Doin' the Charleston

So I just got back a couple of days ago from my trip to lovely Charleston, South Carolina. I've been trying to figure out some ideas for a really impressive vacation post, but y'know ... it's just not all that interesting. Not that I didn't have a spectacular time (friends! beaches! shopping! alcohol!), but showing you all my boring photos would be - well, boring.

It's like my friend drollgirl says in her latest post: "I know vacation shots are probably only fun for those that went on the trip, and maybe not even for them." And she takes FAR better pictures than I do.

So I'm just going to show you a couple of my favorites, give you some highlights, and leave it at that.

I touched a stingray at the South Carolina Aquarium. A couple things to consider: a.) I won't even touch a worm, and b.) a stingray killed the Crocodile Hunter, y'all. So this was kind of a big deal for me.

  Note the position of my hand. Doesn't it just scream "confidence?"

We took an excursion to Morris Island, an uninhabited stretch of beach that's only accessible by boat (where my dumb white self got a heinous sunburn). While we were there, we saw a real live jellyfish washed up on the beach (which later stung Curtis when his dumb white self tried to nudge it back into deep water with his toe)!

Yes, we were fascinated.

Now, a jellyfish may be no big deal to some of y'all who regularly spend time in the sand, but keep in mind that this is where we come from:

So yeah. Jellyfish. Big deal to us landlocked Iowans.

We also visited Drayton Hall, the oldest unrestored plantation house in North America.

I don't have anything funny to say about that, because historical sites aren't funny. Except the fact that the tour guide told us they used sheep to mow the lawn. Now that was amusing.

I ate like a friggin' lumberjack while I was there. (A starving lumberjack with a compulsive overeating disorder.) But oh, the tantalizing cuisine of the South! Fried scallops. Shrimp and grits. Collard greens. Hush puppies. Boiled peanuts. And sweet tea everywhere you go! That's a personal fantasy of mine.

One delicious treat we found were pecan pralines. When we stopped in a candy store to buy some, Curtis bought a pack of ... bacon-and-cheese-flavored crickets. Yes, like the bug. Here's one of them on his tongue. Disgusting! He says they got stuck in his teeth. *shudder*

No kisses for you, mister!

I had such a good time. Every day was something new and exciting. My favorite evening activity was on Friday, when we went for a stroll through downtown Charleston and sampled the nightlife. (And by "the nightlife" I mean "the drinks.") Now, I rarely drink - maybe twice a year - so it's an occasion when I do. And it was just the occasion I needed to loosen up and dance my ever-lovin' ass off ... inspiring those lecherous glances and catcalls from random dudes that, let's face it, most of us enjoy receiving once in a while. I felt like a hot chick that night, rather than somebody's frumpy, turning-thirty-in-26-days-but-who's-counting mommy. The shot of self-esteem was PRICELESS, I tell you (and also the reason for my random 2:30 a.m. Facebook status of, "Yep, I've still got it").

All in all, it was a wonderful vacation. Just what we needed. Yeah, it was a little bit hard to return to the Land of Demands and Excessive Poop, but the hugs and kisses from our boys were the perfect welcome home.

I usually end my posts with a signature, and this one is no exception - but today, it's Charleston beach-style.
Thanks for sharing in my vacation, y'all.