Seven Year Itch

The majority of the stuff I yap about on this blog is about my boys and as much as I love them, sometimes Mom and Dad need a little break from them. So this past weekend, Danielle and I celebrated our Seven Year Wedding Anniversary in Charleston, SC.

And we did so completely KID FREE!

We dropped the boys off at D's parents Thursday evening and we hit the road bright and early on Friday. The drive down to the coast was great and much shorter than expected. We checked into our hotel around 2PM and we decided on a late lunch at Justine's Kitchen. I went for the fried flounder a side of green beans and topped it off with a slice of lemon, custard pie fresh out of the ice-box. (southern cookin' awesomeness!)

After lunch we headed back to the hotel, changed into our "fishing attire" and headed to the dock to meet Uncle Robert and his friend Fred for an evening of shrimping out in the harbor. Being out on the water at sunset while dolphins circle your boat and pelicans dive-bomb schools of mullet is one of those times I'll never forget. We set the poles, made our chum-bait patties and as soon as the sun sank below the horizon we cast our nets. After about three hours we had our cooler nearly full of shrimp. (I still need to work on my casting form, I still don't quite have the technique down) Around 10 PM we headed in and cleaned our catch by "popping" their heads at the dock. It was a great time and I can't wait to do it again next year.

The next morning we slept in until about 8:30 AM, which being kid-less was one of our top priorities of the trip. (Colton has a nasty habit of getting up around 5 AM eery morning) Saturday was spent being a typical Charleston tourist. We ate a fantastic breakfast at The Hominy Grill (Cinnamon French Toast!) explored the USS Yorktown (something I haven't done since I was a Boy Scout in the sixth grade) walked along the pier, shopped at the Old Market and took a carriage ride around the city.

After freshening up we headed over to FIG (Food Is Good) a restaurant we had heard good things about for an early dinner. To say is was a great dinner would be a criminal understatement. Now I'm not a "foodie" in any way shape or form, heck when I'm hungry, you could plop a Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwich in front of me and I'd say it was the best thing I'd ever eaten in my life. But my meal at FIG on Saturday night which consisted of chicken schnitzel and some sort of grain salad, was hands down the best meal I'd ever had. It was an awesome culinary experience. Everything was just so fresh and savory. The bartender told us that FIG is the restaurant of choice for Anthony Bourdaine when he comes to town.

We spent the rest of the evening exploring the streets and shops and eventually ended up at The Rooftop Bar for a glass of wine and to watch the Carolina/Auburn game. After Carolina wet the bed and blew the lead, Danielle was in such a bad mood we headed back to our hotel. (She's a lot like me when I watch the Heels)

Sunday morning we woke up early and walked down the street to a local bakery for coffee and muffins. We then loaded up and hit the road back home to G'ville to pick up our boys (who were greatly missed by now) We made a short detour to Summerville to chat with D's Aunt and Uncle and to pick up our shrimp from Friday night.

All in all it was a fantastic trip; restful, relaxing, and fun. Now we're back to our day jobs of being full-time Mommy and Daddy's; changing diapers, cleaning playrooms, and arguing with strong-willed three year-olds but the difference now is that the batteries are fully re-charged.