Home in Charleston

Oliver and his Sea Star Photo By Megan

"Just a muddled mix drink, something with strawberry and basil in it," I told my friend Dana as we were heading for Charleston. That's what I wanted. Something summery, light, and wasn't beer which is what we had been having the entire time in the South besides the dinners in NC filled with wine that we could never purchase. We dropped our camper at the campground, our kids at our friend's house with their kids and a sitter and headed out for a night on the town with our friends. It felt like we had always been there.

Easter Bounty

The thing with traveling like this is that everywhere feels like home. Flying into Maine (I'll get there) the other day, a state we have never been in, felt exactly like flying home after a long trip. Our landing pad is here. Our dogs, our space, our beds were all waiting to absorb us back into life. It didn't matter if we had never seen these roads or trees, it felt like home because WE are here, all of us, together. 

Down at Water Front Park

So there we were in Charleston, eating at a great restaurant, enjoying a muddled drink and planning Easter for our kids. We spent the night at our friend's house and woke to sounds of happiness as the kids discovered the bunny had found all of them and had not short changed them on the candy, baskets or goodies. It was a great kickoff for the two weeks we would stay down there. Life was full. 

Buried Treasure

Some Colorado friends, Megan, Ryan, Ashton and Parker, our friends who we spent Thanksgiving with, had also flown in for the first week and we had a great time exploring the beaches of South Carolina, sipping lattes at coffee shops, having dinners together while the kids all played non stop. These little people have been friends since they were months old. They don't skip a beat when they all get together and the joy they have playing with one another goes for hours. Being surrounded by friends for my birthday couldn't have worked out better. We played on the beaches all day and then our friend Anant cooked an amazing meal of dahl, my favorite. 

A toast on my birthday

After Megan and company departed we explored the downtown area of Charleston. We went to the aquarium, walked the Water Front Park, Battery Park, Magnolia Planatation and Middleton Place. We saw the girls' schools and watched the sunset over the water. We biked the neighborhoods and had dinners. It felt like we had uprooted a part of Boulder and planted it across the country. 

Battery Park

Charleston is a beautiful town full of history. One of our favorite spots was Middleton Place. A very manicured plantation provides a lot of history of the place and allows you to see what the land looked like in yesteryear. We got to experience cashmere in the process of being made into cloth, see how cotton was dyed with things such as indigo, and of course continue our talks about the civil war and the changes in America that it provided. One of the slave homes on Middleton Place was lived in by a slave descendent up until the 1980's. Middleton Place was able to take her stories that were directly handed down to her and use them for all of their plaques around the homes to let us know just how this population survived during those years of captivity. We went on a horse and carriage tour that allowed us to hear plenty of history regarding the running of the planation and how this family was one of the wealthiest families of their time. 

Captain

From there, we headed to Magnolia Plantation, a beautiful unmanicured plantation. You can walk among huge trees that go along the river and come out in between beautiful gardens. We took a train tour and got to see the alligators, birds and fields of this sprawling estate. We soaked in the history that is filled with beauty built upon other's backs and experienced the awe that goes along with the sadness when you walk around such a place. 

Magnolia Plantation

South Carolina came to an end and we all hugged our goodbyes. Luckily for us when we left, our friend's next project was to pack up their home as they will be moving back to CO and will beat us back by a couple of months, so instead of saying goodbye, we got to say, "See ya later!"

4 boys who just don't care about water temps