Broke, but happy!: Charleston Get Away

We spent this past weekend in Charleston SC at the Lodge Alley Inn. We go here every winter as a quick get away and to do some Christmas shopping done without the kids being with us. We left Saturday after leaving the kids with Brandon's mom and came back late Monday night. We always enjoy going to Pearlz (oyster bar) and Toast (a restaurant that has amazing breakfast). We walk and eat and then walk some more and then eat some more when we are in Charleston. Saturday when we got there we walked down to the market and looked at all the locals trying to sell their goods and we walked out to the Waterside Park to look at the Port area. We watched a Carnival cruise ship leave out of the port that evening and we wished we were on it! I need to get with the program and schedule us our next cruise. Sunday we went out to Sullivans Island and walked the beach . We had a nice long walk and enjoyed the 70 degree weather. We saw ships coming in and out and when even saw several groups of dolphins playing out from where we were. It was a beautiful day for exploring. We also walked the Cooper River Bridge this time we were there and it was an experience. Brandon is afraid of heights which made it funny. It is a great workout because it is a huge long up and then long hill down coming back. People were running it and biking it with way too much seriousness if you ask me. Professionals I would say. It is a nice experience, but I wouldn't want to make it part of my daily routine because the exhaust coming from all the traffic is horrible and can't be good for your lungs and the noise is extremely loud also. I took pictures against Brandon's will. He said Homeland Security was going to come get me for taking pictures of a bridge structure. This bridge was just opened in 2005 and it is quite impressive. It's neat that they constructed a pedestrian pathway on one side so that you could actually walk it and enjoy the views from that high up.
Monday morning we walked for 30 minutes to try to find a restaurant open. Our 1st two choices were closed and we ended up going back to Toast for a second morning in a row, but it is always good so we didn't mind. We headed out towards home and hit Sam's, Wal-Mart, Target, Hobby Town, and a few other favorites on the way. We picked up a few Christmas presents, but we are no where near being done. I love Christmas, but I really hate shopping for people too. So here it is Monday night and I have to get geared up for work tomorrow and a busy couple of weeks coming up. I have a work Christmas party to make something for this week, we are going to sale some goats Wednesday night, and we are killing a pig Friday to put in the freezer. Saturday I have a women's Christmas dinner to go to and the list goes on and on until the end of the year. We are slammed packed with plans, but that is always fun to look forward to something coming up.