Banana Spider

Do you remember our Banana Spider? He has grown. Isn't he beautiful?!

Nova Scotia 2

It is a long way from South Carolina to Kentville, Nova Scotia. Our trip started out very sad as Mollie's 34 year old daughter was killed in an ATV accident just days before we were to leave - taking Mollie with us on our holiday. We decided to leave early and go to Georgia to help Steve and Mollie through the tough first days. There is no way I can express the sorrow we felt for her family, Tobi's husband and 2 children.

It was a heart wrenching time but also uplifting to see Mollie's faith hold her up. And as a benefit of our being there, we made some good new friends and met some of Steve and Mollie's family. We were hosted by Carol and Frank who were neighbors and we had never even met. They were so generous in letting us stay in their beautiful mountain home.

****************************************

After a few days there we headed out - sadly, without Mollie - on our long trek to Canada. I can't even tell you where we spent our nights. We just drove and drove - though beautiful country that I had never seen before. Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maine. On our 3rd day we decided to get off the interstate and take Hwy 9 to New Brunswick, Canada.

Kirby stopped at a local Grocery, Post Office, Ice House and I took a couple of pictures -






It was one of the most beautiful drives ever! I loved Maine and just wished it would always be that beautiful and warm. I would move there if that was the case. When we were there on our boat I fell in love with Tenents Harbor - quaint, quiet and gorgeous!

But then it was time to cross the border into Canada. It was easy, easy, easy. Wish I could say the same thing of our coming back into the States....but more on that later.

Nova Scotia 1

We have been here in Nova Scotia now since Monday at the Cocktail Hour. We made the trip in 3 days - lots of miles. I won't be doing any major posting until I get home but wanted to post a couple of pictures from our fun times. Rick and Tanya have been fantastic hosts and we have hardly stopped playing - touring, sailing, pubbing, dominos and lots of laughing. We will be here until Tuesday when we take the Cat over to Maine and start the long trip back to South Carolina. It will then take me a couple of weeks to post all the fun things we have done.

Don't you just love it that I wore my jewelry while sailing? That was because I was a guest and didn't have to do anything!

Anniversary Celebration

Yesterday we celebrated our 10 wonderful years together in our most traditional way - we sat at a bar and drank ale!

We found a great new place (new to us) called Fuel. It is at the corner of Rutledge and Cannon - near MUSC. It is so cute - it used to be a gas station and still looks like a gas station. We thoroughly enjoyed talking to the young bartender and the waiter. Kirby had his usual Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and I tried a Drifter Pale Ale which I loved. It was just a little bit sweet which I loved.
In this picture of Kirby you can see the old pump sitting next to him. Notice on the back wall, the clock. We have found another place where time stands still - just like in the Man Cave.










We ordered a lovely plate of chicken nachos, pretending that we were hungry just so we would have a good reason to stay a little longer. (Don't let the fact that there are very few people there fool you into thinking this not a cool place - we are just early because we are old)

We then tried a place called Charleston Beer Works and I didn't like it at all. It was just a big sports bar - no atmosphere at all. We left real soon and headed to Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant for dinner.



We had never been to Shem Creek Bar and Grill so decided to give it a try. It was the kind of casual with good food that we like. After dinner and desert we headed home for a little time in the Man Cave. What a great way to spend our anniversary!

Wedding Anniversary

Tomorrow is our 10th wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary, Kirby! You are the best husband in the whole world. And the best one I have ever had! Kirby took his time in finding me and I had to flounder around out there without him for quite a while but once he found me, I made sure he didn't get away. We can't help it that we got a late start together - we just have to make up for lost time now! I love you, Kirby!! August 6, 1999, Kirby and I were married in Bakersfield, CA sometime around 11:00 AM. It was very casual - out in front of the apartment we were renting for the summer while our boat was in Mexico. You can't tell from the pictures but we were all barefoot. We had planned that but it worked out well as I had stubbed my toe the night before and couldn't wear shoes! All the family was with us and after the short ceremony we all went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch. When lunch was over, I slipped away and went into the restroom and changed my clothes - we were going camping in the Sierra Mountains!
Most of the family went with us and I think we must have had 6 - 8 tents scattered around the campsite at Tobias Creek. Tobias Creek is where Kirby first went camping as a toddler and the first place he took me camping. We later named our boat after it. Our honeymoon was the best I could have asked for. It was an adventure and Kirby and I have been having adventures ever since.

Jalapenos!

Kirby is growing these fantastic Jalepeno Pepper plants. They are beginning to look more like TREES than plants and he gets so many peppers! They are beautiful.

Mostly he pickles them but he has made a great Jalapeno Chutney that I just love. If anyone has any other ideas for how to use these wonderful peppers please let me know. We do salsa of course and they go in our curry but is there a way to use LOTS of them other than the chutney?

Charleston Pubs

Yea! We have found another lovely pub right here in Charleston. We know there are many - we just have to get out there and find them.


This one is called Griffon and it is on Vendue Range, just a block from the waterfront. The walls are lined with dollar bills just like Hemingways in Beaufort (and probably lots and lots of other pubs that we haven't been to!) And they carry Coast Ale - our favorite local brew. So, if you are in Charleston, you have to check it out!

Charleston Beer Exchange

Charleston has just the coolest Beer Store! We heard about it from a friend and went to check it out. They can't serve beer on premises but they have just about anything you might want to take home with you.

Just look at the wall of flavors and beautiful labels. When we walked in, not knowing what to expect, I just kept hearing someone saying, "Oh, Wow!, Oh, Wow!". Guess it was probably me because it was a real Wow! experience. It is small - about the size of a single car garage but they do pack it in.
These jugs are called "Growlers". You can buy one for $5 and they will fill it for you with your choice of a specialty brew. Right now they have two local brews available, Palmetto and our favorite, Coast, along with some others. Their choices change regularly so bring your growler back and get a refill! How perfect, Brew to Go!
It is a great little place and should be on everyone's list when touring Charleston. By the way, it is on Exchange Street.

Pictures of Pictures

We always are drawn to this artist whenever we visit the Farmer's Market. And this time when we were there, Kirby noticed that this one picture was special because it had Auriga in it!! Yea! Right there, you can see them at the dock. Wish they had told us they were there - we would have gone to see them! This is somewhere in the Charleston area but when we first saw it we remembered B&B Seafood up Mosquito Creek just south of here. It looked like that. But you can see the Ravenel Bridge so we know it is somewhere here. It was pretty hard not to pull out the checkbook right then and there and walk away with the picture.

I like this one because I want to be there and you just know that there is sand at the foot of those steps.

This is a great little place on Sullivan's Island that we have been to many times.

Beautiful Shem Creek - full of shrimp boats - right here in Mount Pleasant.

Charleston

Another day in Charleston. We went to Farmer's Market, didn't buy a thing but had a great time taking pictures! You can almost get hungry looking at these beautiful bright veggies and berries.

Baby Eggplant

I know you are wondering what this ugly thing is. We asked and were told it was a very nice "French Squash". I looked it up and couldn't find any more information than that. Anyone ever seen one of these before?

Okra is really big in the south

And so are sweet potatoes. They make everything from sweet potatoes.