traveling>>>sullivan's island and kiawah

At the end of August, Jeff and I went down to Charleston for the weekend. I have been to Charleston a few times but always for an event (grandmas birthday, the bridge run) and I've never actually gone to the beach while I was there. Yes, there were morning walks, but never a day of laying in the sun, swimming, and general beach-age.

Lucky for us, Jeff's aunt and uncle live on Sullivan's Island. They just bought a house with a huge porch thats a few blocks from the beach. I mean, does it get much better than this?

We spent most of Friday and Saturday at the beach. The weather was perfect and we had a great time. We were there with Jeff's brother and his girlfriend, and his Nana also joined us on the beach on Saturday. Here are a few pics from the trip.

On Saturday evening on our way back home, we made a little detour down to Kiawah. This was my first time to Kiawah and I am desperate to go back. We were only there about an hour, but it is absolutely beautiful!

And the reason for our hour long visit to Kiawah?...

To take some pictures of my brother-in-law and his fiance right after he proposed!

Overall we had a great little getaway for 2 days that was really all part of the engagement plan. So excited to add Dawn to the family and that we could spend the weekend with them and be there to celebrate their engagement!

Chicago Trip

So, a few weeks ago Jeff and I took a trip to Chicago for a long weekend. It was fantastic to take 2 days off work and spend some time in the city. Its seems so surreal that I lived there for a year. It was fun to go back, but my visit also made me realize that I like the suburbs :-)

We arrived late on Thursday.... St. Patricks day. As you can imagine, the red line was a mess of people. Probably not the best idea I ever had... but hey, thats the day the plane tickets were the cheapest. Our hotel was just a short walk from the Chicago Red line stop. A cute older hotel. The rooms were small but comfortable... and for 79$ a night 1 block from the John Hancock building, I'll take it!

Our first day we slept in then went for a fantastic and overly-filling breakfast at the original pancake house. Man do they make a good, gigantic omelet... look at the size of this thing!

After breakfast, we caught the bus down to the aquarium. I love aquariums. It never ceases to amaze me all of these little creatures living under the sea... each one of them so unique and some so beautiful. Really shows the creativity of our Creator.

We spent a while watching the dolphins swim.... they are just so graceful and always look so joyful when they are swimming. These one especially because they do most of their swimming on their back.

After the dolphins came the whales. O, the whales. There is a little baby one who just kept jumping out of the water. Again... just so carefree and happy.

Here are a few more pictures from the aquarium...

The weather that day was beautiful. Crisp and sunny. We decided to walk back to the hotel from museum campus. We walked all along the lake trail... I calculated it when we got home.... 3.4 miles! It was great to be outside in the fresh air and sun shine, getting some exercise, with great views of the city.

That night, we went up the John Hancock building to see the city at night. They offer a pass option where you can go up twice in 48 hours to see it during the day and at night.

The next morning, we took our second trip to the 94th floor and did the audio tour of the city. The views were cool, but the tour was a little disappointing.

Next, we headed out to Oak Park, a cute little town at the alst stop on the Green Line. The town is full of amazing houses, several of which were designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. His home and studio is also there, which we went and toured. It was pretty cool inside with some amazing details and innovative designs. Sadly, no pictures were allowed inside... but here is the house and a picture of Jeffrey and I.

Our last day, the weather was rather icky... cold and rainy. Thankfully we were spending more of the day at the Museum of Science and Industry. I didn't take many pictures this day because, well, who wants to see museum exhibits? I did take one of Jeffrey doing some chemistry. That kid is so smart. I don't remember a darn thing I learned in Chemistry, and he irremediably rattles off all the elements you need to make rust? Seriously?

We also went and got some tasty tasty cupcakes from Sprinkles :-)

Well, that concludes our trip to Chicago! It was a very fun weekend and I'm glad we went. I think I have gotten my Chicago fix now.... off to bigger and better places... ones we have never been to before! Cant wait!