Southern Hospitality

Last month, Shane won a golf tournament in Utah that was sponsored by Audi which then got us an all expense paid trip to Kiawah Island, South Carolina. The particular course they played was on the ocean and is is world renowned for being such a difficult course with crazy strong winds. In the end Cameron and Shane fell just short of winning due to some inflated handicaps. It's too bad too because the winners got a free trip to Italy. Don't even get me started- at the awards banquet I couldn't even clap for the winners/cheaters who acted so surprised by their win. The room felt so thick and smug as so many people knew they cheated their way to winning. The winners/cheaters handicaps are an 18 and 19 for crying out loud. Ok moving on...

It was, however, such a great trip. Such a perfect perfect fun trip!! I only took a few pictures

We're HERE! taking in the southern air. Humid? YES!

This was our first taste of the south! 

Rocking chairs at the airport. I just needed some boiled peanuts and I was set! 

checking into the Santuary Hotel

The Ocean Room had a divine dinner menu and the best steak and vegetables I've ever had

There he is! 

The golfer himself

After the awards banquet some of these guys were so drunk they'd nearly make fun of the winners to their faces. They were ripping them a new one for being such cheaters.  

I pre-ordered breakfast and had it come so early one morning that the sun was hardly up or at least thats how early it felt when the doorbell rang. I wanted to fit in a morning run and have time for our massages so I had no choice but to book an early early room service. I remember stubbing my toe into the couch leg in the front room while I was trying to get to the door. I believe it was my whimpering cuss word which I repeated several times that woke Shane, not the bell.  Shane was clearly too tired to open his eyes when I said "smile for the camera" I got a sideways thumbs instead. 

I had a massage the day before and loved the whole experience so much I booked a couples massage for the very next day. My favorite part was the tomato basil sandwich afterwards and the mineral pool in the ladies steam room. Or it could have been the part during our massage that Shane fell asleep and started sawing logs as he snored. That was relaxing.

We stayed around and enjoyed the spa amenities for a while afterwards. I don't think I got ready or put makeup on the rest of the day. We were total bums.

We had brunch and snacks by the pool. The pool was fantastic. I loved the fact that they had a separate pool for families and children. That made it really relaxing to have a nice quiet place for couples.

Our hotel was on the beach and the water wasn't cold at all. Surprised the heck out of me. One morning while I was jogging I saw several people pull out their cameras, others pointing, and some packing up as fast as they could and leaving. I noticed all these people were looking in the same direction. I stopped running and turned around-- looked out at the water and OH MY GOSH! I saw the coolest tornado I've ever seen. Okay so I've never really seen one before in real life but it was nuts. Thick and angry and black. At the base it had water churning in circles as fast as they look like they do in the movies. Water was clashing and ripping upwards for several feet. It looked like 20 from where I was but it was probably more like 10 feet up. The tornado itself was a monster of a thing. It looked like it connected as far up as the clouds. I found the whole thing really beautiful actually. 

Charleston, SC

When the golf tournament was over we headed out to Charleston for a couple days. We stayed at "Two Meetings Street Inn" Bed and breakfast. It was my first B&B experience and I was so totally and completely blown away by it. We've always been a 'resort' kind of couple so this was very new and different and I am SOLD! For the record this particular B&B is famous and hard to book a room as it fills up months in advance. We got so lucky thanks to my mother!! She's stayed at every B&B worth staying at in almost every state and she couldn't have been more right on about this place. I loved Charleston, I really did, but it's this bed and breakfast that will bring me back to South Carolina more than the city and History itself.

 Shane at Tea Time 

 We took this picture on our walk home from dinner. We walked along the Battery and listened to the waves crashing. Shane ate shrimp and grits and I ate flounder with asparagus and corn. The corn was cut from the cob so it still stuck together in chunks and mixed in with the asparagus tips. I will try to make this side dish myself. It was scrumptious!  

 Awww, this porch was heaven! We wanted nothing more than to sit out here in the evenings and enjoy gingersnaps and have morning tea with the squirrels and birds. Believe me I'm aware of my cheesyness but theres simply no other way to describe this porch. I'd die if I could have a wide wrap-around porch someday filled with plants and rocking chairs and little push toys for my children. For me this was the highlight of the trip. I've recently decided my dream house will include this porch!

 This graveyard was crazy cool. Historical and eery but really neat. The headstones dated back to the 1500s. Some were almost unreadable and broken of course. The circular church that was in the center of this very graveyard had been burned down three times and rebuilt twice. The whole thing was picture worthy. I can't find the pic of the church though.

 We took a horse and buggy tour of Charleston. This was Jake our horse. The tour was awesome and I learned so much of the History in the South. Brutal brutal ways of living but very very interesting material. I only wish we had time to do another one!!

*****

Thank you mom for coming up and watching the bugs while we were away!