Summer Fun Part 5: Birthday showers for Nicole
Posted by Gypsy on Aug 30, 2009
Since it was Nicole’s birthday, we left the plan for the day completely up to her. Which meant we started off by watching Pretty Woman while relaxing. Seriously, what better way to start a birthday? For the rest of the day’s plans, she chose Boone Hall and then dinner at Basil followed by Paolo’s. My favorite plantation, awesome Thai food. Sounds like a perfect day to me. This explains why Nicole and I are such good friends. Of course, before we got to all that, we had to get to the really fun part of anyone’s birthday: the presents. Nicole got lots of stuff but I think the biggest smile came when she opened Joe’s gift. He was kind enough to make it a little difficult for her by wrapping it in multiple boxes within boxes, but I think it was worth the work since the final box was that signature shade of blue that screams Tiffany’s.
After a relaxing morning watching movies and lounging around, we headed out to lunch. Since it was Nicole’s birthday, it was her choice and she decided we were going to get Philly Cheesesteaks. And I’m glad she did as I love this place that makes them.
Then it was time for Boone Hall. The first time I came to Charleston, Nicole and I did this trip on our own, so it was extra special for the guys since none of them had been there before. For me, it’s just awesome to go here because this is my favorite plantation. It’s the only one that has the original house on the property and that hasn’t been modernized. Because of that, you really get a sense of how things were when plantations were the center of the south’s economy. Our first stop was to take the tour of the house, which is always interesting because you learn new stuff each time you go. The tour guides are encouraged to do their own research so they can discuss the aspects of the plantation that they find interesting so each guide has something new to offer.
Since we had some extra time before we wanted to head out for dinner, we decided to take the trail around the marsh. The weather called for a rainy afternoon, but the skies were still clear so we figured we had time. Sure, there was a little rumbling of thunder, but it was way off in the distance so we didn’t worry about that. Big mistake. Big, HUGE mistake. The brochure said the walk would take about 45 minutes. About 15 minutes in we came upon a clearing. Off to the left, the sky was still blue and gorgeous. But off to the right storm clouds were gathering. Seriously, it looked like something out of Harry Potter. You know, when Voldemort’s symbol appears in the air? Except minus the skull shape. Of course, this is where we decided to have a quick little photo shoot because the background was too good to pass up. We figured we still had a little time to make it back but started to pick up the pace anyway. It was all for naught, though, as about a minute later we felt a few drops then 30 seconds after that were caught in the middle of a total downpour. Hoping to make it back to the car, we picked up the pace a little more until we realized the effort was futile and decided instead to just enjoy this chance to stroll through the rain. This was probably the highlight of the trip for me as I can’t remember the last time I played in the rain. Unfortunately, while we survived the downpour, our camera did not. But honestly it was worth it.
The plan was to head straight downtown for dinner after Boone Hall. Obviously, since we were soaked to the skin from the rain that wasn’t an option. So instead we head home to shower and get all gussied up for dinner. We then head downtown for thai at Basil and gelato at Paolo’s. Since we had a bit of a wait for our table, we hopped next door for drinks at Chai’s. Such a great idea as we ended up with the best bartender ever. Of course, with a name like Christina, she had to be cool. Since the bar was kinda dead, we just spent our time chatting with her while we waiting. We ended up having so much fun we went back there after gelato for a few more drinks. She even bought a couple rounds of birthday shots for us. The best of which was a key lime shot that Nicole and I later had in martini form. She also made Nicole and I a round of the best appletinis ever. Unlike most appletinis that use Sour Apple Puckers to give it flavor (gross) she used another time of liqueur along with some champagne. I’m still kicking myself for not asking her what was it in as it was yummy. Overall, probably the best birthday celebration I’ve ever been to and I’m so glad Nicole allowed us to join her for her special day.
Summer Fun Part 4: Sometimes it’s just too hot to go outside
Posted by Gypsy on Aug 22, 2009
After two days of constant sightseeing outside (and for Andrew one full day of traveling across the Atlantic) it was time for a day of relaxation and indoor fun. First order of business was to sleep in as late as possible then sit around the house in our pajamas until we found motivation. That motivation came in the form of Five Guys. As in the burger joint. Just thinking about it makes me wish I was on the east coast so I could have some again. Seriously, best burgers on the east coast and I highly recommend going there if you haven’t already.
After our yummy yummy burgers, we head over to the movies to see Public Enemies (which was awesome, by the way). Since the sun had set by the time we left the movie, it was finally bearable to be outside. So we took an impromptu trip to the beach. Seriously, it was the perfect time of day to go. The water was still nice and warm, the moon was bright and the beach was fairly empty. We actually spent a good 30 minutes just enjoying wading in the water. Really a perfect day to end a relaxing day. Which was nice as things were going to be busy the next day for Nicole’s birthday celebration.
Summer Fun Part 3: Being tourists and surprising Nicole
Posted by Gypsy on Aug 17, 2009
For our second day in Charleston, Andy and I decided we wanted to see something new for both of us. So the four of us piled into the car and head to Magnolia Gardens, a plantation along the Ashley River. When we arrived, we opted for the full package which included a boat tour and a tram tour as well as a tour of the house and the slave cabins. We grossly underestimated the effect the heat would have on us and ended up only doing the boat and tram tours, but it was still pretty fun.
Since we had some time before the tram tour, we started off our visit with the petting zoo. To help convince the animals to let us pet them, we bought some feed to give them. Unfortunately, some of the little guys are very smart. Once they realize you have food, they tend to follow you around, as one white goat in particular did the entire time we were in petting zoo. While in there we also got to feed a pretty doe (really, how can people eat such a pretty animal) and a little rabbit.
After the zoo we hopped on the tram for a tour of the plantation grounds. This took us around all the various swamps and ponds. Unfortunately, we again didn’t get to see any alligators due to the heat. The tram also took us around the slave cabins and passed an old Indian burial ground.
Magnolia Gardens has a fun little hedge maze, which we went through next. Though it’s quite small, that didn’t prevent us from hitting a couple dead ends before finding the statue in the middle. Funnily enough, while it took us about 10 minutes to find the center, it only took us about 10 seconds to get out thanks to some thinning in the hedges.
Deciding it was just too hot to walk around anymore, we decided to head down to the docks to wait for the boat tour. Since the boat had already returned from a tour and the guide was just killing time before the next tour, we got to sit on the boat and relax alone with him. The boat tour took us through the swamps of the plantation. When plantations were at their production peak, this area of the grounds was used to grow rice. Now it’s host to a vast variety of wildlife, though it was difficult to photograph them from the boat without a good zoom lens.
After the boat tour we opted to do some wandering around the gardens on our own. This was especially enjoyable as we got to see many different flowers and even a fun little spider. I can’t remember what kind of spider it is, but I’ll be posting a photo of the female in an upcoming post. The male is about a quarter of her size. Once she’s mated with him, she eats him. Smart girl if you ask me.
With the heat of the day upon us, we head back home to relax a little before having a cook out and fireworks to celebrate Independence Day. There was, however, an ulterior motive to our desire to get home. See, for months now Joe, Andy and I had been in on a very fun birthday surprise for Nicole and her surprise was set to arrive in a few hours all the way from England. I’d post a photo, but to my dismay we didn’t take a single photo that night after we left Magnolia Gardens, so just imagine in your head a nerdy British guy named Andrew.
Initially Andrew was supposed to arrive earlier in the afternoon, which was the real reason Joe and I were trying to cut short the day at Magnolia Gardens. Due to the nightmare that is air travel, though, Andrew missed his afternoon flight, getting stuck on one that didn’t arrive until 8 p.m. So instead, we head home and enjoyed a lovely meal made by Joe (who is an awesome cook, by the way). Since Andy was out of cigarettes, after dinner, Joe and him headed out to pick up a pack (as well as swing by the airport and grab Andrew). Somehow Nicole managed to not be suspicious in any way when it took them well over an hour to run out for smokes. Of course, she forgot all about how long they were taking when Joe asked her for help getting stuff out of the car and she went to open the back door and out popped Andrew.
Honestly, I still can’t believe we were able to keep that surprise a secret for so long. So many people knew about it and we had been planning it for months. But we all managed to keep it quiet and it was well worth it. The rest of the night was spent using every bit of fireworks bought the day before, creating a very pretty light show right in the neighborhood. While some other people had their own firepower in the area, I have to say I think ours was the best. Also, anyone get the irony of an Englishman traveling to America to celebrate our independence from his tiny little island? What a traitor. Off with his head!
Summer Fun Part 2: Now the real vacation starts
Posted by Gypsy on Aug 12, 2009
I’ve always been a firm believer that there is a huge difference between going home to visit family and going on vacation and while I love going home to see my family I also love going somewhere and just being a tourist. With the first one done, it was time for Andy and I to travel down the east coast to Charleston. This trip had two purposes. The first was to celebrate Nicole’s birthday and give Andy a chance to meet Joe and Nicole (and vice versa). The other was to show off Charleston to Andy in the hopes that he would fall in love with it to and agree to retiring there later on in life. Mission definitely accomplished.
Again we took a flight that had us arriving there late at night, keeping Andy from seeing just how awesome Charleston is until the next morning. Since we only had a week there, though, the next morning we hit the ground running by making a trip out to Cypress Gardens. Even though I’d been there before on my last trip to Charleston, it was still awesome to go out there again and show it off to Andy. Even better is that this time around the butterfly house was absolutely packed, giving us more opportunities to get some up close shots of the butterflies, including one of a newborn mere hours old.
After wandering around the butterfly house for a little bit, we went over to the little aquarium they have to check out some snakes and spiders and fish. Basically your usual swamp creatures. I much prefer seeing them this way than out in the wild. Looking to relax and enjoy some shade, we went from here over to the swamp, where we snagged a row boat and took ourselves on a tour of the swamp. I say we went to relax, but really it was just me and Nicole as our heroes, Joe and Andy, had to do all the work of actually rowing the boat.
Unfortunately, this swamp ride was a lot less eventful than the last as due to the heat none of the gators were out. Towards the end we were able to see one, but it quickly sank back down under the water to cool off. Lucky gator. I thought it was hot and humid when I visited back in September but that was nothing compared to the July heat.
Since this was the day before Independence Day (happy, Andy?), on our way home from Cypress Gardens we attempted to figure out our plans for the fourth. One option was to go to the beach or downtown to watch the fireworks, but traffic was going to be a nightmare if we did this. So we ultimately opted instead to just buy our own fireworks to set off at the house (oh how I love South Carolina). This meant, of course, a trip to the fireworks store, which was so full of awesome. Having always lived in states where fireworks were illegal, walking into this store was like walking into a foreign country. I didn’t even know what anything was, so I just started putting anything that looked cool into the basket while the boys grabbed the essentials. A little over $200 later, we walked out with everything we could possibly need to celebrate the fourth in style.
