on no sleep ... somebody please remind me again why I thought that driving all night was a good idea! I hadn't seen them since last May when the baby was fifteen days old and now he's almost eight months ... and my son was meeting his nephew for the very first time. They hit it off famously! The baby is such a beautiful, happy little guy with soft blond hair, huge pale blue eyes. and just full of big smiles. There's just something about a baby's first Christmas ... he had such a good time opening all his gifts. And last night when they found one unopened gift for him that had been shoved behind a chair and overlooked, he knew exactly what to do with it and started right in tearing off the wrapping paper! Then we went out last night and had dinner in a fabulous seafood restaurant that is right on an inlet where the shrimp boats are going back and forth and pelicans flying by. People in boats can tie up right at the side of the restaurant and come in to eat. I would love to go there in the summer when it's all opened up - the lights are just beautiful! I LOVE Charleston!

And, wouldn't you know it, my camera decided to pick NOW to mess up, but when I get some of the picture they took, I'll post them. The only thing I hated about it is saying goodbye to them again! I don't know when we will be able to go again and it will be a while before they can come up here. My daughter doesn't have much leave time left after having the baby and sister in law will be starting a new job soon and won't have time off for quite a while. It's so hard saying goodbye to them and that baby! By the time I see him again he will be walking! I'm really the only grandparent he has and he's over 600 miles away from me! But, all in all, it was wonderful and we made it down there and back safely and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it!

 

[Suz]

Welcome back, Donna. I'm so glad you had a safe trip and a wonderful visit! Who took care of your fuzzbutts while you were away?

Suz

 

[everywoman]

Charleston is a beautiful city. I'm about 50 miles north of there. Did you happen to eat on Shem Creek in Mt. Pleasant? Love that place!!! My grandchildren are 2/12 hours away---and I wish they were right next door. I feel like I miss so much of their daily lives.

 

[KTMom91]

Glad you had such a good time! It sounds wonderful!

 

[donna723]

Suz, I really luck out in the puppy sitting department. The tech from our vet's office keeps them for me at her home and charges me about half what a kennel would! She had all four of them this time! She and her kids take such good care of them and they spend so much time playing with them and walking them, they're hardly in the crates at all. I bring their food, their crates and bedding and toys, and they do the rest. It was kind of chaotic getting four of them over there and back but my son helped me and we took two cars so it wasn't too bad. It's taken about two hours but they've finally settled down and they are glad to be home.

And EW, that's EXACTLY where we went! My sister in law took us to RB's and we sat out on the deck part - of course the windows were closed this time of year but it's a really nice place and the food was wonderful! I wouldn't mind making the 600 mile trip again just to get more of those those crab cakes!

 

[GoingNorth]

back when I was a kid, there were several "fish shacks" along Lake Michigan in Chicago. They sold perch and trout fresh out of the water. This was back in the days when there was still a commercial fishery on the lake.

I can remember tying up right at one of these places and getting lake perch that had been out of the water for an hour before hitting the hot oil.

Yum! I'd bet shellfish would be wonderful that way too.

 

[everywoman]

GN---it is. Where I live we have fresh local seafood available 12 months a year. Nothing beats local shrimp, oysters, clams, flounder, scallops, crabs.....We have several docks locally, and you can ride up and buy right off the boat---that's the way all the local restaurants work. Some even have their own boats. If you ever get down south, a trip to South Carolina for fresh seafood is a must.

 

[GoingNorth]

Well, all I could eat (shellfish allergy) would be the flounder, but I LOVE flounder, so I'm sure I could manage, LoL.

In Germany we used to get a lot of fish from the North Sea. It was caught there and trucked on ice down to where we lived. The day after catch still beats heck out of the frozen and re-thawed stuff you mostly get here

 

[LittleDudesMom]

Donna,

glad you had a wonderful holiday with the new grandbaby!

I will be going to Charleston on the 7th! My 50th birthday is today and my cousin's (best friend) 50th is the end of January so we are celebrating by going down and staying for three nights! I will add that seafood place to our list. We wanted to go out one night and have a really nice dinner and enjoy a bottle of wine - is it that kind of place or more of a casual seafood place?

Sharon

 

[DammitJanet]

LDM...Tony works in Charleston now through the week...lol. He raves about a chinese place there. He actually works on James Island (I think!). Havent been down there with him on this job.

 

[donna723]

Sharon, I only know about RB's, the one we went to, but it's REALLY nice! It's not one though where dinner will cost you $100 ... most of the selection ranged from about $20 on up. It's a good-sized place and very pretty. Our table was on what my sister in law called the deck. In the summer it's all open but in the winter they have these big roll-down windows that are closed. Outside the windows is a walkway with boat tie-ups and benches and the water is right there. I don't know if it's an inlet or a canal but a lot of shrimp boats are docked there and in the daytime you can watch the boats go by and there's all these pelicans and other birds flying around. At night the lights are really pretty reflecting off the water. It's not 'casual' like McDonalds or something but it's not somewhere where you would have to dress all up to go either. The kids all wore jeans and we took the baby. I won't pretend to know my way around the Charleston area but we had to go over a big long new bridge to get there. This place serves the authentic 'shrimp and grits' which sounds awful but my sister in law says is wonderful! Next time I'm trying that.

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

 

[DammitJanet]

I HATE that bridge...LOL. I hated even more the one they had before the new one. I am not a bridge person and the ones in Charleston are some of the worst.

 

[everywoman]

Sharon, if you're staying downtown, there are some fabulous restaurants down there. I would suggest 82 Queens. The food is unbelievable, and it is pricey, but worth it for a special birthday celebration. Also, if you can take a carriage tour. They will show you all the sites and they are so worth the ticket price (you can get discounted tickets online.) Strolling through the market is also an enjoyable activity. They have a lot of local artists and goods there.

And shrimp and grits are fantastic.

 

[donna723]

Janet, I'm not a 'bridge person' either, and the whole time we were going over it, I kept noticing how low those side walls were! But my sister in law said that the bridge that this one replaced was much, much worse!

 

[DammitJanet]

The one they used to have didnt have walls! My dad had a panic attack on the thing have way across it. I took one look at it years and years ago before I had panic problems or anxiety issues and knew there was no way in hades I was crossing that thing...lol.

Tony, on the other hand, crossed the old one and crosses this new one every single day of the week. LOL.

 

[everywoman]

LOL---the new bridge is much better than the old ones....

I had an aunt who would drive to Charleston, get at the foot of the bridge, pull over and cut her flashers on. She would wait for a policeman, and get him to drive her over the bridge. She was only about 4'11" and was this tiny sweet woman---I guess back then they didn't mind helping little ole women across the bridge

 

[DDD]

Glad to hear you're safe and sound. DDD