road trip

DAY 74

On today's agenda we have a mini road trip for the hubbs and I.

We ventured out for a two hour drive to Charleston, SC to see what it had to offer. With out any plans or time frame we were at the mercy of our trusty GPS. There were two sights that I wanted to see while we were there and anything we came across on top of that was just icing on the trip.

Prior to our arrival we stopped at a gun store so the hubbs could have a look around. He left with out the purchase of one though. They had a few he was interested in but nothing that he wanted right then.

Once we got into Charleston, found parking downtown we decided to talk a walked around the pier. Oh the ocean again I can see it and feel the COLD breeze, ummmm this is nothing like Hawaii :( tears yes please. I was heart broken although I knew it wouldn't be like Hawaii at all, I think a bit of me wished it was. For some reason I though since we were closer to the coast that it would be warmer NOT. Another tear for me because I'm hatting this cold weather it totally sucks.

We made our way down the pier taking in what was beautiful scenery all around us. We came across the first of my two must see's!!!! It was a Pineapple water Fountain that my dearest Crystal told me about. It was so neat and just as she describe from top to bottom it looked just like a giant pineapple made up of smaller ones.

From there we continued to walk through downtown Charleston looking at the different boutiques they have and cafes. We came across a awesome kitchen / cookware store that I could have spent hours in, sadly we were meter parked so we were on a time line so to speak. We went through a local street market were they had tons of vendors set up selling anything from local cook books, jewelry, hand weaved baskets, SC themed items and so much more. There was also a horse drawn carriage going though the streets, hearing the hooves of the horse clonk against the street was to cool.

On to our next adventure was must see #2, which we actually saw when we got into Charleston. It was the Cooper River Bridge known as the longest suspended bridge in the Western Hemishpere. It was giant and a beauty to drive across I was in awh. I don't know that I have been on a bridge of this size before other than the bridge that leads you from New York into Manhattan. While we were talking about it Gabe has to mention that he has been on the highest suspended bridge, in Colorado. Of course he has he lived there for a good bit of his life when his parents were stationed at Ft. Carson. "One day One day" we will go back together and I to will be able to say the same but until then I was loving the view of the Cooper River Bridge. There's a path that runs along side of it from the on ramp down to the other end that allows you to walk, jog or run it if you please. From here you were able to see all of Charleston, the harbors and beyond it was awesome. There were was a good amount of people walking along the bridge when we were going across and only about 3 runners that we saw. We though about walking it but decided to save it for a future visit. There's a 5k bridge run across it the last day of March I "might" do it but I am suppose to leave town that day so we will see.

Our last stop before grabbing lunch was at Mount Pleasant Palmetto Islands County Park. It's a nature - oriented park that is great for families of any kind. It's built in what they call a "tropical setting," with bicycle paths, boardwalks and several picnic areas through out. The park includes a two acre pond that is more like a swamp to me. There is a 50 foot observation tower that offers breathtaking views of the tidal creeks and salt marsh. It was a "hike" getting up so I decided to take the easy way down THE SLIDE. Your able to go kayaking through the marsh and we even saw a few fishing boats on the water as well.

We really enjoyed the park, just walking around and being together. This trip was something we both really needed, it allowed us to get OUT of Columbia and see what else SC had to offer. Knowing that there is hope and there is greater things past these city limits gives me hope.

We stopped for a late on our way back home at a place called Smokey Bones that had some not so sweet sweet tea, nothing a little sugar couldn't fix. It turned out to be a FABULOUS day and I'm so happy we decided to do this.

We are already talking about our next day trip to another city near by. The possibilities are endless its just taking some getting use to.