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!

A Day at Hilton Head

Saturday, we drove down to Hilton Head. Darren's mom and his brother Jesse were there for a few days of vacation. Hilton Head was beautiful, though a lot more touristy than the beaches around us!


One of the first things we did was go up in the Harbor Towne Lighthouse. The lighthouse is 93 feet tall. It was completed in 1970 and is the newest lighthouse.


This is one of the views from the top of the lighthouse. It was beautiful up there! You could even see Tybee Island off in the distance. I also found out that Harbor Towne participates in the Lighthouse Passport Program, which I didn't know, so I got another stamp to add to my passport.

My favorite thing about Hilton Head was all of the Hibiscus that were blooming. Hibiscus is one of my favorite flowers. They were in bloom all over the island in a variety of colors.


I also saw this alligator. He was in a pong near the hotel Darren's mom was staying at. When I first got out of the car to take his picture, he wasn't that close. As he was swimming, I kept taking his picture... until I realized he had swam to about 5 feet from me and was still coming closer... at which point I returned to the car.

Our First Soccer Game

On Friday, we went to our first soccer game. We went with Cortney and Jesse, some new friends from church. The Charleston Battery took on the Atlanta Silverbacks (which I thought was kind of cool). I wasn't really sure if I was going to like soccer. It wound up being a whole lot of fun, though!


The first 45 minute half, the Battery was trying to score on the other end of the field from where we were sitting. At the end of the first half, it was 1-0, Atlanta. After half-time, the teams switched goals. The Battery scored and tied it up. With just miniutes to go, one of the Atlanta players tripped a Battery player and we got a penalty shot. GOAL! We were up 2-1, and Atlanta was mad. A fight almost broke out. It was pretty exciting!


After the game, we all went down on the field... and wondered how parents would ever find their children that had ran down and did the same. Darren and Cortney were being silly (Cortney was giving Darren bunny ears or something, but it didn't work).

There was a beautiful post-game fireworks show. It started with a salute to the Charleston Nine- the 9 firemen who lost their lives in a fire this last week. It was then followed by a 7 or 8 minute firework show. We had a great time and I look forward to going to another game!

Two and a Half Years

So, Monday, June 18, 2007, Darren and I had been married for two and a half years. Yeah, we just like to celebrate being friends and being in love :) Anyhow, we had a wonderful evening together, dining on our favorite takeout (Kyoto), watching the Sopranos, and going to Azalea Park.


You know, I never get tired of going to that park. It's so beautiful all the time. I take so many pictures everytime we go. We saw the turtle in the pond with the frog statue. He stayed there while I was taking pictures and as soon as I was done, he hopped in the water.


We walked in the park on both sides of main street. Just as we were getting ready to cross the street, we saw this bunny rabbit. I'd never seen a bunny there before. He was cute!


I don't know why, but only the red azaleas are still blooming. I wonder why they are and not any of the other colors. They're beautiful though!


I followed this bee around as he fed on one of the azalea bushes. I probably got too close a few times, but the bee didn't seem to notice I was there.


It's been a wonderful two and a half years. We have faced many things in this short time, but I truly feel they have only made us stronger, closer, and more reliant on God. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful husband!

Charleston Walks

Saturday was coller than a lot of days we've had lately. I guess for one day, we would reap the benefits of cooler air after the rain. Anyhow, Darren and I decided we'd head downtown to walk. We had a map of Turtles on the Town and some letterbox clues, but overall, we just thought we'd take a nice, long walk. We wound up with two letterbox finds and saw 15 turtles. Plus, we walked quite a few miles. Quite a successful afternoon.

Our favorite turtle we saw was Native Sons. This turtle was in a quaint little park. It features pictures of some famous native sons- men from Charleston who've gone on to make quite a name for themselves- Stephen Colbert, James Brown, Hootie of Hootie and the Blowfish, Francis Marion, James Brown, and others.

Poseidon was outside the Gibbes Museum. The area where the turtle was was roped off so you couldn't actually get within a few feet. I liked all the detail around this turtles face. The props also added a lot to the overall effect.

Turtle van Gogh (Memml) was outside of a church. I couldn't get a great picture of the entire turtle because of the sun. This was a cute turtle. The edged os the turtle had little houses and buildings that has been painted by children and decoupaged onto the turtle.

Sea of Blue was right at Blue Turtle Yoga. This turtle was pretty simple, really just done in two shades of blue. It was very beautiful though.

Davey Wavey was right outside Stickey Fingers. We'd seen him when driving down Meeting Street, but hadn't stopped right then to take a picture. This turtle was mostly two toned as well, with a bit of white accenting the edge of the green and blue. I liked this turtle (but, I probably won't see one I really don't like...)

The paper said this was the Meeting Street Turtle. However, the placard said "Louie", so I guess the artist decided to change his name. He was just displayed off the sidealk on Meeting Street. It's hard to tell from the pictures, but this turtle was kind of metallic. When rays of sun would hit the brown, little shimmers of color would shoot off. The paint was really pretty.

I'd seen the South of Broad turtle when I was out with Darren's mom and KP on Friday. We stopped to see it, though, because Darren hadn't seen it. I'm still really upset that someone broke his feet off.

Charleston's Grand Marnier was in front of a restaurant near the cruise ship port. Though the design wasn't my favorite, the paints were beautiful and vibrant, so it was still a great turtle. The eyese were painted as small palmettos and moons, which I thought was really neat.

C-Shell is a beautiful turtle. However, she was sitting under some trees, so getting a picture without a bunch of shadows was impossible. The body of the turtle was covered with a variety of starfish and other shells, sone like mosaics. It was a really cool turtle. The eyes were cat's eye shells, which worked perfectly.

Mi Tortuga/ Su Tortuga is probably my second favorite turtle we've seen. It was simple, yet intricate. The swirls on the body of the turtle we're done by placing tiny dots of paint close together. The swirls on the shell were made using tiny clear gems. You can't see just how intricate this turtle is until you are really close to it. It's beautiful.

Theatre Wings was at the Old Dock Street Theatre. This turtle was very well done. The arms of the turtle were painted with feathers. The turtle was positioned between the great big brown columns at the front of the theatre. The whole placement of the turtle looked really nice.

Soaring was located in front of one of the College of Charleston buildings. The turtle was really quite striking. The paints contrasted beautifully, but blended well together.

Our State Symbols was located at the Charleston Museum. The gates were closed and locked, so I had to get creative and take pictures through the bars. The turtles featured symbols that represent the palmetto state- the palmetto, yellow jessamine, the carolina wren, and others.

I know this isn't a full-body shot of this turtle, but it was my favorite view. The turtle was elevated, so it was hard to get a great full-body shot. Tutor the Turtle was outside the Post and Courier building.


This was our last stop of the day- Turtle Van Gogh. This was definatley the most uniquely displayed turtle. Turtle Van Gogh is actually hanging on the side of a building, about 35- 40 feet up.

It was a wonderful day walking in Downtown Charleston. We've decided we'd like to walk the whole peninsula. I think we're going to start with south of Market Street and go from there. We definatley got a great start today!