Mother Daughter Day! Yea!

Christie and I took all day yesterday and had our Mother Daughter Day.  We hadn't done it in so long and were way overdue.

We spent all day in Charleston.  I love this picture because it is so "Girlie" and we were having a girlie day!

But we actually began our day at 8 in the morning at Charleston's oldest public cemetery.  I understand that not everyone loves old cemeteries the way I do - Kirby even thinks it is kind of weird - but I love them and fortunately for me, so does my daughter, Christie.  We wandered around for about an hour taking pictures and making up stories about the people who were buried there.

And then it was on to downtown and the historical area of Charleston.  We never tire of walking the streets and walked and walked and walked enjoying the flowers, the gates and doors and the color of the whole area. The way the homes have been restored is amazing.  Each detail seems to take you right back to the 1800's.

Christie makes friends with dogs wherever she goes.  I looked back and found her scratching his ears through the fence.

We marveled over this garden.  As I was saying, "It is so....", Christie finished my sentence for me as I couldn't find the right word, "interesting".  It was in stark contrast to all the formal gardens we had been enjoying.

After walking the for blocks and blocks we settled on Blossom for a wonderful lunch.

And on our way back to the car we spotted this.  No one was around and I couldn't tell which car was parked there first but it didn't look nice.  Ah, the streets are very crowded!
We finished our day with lavish pedicures - a fitting end to a perfect day!

Farmer's Market

We seem to never tire of the Charleston Farmer's Market as there is always something new and fun to entertain us!  This time it was the drummers - I have no idea where they were from - a high school probably.  But the fun part was the toddler who was watching them.  I should have used the video feature for this....he watched for about 2-3 minutes and then just started moving to the music!  It was the most natural thing to happen.  No one prompted him and no one else was dancing.  He just "felt the music" and moved with it!

And then there was the dog that belonged to the dancing child's family.  He had been shaved/clipped for the summer - his summer cut.  But do you see the Mohawk here?? Very subtle but it is there none the less!

We had never seen the market so crowded and I have to believe it was because of the cruise ship that sat on the harbor.  It was good to see $$$$ coming to our economy!

I loved the flower stand the best as the colors were fantastic!  But all the stands were colorful and fresh!  All the veggies and fruits were wonderful!  Ah, spring!

After the market we tried a new pub on for size.  Molly Darcy's.......the bartender was great but the food and ales were lacking.  Of course we had a good time anyway!

Tybee Island Fun

It is time to get back to our wonderful holiday with Rick and Tanya.  After a fun filled day in Savannah we headed to nearby Tybee Island .  On our way there we took a walk down memory lane and visited an old anchorage to reminisce about our cruising days.  Ah, the stories.....

We found our hotel which was just steps from the beach and set out to have a fun filled evening.

Here we are drinking wine by the pool....very civilized.

But it was downhill from there!

While on the waterfront in Savannah, Tanya and I had purchased matching sundresses.  We just had too much fun modeling them for the guys!  Do you think the wine had anything at all to do with this??

We had a great dinner that night at AJ's and then the next morning we were out early for our walks.  I loved the early morning light for my pictures.  Beaches are wonderful!

Last Visit From Rich

I finally found this picture from Rich's last visit to Charleston.  It was in Nov of '09 and we had dinner at the Charleston Crab House.  Time flies!

Kellie Ray Comes to Charleston

Our friend Rich stopped by Charleston this week on his way to Maine and Canada for the summer.  He invited us to have dinner on his boat - and it was homemade pizza!  It was really good to see Rich and hear some of his boating stories.  We reminisced about some of the times we have seen each other.  We began in Maine he invited us for cocktails on his boat.  I think the next time was in Annapolis, MD at the Boat Show.  Then it was all the way down to the Bahamas where we met up in the Georgetown.  He has stopped in Charleston before and we also saw him in Nova Scotia when we were there a few years ago by car and he was on his boat.   Somehow we have managed to always find each other!

And I went around taking pictures of the boat.  It was so fun to be on a boat again!!

Strange Cult - Beautiful Schooner

Before we left Savannah, Tanya and I decided to take a Free Tour of the beautiful "old" schooner that was docked along the boardwalk.  I can never pass up a boat tour unless the line is too long!  It was so lovely and they were letting people come onboard and walk all over it.  I couldn't figure out the gimmick.  So, I asked....It belongs to the "12 Tribes".  You can look them up.  My computer won't let me go to their site....I don't know why.  Is it protecting me from something?  I read the literature they gave me and whoa!  CULT!  But the boat was very, very lovely!  (They all live together - commune style!)

Just look at this galley!  Better then my kitchen!

And the bathroom was big and luxurious.  (Here is my Tanzie!)

I sure never had a stateroom like this on my boat!  I really could handle this!

The pilot house was very traditional with the wooden wheel and all the varnished wood.

But the mast was not wood!  What a shame!

Garage Sales and Moving Day

I am going to deviate from our holiday to bring you up to date on some other happenings.  As some of you already know, my daughter, Christie and her husband, Michael, have been building a new home.  It is finally finished.  Sad for me as they will no longer live 1/2 mile from my front door which has been one of the most wonderful things in my life (after finding Kirby!)  No more the impromptu glass of wine or the walk with the dogs and showing up at the door.  But - new adventures are awaiting us.

 They moved out of the old house on Friday and on Saturday there was a community garage sale.  Perfect timing!  In this picture you can see a very early shopper helping Michael get a heavy file cabinet out of the garage and out to the driveway.

 This was the early stages of "staging" the driveway.  We just kept bringing things out as they kept disappearing from the driveway.  Things REALLY sold and it was so much fun!  I got too busy to take any more pictures.  There were tons of people!  Most things sold!  Yea!!

 On Saturday evening Kirby and I paid our first official visit to them at their new home.  Casey is still at Clemson (due home this Thursday) but Brendan is still here so he got to help with the move.  (he leaves this week for Puerto Rico and soccer!)  I think it is tradition to have pizza on the day you move into your new home so we ordered from a place that delivers and all devoured it!

There wasn't much space available for sitting in the house and the weather was just perfect so we ate the pizza on the front porch - there were seats there!  I am so excited for them with their new adventure!  Here is too lots of games of Mexican Train in the new house!!  And may I always win!

Day Four - Savannah, GA

In case you have forgotten what is going on here because it has taken me so long to get this all written and uploaded, let me remind you that our friends, Tanya and Rick, from Nova Scotia, Canada, and Mollie from Virginia visited for a week long party and tour of Charleston and the lowcountry.   I had a very busy schedule planned and there was only time to play, laugh, drink, eat and be tourists.  No time to just goof off!

On Sunday morning (day 4) we put Miss Mollie in her truck and pointed her north to go home to Steve.  It was so great having her there to play with us.  Then the rest of us climbed in the van and headed south to Savannah, Georgia and Tybee Island.

First order of business when we arrived on the riverfront was to find some food.  I can't remember the name of the place because the food was so bad.  But it was the beginning of a really fun day!

Say Cheese!

We loved the way the huge freighters were right there on the river.  We almost felt we could reach out and touch them.  All afternoon they traveled back in forth in a parade for us.

The guys patiently waited while we did some special shopping.

See how close the ships are!

The candy factories in Savannah are just the best!  It was fun watching the taffy being pulled and seeing all the calories.  We each got a praline for our desert and then as if one wasn't enough, Tanya made me share mine with her!  Well, that's is what friends are for, right!

Say Cheese, Kirby!

We are always in search of the next pub!  This one is so, so beautiful.  Just look at all the old brick and gleaming old wood!  It was early and no one was there but us so I was able to get a good picture.

More to come as we go to Tybee Island for the night.