Charleston, SC

Stephen and I had not gotten away just the two of us for a vacation in two years. Last year we moved on our anniversary, so we really didn't get a chance to do something special. And, this was our THIRD attempt to get to Charleston, South Carolina...so we were MORE than excited to actually get to go this time. :)

We didn't have a lot of money, but because we are owners in a vacation club of sorts, we got to go to this awesome place and it only cost us the fuel to get down there and the food we bought to cook in the condo. We went to boring presentations to earn free stuff, including cash, so we even had spending money for ourselves!

The only thing we went all out on and spent money on was a nice dinner, on the water, at a VERY good seafood restaurant. We figured being in an area with real seafood, we had to get some fresh fish! I am not a seafood person, but it was AMAZING. I wish I brought my camera :(

Here is the courtyard outside our door.


In the actual condo...
(every room is different and unique...some of the rooms even have spiral staircases...how cool is that?!?)


Our bedroom and master bathroom were upstairs


Our living room and kitchen (and another bathroom) were downstairs


Here is a tour from Stephen :)



A fun fountain in a nearby park...it made me laugh though...signs up everywhere "no lifeguard on duty" :) :)



They had an area of old mansions that were really cool!




One of the many cool gates


So neat!


One of my favorite things about Charleston was their open air market. I really felt like I was in another country. Different vendors every day...dickering on the price...lots of things that are handmade. So fun. These sweetgrass baskets are a huge tradition for the people down there. But they are SO expensive. I chose one for my keepsake/souvenir because of it being something local...I got a good deal on mine - a small one for $20. Some of the ones on these tables that were bigger were hundreds of dollars!




I love bridges...and I thought this one was cool!


Much better going over it in the daylight :)


Just having fun with effects... :)


Looks good in black and while too :)


Just the two of us :)


Some cool boats coming in for the night


The fountain at night...


We got free tickets to tour the USS Yorktown...SO HUGE!




Can you even see me?!?


Lots of airplanes inside the carrier...


We thought this was cool because it was an article from the Detroit Free Press :)


A view of the bridge from the ship


On the flight deck


In the captains chair...


We of course go to tour the ship...we spent several hours, and only saw like 6% of the ship. These were mixer tools! And they were HUGE. I should have put my hand next to it so you could get perspective.


A huge barge unloading cargo crates...like the big ones that go on semis or trains and get transported all over the country. I thought that was cool, too! They are SO BIG (obviously)!!


We also got free tickets to go to Ft Sumter




A lot of it has been destroyed, but it was still really cool!






And we got to see another view of the USS Yorktown on our way back :)


This bird was so close to our boat tour group!


The Hunley...the first successful submarine (Civil War). Replica of course :)


On Friday night Stephen asked me if we could leave after we ate dinner instead of crazy early the next morning. I hated to leave, but it was better than putting in a 16 hour day all day Saturday. At least we had a beautiful sunset as we were driving!!