Hello, Charleston!

So thankful for this lady!

First stop, carriage ride...

We hit the ground running this morning!  Our flight was at 9:30 so we woke up early to finish our last minute packing before taking the kids to school.  They were so excited to know that they were spending the weekend with Nonna; they didn't care much about us leaving. It was fun for us to both take them to school.

We met Jon and Kristen at a park and ride close to the airport.  Paul was busy on the phone with work the whole time.  It never slows down.  Our plane ride was quick and uneventful -- just how I like them!  We picked up our rental SUV and headed to the house we rented.  It is so nice.  Plenty of room, convenient, clean and nicely decorated.  We stopped at the grocery to pick up a few things. We relaxed a little bit before heading into town.  We had a private carriage ride tour of the city booked. Somehow I failed to get a picture of us, the carriage, or us in the carriage!  It was a nice way to start our trip.  It kind of gave us our bearings and gave us an overview of the city and some of the history.  So far I like what I see. It is a beautiful town full of Southern charm.

After the carriage ride we hit the Market which is in the heart of downtown with lots of vendors selling anything from clothing and soaps to Charleston's famous grass baskets.  I was able to pick up a few things so it was fun!  We had late dinner reservations tonight so we went back to the house to regroup and freshen up.  Our reservations were at the Hominy Grill. I described it as an upscale Cracker Barrel.  It was very good, true Southern cooking.  I had the cornmeal crusted fish with mac and cheese.  It was very good.  Jon got a piece of carrot cake to go.  We were tired from our busy day so we went back to the house and watched a little TV before going to bed.