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.