Darren's First Lowcountry Birthday

Darren's birthday was Sunday, July 8, so we celebrated and had birthday fun all weekend. Saturday morning, our friend Yvonne and her daughter Serena arrived from Georgia. She worked with Darren at his old Dick's Sporting Goods in Buford, GA. So, of course it was exciting for Darren to get to show Yvonne his new store.


After a store tour and some lunch, we headed to downtown Charleston to show our Georgia visitors our new city. We drove over to the USS Yorktown and walked around there. We went to beautiful Waterfront Park in downtown Charleston and walked through the market.


We then walked along the harbor by Battery Park and White Point Gardens and looked at all the beautiful old houses that are along the water. The houses are so incredible. One of the houses on Rainbow Row is actually for sale right now (the dark green one). The price tag is well over $3 millon.



We finished the evening by eating at California Dreamin'. What an amazing view this restaurant offers. It is situated along the river. So, we spent the meal watching the boats come and go. The picture is a view from our table. It was wonderful.


Sunday morning (DARREN'S BIRTHDAY!), we picked Yvonne and Serena up from their hotel at 5:30 am. We were headed to Folly Beach in hopes of seeing the sun rise. We headed for the end of Folly Beach that offers a view of the Morris Island Lighthouse.


Well, the day was overcast, so we didn't see a spectacular sunrise. But, after a while the sun did break through and it was simply beautiful. We spent a while just walking and enjoying the lighthouse and the view from the end of the island.


We then headed back into the town of Folly Beach to get some breakfast before heading out to the beach. We parked down from the pier and played in the water and sand for several hours. I left Darren a note in the sand (see the very first picture at the top).


We saw this jellyfish washed up on the beach. Darren left a message for him.


I think Serena really enjoyed playing in the water... well, until she swallowed the water or it went up her nose. Darren and Yvonne pretended like they were going to throw her in several times... I don't think she liked this, either.


After a wonderful morning on the beach, we headed home to shower and go out for some lunch. We discovered a nail in the tire on Yvonne's rental, so we dropped it at Firestone after lunch. We took them over to see Fort Dorchester. Serena (who is six and going into first grade) read us the information placard about the tabby that the fort walls are made out of.


We walked down to the river and saw these enormous grasshopper looking bugs. I have no idea what they are.


We then explored the old belltower from Saint Michael's Episcopal Church and the small graveyard surrounding it. Some of the graves dates back over 200 years! Then, we had to say goodbye. Darren and I headed home. We cooked and ate some birthday brownies, enjoyed some take-out from Kyoto, and watched the cable that just started appearing on our TV this weekend. It was a really fun weekend, and even better because Darren is now 23 and we got to celebrate with a good friend.

Our First 4th in South Carolina

Neither of us had to work on the 4th, so we got to spend a wonderful day together. We started the day by heading out to the Mount Pleasant Area- our agenda was to find four Turtles on the Town and one letterbox.


Our first stop was the Charleston Harbor Resort, just down the road from Patriot's Point. Here, we found Lowcountry Louie. This turtle was absolutely beautiful! It was definitely one of our favorites. The turtle was done in mosaic tiles and was positioned right beside the harbor.


Next, we drove a short ways down the road to Cassandra. She was on display in front of a jewelry store. This was the first turtle I'd seen done in this style of painting. It is not my favorite, but it was still nice to see the turtle. I did enjoy how the artist had painted familiar local scenes on the turtle such as the Ravenal Bridge, Rainbow Row, Morris Island Lighthouse, and the fountain in Charleston's Waterfront Park.


Our 3rd stop was in the I'on area of Mount Pleasant. First, we found the Strictly for the Birds Letterbox. This was a great box. The hide was quite possibly the best we've ever seen. It was very clever. If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend this box.


Also in I'on was the Lost Years Turtle. It was situated by a pond. The picture of Darren at the top was taken by the water here. This turtle was high up on a custom made pedestal. It was hard to get a good look at her.


Our Last turtle was out on Daniel Island. We drove around, confused for a bit, before we finally found the turtle. (B)Loggerhead Turtle was actually in the lobby of the Blackbaud building. It looked closed, but the door was open, so we went inside and took a few pictures of the turtle. It was suspended form the ceiling.


After was rested at home for a few hours, we headed out to Wannamaker Park to meet Rock Star and Mouse Nanny who were in town visiting from North Carolina. We exchanged and went with them to find 3 boxes in the park, one of which we hadn't found yet. It was great to meet and talk with them! After another few hours rest and some dinner at home, we headed out to Gahagan Fields to stake out our spot to watch the fireworks.


Cortney and Jesse and Cortney's family (mom, dad, and sister) visiting from Ohio joined us later. The fireworks started 30 minutes after schedule. They lasted 31 minutes! The fireworks were beautiful and I have recently discovered that I really enjoy photographing them. It was very late once we finally got home. What a wonderful 4th of July!