Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Gone two weeks, and the garden is a wilderness....

so I spent the morning in there, trying to get it all sorted out. Now to be fair, dd and her boyfriend did cut the grass for us while we were away, but despite it being the end of September the grass is still growing quite quickly. Growing even more quickly are the bain of my gardening life.......thistles. Dh came to the rescue and dug out all the thistles for me. Wouldn't touch anything else though as he's not sure what is what...............neither am I come to think of it!!!!

I also did a bit of fall clean up and prep. All the geraniums in the pots I cut them right back like this:



and I popped them into the cold cellar, pot and all to over winter. I don't water them, just let them go dormant, then around the end of March I bring them upstairs and water them and they come back to life. These ones will be five years old in these tubs.



We popped out to Lowes this afternoon and I picked up a couple of Fall Mums to replace the geraniums on the front porch. Nothing says Fall like Fall Mums.



There are still signs of summer in the garden with the odd marigold in flower:



I have a clematis flowering again.



And the Virginia Creeper is flowering, which is a bonus, as I bought it to cover the back fence not for its pretty flower.



I still have the vegetable garden to sort out. My mind is willing but my body is not!!! So I guess that's going to have to wait for another day......

Monday, September 29, 2008

Can you hear me sighing and winding down........

You know I love to go on vacation but I do love being in my own bed and being in my own home.

We had a busy day around the house, putting things away and tidying up. I managed to make a big dent in the laundry, and it was a lovely day to dry things outside.........I did wash when we were away, but only during our first week away.

Dh managed to get the sprinklers blown out and all closed up for the winter. He also took down the drapes on the gazebo and put them away for the winter.

Luckily dh has this week off of work as well, so he can relax and hopefully get better this week. I need to tackle the garden as it is looking pretty overgrown. We had dd and her boyfriend come over last weekend to cut the grass when we were away, so that was a help.

I am looking forward to getting back into the swing of things with my blog again, as I seem to be all over the place with that as well.

I wanted to add some more photo's from our vacation. I must admit to miss hearing the waves in the morning when I open the patio doors....



and seeing those Spanish Moss covered trees.....



Now to plan where to go next year!!! Also thank you for coming along with me on vacation this year.

Oh and for a little laugh, actually I was in tears laughing at this, click on this link Let me know if you find it funny.........

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Today's Flower...

For me this week I have chosen a couple of photos which have butterflies as well as flowers in them.

No idea what this flower is though?



I think the flower is a dianthus.



For more flower photo's click this link.

Back home, and I was nearly rich today!!!!

Well we made it home. Infact we were home by 3.30pm today, we made good time. Helped in part by the fact that Canada customs, wasn't even interested in looking at our passports, never mind anything that we bought. We must look honest. Either that or I had a face like thunder as I had the headache from hell all the way back home. I even slept both in the morning and the afternoon which did not help at all.

We arrived home to rain, and according to my dad the first rain we have had here since we left two weeks ago.......typical!!!

So how was I nearly rich today........well as I said I had a horrible headache, it was probably a migraine, but as I am so used to them I generally call them headaches. So we decided to have an early lunch at Bob Evans, so I could take some pills. Well we stopped between Erie and Buffalo at what turned out to be the busiest Bob Evans ever. Anyhow to cut a long story short, we eat and I go to pay. Well the woman mixes up our bill with someone else's, so I sort it out for her, but she wouldn't listen, and got a supervisor involved, again I tell them what's what, and again to cut a long story short I am right!!! So I give her a $50 bill and she enters it into the till at $50,000, so my change should be $49,xxx.xx The guy behind me says forget about who's bill is whose, just take the change and run!!!! If only I could have.....oh well!!

So the house is all in one piece. Nothing overly exciting in the mail. Nothing too important on the phone messages. All in all everything seems to be fine here. I got unpacked, done one load of laundry, the rest can wait until tomorrow (Sunday). Will sort out the presents etc also tomorrow (Sunday) and hopefully get some grocery shopping done.

I am so looking forward to having a good nights sleep in my own bed.

Thanks for all your comments while I have been away. I am looking forward to catching up with all your blogs.....

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Hello from a very tired Gill and her dh....

We left this morning (Friday) at 8am and arrived at Morgantown, West Virginia at 6pm, having travelled over 900 km's. We have just over 600 km's to drive on Saturday, so should be home in 8 hours. 6 hours driving, 1 hour for stops and 1 hour for crossing the border.

I hope its only an hour for crossing the border and they don't search us, as we have a ton of stuff. We haven't spent over $700, so we are way under, so that's good.

As I mentioned yesterday, we went out for a fancy dancy meal. Well from 10:30pm to midnight, poor dh was sitting on the loo....I mean what else can go wrong with the poor man....oh his big toe is all swollen up now.......should I just shoot him and we'll start afresh?

It poured down until we hit West Virginia today. Must say West Virginia seems a nice state. One minor problem, they don't understand our accent??? So have to make a point of talking slowly!!!

We are staying at a Best Western hotel, as I cashed in my air miles for a $150 gift card. So anyhow, its either feast or famine when it comes to Best Western Hotels, and as far as West Virginia goes its famine!! So that is why we travelled to Morgantown, as it was the closest to the highway. Anyhow, we were pooped, so would have paid whatever just for a room. So I go to the reception and ask for a room for the night. She asks me what sort of room, I say a no smoking room, she says what sort of bed, I say whatever will fit me and dh!! She says there is a convention in town and she will have to charge me $130 for the night. I sigh and say something and she has no clue what I say??? So I repeat myself slowly and she says you look really tired....I say yes, we've travelled from Charleston SC........she types a few things and then says, I'll just charge you $100 + tax for the room???? Wasn't that a nice surprise?

By the way does anyone know the name of these birdies? They were always pooping on the balcony's and bathing themselves in the swimming pool!!!! Cute, but annoying!



Anyhow, just looking forward to a good nights sleep and heading on our way home!!

Friday, September 26, 2008

I have done my duty to help boost the economy of South Carolina...........

I shopped until I dropped today, Thursday!!!!

Luckily it was a miserable cold day, only the most hardy were walking on the beach, and then they were bundled up. Never saw anyone sitting on the beach, mind you as we were out most of the day I maybe missed someone?

Anyhow we went to the Tanger Outlet in North Charleston. It may not look like much but boy did I have a good time, and did I get some good deals!!!!! The best deal I can't say anything about but you will learn about it later on in the year, suffice to say I saved a good $400 in that store. I am so dying to tell you but I can't.........really I can't.......sorry.

Then another store Kitchen Gourmet have having a major clearance sale, with an extra 50% off clearance prices. I got one of the large George Foreman grills for $20, just like this one I picked up this Cuisinart Coffee maker for $40.

Went to the Nike store and dh got Nike golf shoes, Nike running shoes, Nike golf towel and Nike zippered sweatshirt for $96. I picked up some other things as well, but nothing too exciting.

By the time you read this on Friday, we will be heading home. Dh is still not well, the weather has turned cold, even we wore coats today, and poor dh is still being eaten to death with these no see um's Plus if I stop much longer down here I am going to bankrupt dh, as I have got some super deals, and there are two other malls I still haven't been in!!!!!

Now as it was our last night, we went to a fancy dancy seafood restaurant.....turned out just to be okay, I have had worse, but I have had a lot better if you know what I mean? Anyhow, this restaurant is at the other end of the island, well guess who/what I saw.........my police car, sitting all by itself with no one in it......poor thing must have ran out of gas again?????

We have enjoyed ourselves, but as they say there is no place like home. We hope to be in the Pittsburg area by Friday night, then home on Saturday. I will be checking in and posting though from the hotel.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Skywatch Friday.........

Stormy skies.........

We are still on the Isle of Palms, on the southern tip of the nasty storm that is on the East Coast. We haven't had the worst of it like further north, but the skies look lovely.......



We have had a lot higher high tide than normal though.



For more Skywatch Friday Photos, click on this link

A blustery day down here....

Wednesday September 24th.

First a question.

How do you spot a tourist on the beach?

They are the ones with the shorts and t-shirts on, while the locals are all huddled up in pants and sweatshirts and/or coats!!!

Had a quiet day today. We went to the driving range this morning. Then we took a long walk on the beach and collected more shells. It was really windy, but nice. The waves were the highest I have seen them since we have been here.

We went to the Atlanta Bread Company again for lunch then looked around the stores. Got some really good deals, and only looked in a few stores........we will have to go again so I can finish looking around the stores...drat..eh...LOL

By the way, should say I have discovered the Belk's department store, pretty pricey unless you get things on sale for 75% off!!!!! Guess who had a good time in that store!!

One thing we have discovered, is that if you can afford to pay $140 for a round of golf, you generally can't be bothered to pick up your golf balls when they go off course. Me and dh have picked up 6 golf balls in the last couple of days, including a Nike one, so dh is all happy about that!!!

As we haven't done much today, I wanted to share with you some more photos that I took yesterday.

Don't you think this looks freaky? It looks like its from another planet.



This grass is so silky, you just have to touch it.



There is Pampas Grass everywhere, another grass you just have to touch.



Now occasionally I take what I think is a good photo, I have no idea how or why, but I think this one is a good one of this birdie.



Today's update on the police car, it was still there when we went past at lunch time, but when we came back at 4pm it had gone...........I am so glad they remembered where they put their police car, its a relief...LOL

So anyhow, that's sort of our day. Now tomorrow (Thursday) its supposed to be a miserable day, so I suppose I should do more shopping {{{SIGH}}} The things I have to do......

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Here and there........

Tuesday September 23rd.

This morning we went to Charleston Museum, it was part of the package of tickets we bought. Not bad, had a few interesting items in there, including some quilts. We were allowed to take photos, but not use the flash, so I need to see if I can lighten the photos I took.

We then walked to a quilt store a couple of streets away and I bought some material:



and a pattern to make this bag.



I bought way more material than I need, as it was a good price at around $5.50 a yard. A couple of them is from the Historic Charleston collection.

We had lunch out, then came back to the condo for a while.

We then went for a walk around the community and I took a number of photos.

There are a number of lagoons on the property and these notices are posted:



This was all the wildlife I saw in the lagoons:



This is the fancy dancy hotel on the resort, and boy is it pricey, see the rates here



A couple of houses that back right onto the ocean, they are really nice.



These ones are mainly rental properties.



There are two golf courses that meander their way through the community, here is a view of a green. Dh found two golf balls on our walk today, so he was pleased. One course it costs $140 a round, the other is $80.



There are also a number of tennis courts, not sure how much it costs to rent a court. You can also rent a bike:



This is how much it costs to rent a bike:


We haven't rented one!!! Its a pricey place. To buy the 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo we are in which is facing the ocean is around the $700,000 to $800,000 mark, plus of course your condo fees. There are a number of houses in the million plus mark, and honestly with the threat of hurricanes I wouldn't want one!!

Oh and now for today's police car update...............its moved, another hundred yards up the road, still no one in it though.......very puzzling!!!!

Also poor old dh is still as sick as a dog, and the "no see um's" followed us on our walk today, so have fresh bites to add to our collection!!

Anyhow, that's today's update. Thanks again everyone who is commenting I really appreciate it.

50 + 1 Recipes for Mushrooms......

Love mushrooms, such a lot you can do with them.

1. Mushroom Gnocchi with Blue Cheese and Arugula

2. Mushroom Soup au Gratin

3. Mushroom Pita Pockets

4. Saucy Mushroom, Onion and Cheese Bake

5. Yummy Macaroni, Cheese and Mushrooms

6. Warm Potato and Mushroom Salad

7. Lightened-Up Cream of Mushroom Soup

8. Roasted Mushroom Soup

9. Grilled Mushroom Stuffed Pork Loin

10. Black Bean and Mushroom Patties

11. Sirloin Steak Roast with Mushroom Sauce

12. Mushroom Couscous

13. Creamy Mushroom and Chicken Toss

14. Two Mushroom Barley Soup

15. Mushroom Stuffed Chicken

16.Many Mushroom Manicotti

17. Ukrainian Mushroom Stuffed Chicken Breasts

18. Egg and Mushroom Puff

19. Mushroom Chop Saute

20. Chicken and Mushroom Bundles

21. Pasta with Mushroom Bolognese

22. Mushroom Cheddar Vegetarian Burgers

23. Mushroom Lentil Patties

24. Saucy Beef and Mushroom Sandwiches

25. Wild Rice and Mushroom Pilaf

26. Button Mushroom Salad

27. Twice Baked Mushroom Potatoes

28. Chinese Noodle and Mushroom Soup

29.Baked Portebella Mushrooms

30. Wild Mushroom Lasagna

31. Tarragon Rice Stuffed Mushrooms

32. Fresh Wild Mushrooms & Cream on Linguine

33. Finnish Baked Mushrooms

34. Stuffed Mushrooms

35. Garlic Mushrooms

36. Baked Mushrooms

37. Crummy Mushrooms

38. Marinated Mushrooms

39. Grilled Mushrooms

40. Sauteed Mushrooms

41. Deviled Mushrooms

42. Snobby Mushrooms

43. Magic Mushrooms

44. Mushrooms Stroganoff

45. Fried Mushrooms

46. Melting Mushrooms

47. Roasted Paprika Chicken with Mushroom Sauce

48. Pan Roasted Salmon with Wild Mushrooms

49. Mushroom Sweet Potato Quesadilla

50. Creamy Spinach and Mushroom Enchiladas

51. Sea Bass with Vinegar and Mushrooms

Next week its Winter Squash...........

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

An interesting morning...........

Monday September 22nd.

We went to Drayton Hall this morning, and honestly I wasn't looking forward to it, as the house is an empty shell, meaning it isn't furnished, so thought it would be so un-interesting, how wrong I was. It was so interesting to see all the architecture, and the tour guide made the tour so interesting and easy to follow. It is a lovely looking house with a great history. It is now owned by the National Trust, and we signed up for a year membership, as it is a great cause.

The gardens are very basic, and there but there is a garden walk and a swamp walk. We skipped the swamp walk, as honestly we have been bitten to death with "no see um's" and enough's enough.

It was well worth going to, and if you go, take a picnic as the grounds are lovely. I took quite a few photos, here are a few for you to take a look at.

This is the front of the house, that's if you came by road/carriage.



This is the front of the house, that's if you came by boat up the Ashley River.



There was a reflecting pond to the left of the house, and I took this photo there.



Also look what was right beside the pond.....a gator, dh was yelling at me not to get too close. Now I know I can have blonde moments like everyone else, but I am not stupid enough to get that close..........mind you it was only a baby gator!!!!



Also an update on the police car....didn't have to call the police department, as they have found and moved the car, to the other side of the road!!!! Maybe they have run out of gas?????

Monday, September 22, 2008

Odds and ends, and a couple of it could only happen to us.

Sunday September 21st.

We had decided early on in the week to have a quiet day today, as we were doing something every other day. Plus I decided to do laundry as well. I only had two loads to do and it took me all morning to wash and dry everything. The washer does not spin as fast as I would like, so the clothes feel a lot damper than they do at home, it could be because this one it a top loader and I am used to a front loader? Anyhow, I eventually get it all done.

We then go to the Atlanta Bread Company for lunch which was so good. Then we wandered around Barnes and Noble for a while. I asked one of the guys there for help in looking for a book. He had the worst bad breath I have ever come across. I kept edging away from him, and he kept moving towards me, it was nasty. I am not sure if it was this particular store, but I found the books to be pricey? Maybe its because I am used to ordering my books from Book Close Outs?

We then spent the afternoon in the condo just lazing around. We booked a dinner cruise tonight that started at 7pm. We had hoped to book it for dh's birthday night, but it was fully booked. It was a nice meal, we had She Crab Soup to start, followed by a garden salad, then I had Crab Cakes and dh had Beef Tenderloin. Dessert was extra, I had Creme Brulee and dh had Key Lime Pie, then coffee. The cruise lasted three hours, unfortunately it was pitch black dark for nearly all of it, but it was enjoyable looking at the skyline of downtown Charleston.

Now for the couple of it could only happen to us. So we book this cruise at the beginning of last week. So the girl needs all our info including name and address. She asks for a Zip code, I tell her I only have a postal code, no problem, she inputs it and the system won't take it, so she says I need a Zip Code, I tell her I don't have one, she says but I need one???? By the way I should say we are booking this right at the booking office, not on the phone. So I say well the only Zip Code I actually know is Beverly Hills 90210, she says that's fine and inputs that. So we now live in the Beverly Hills 90210 district, thank goodness I watched that series!!!

So when we arrive at the condo our ensuite bathroom has a shower over the tub, which is fine. However the tub is very slippery and there is no tub mat. I need a new one for the kids bathroom at home, so we go out and buy one that I had seen in Canada, it looks like pebbles. We put it in the tub and it works fine. There is one small problem............it smells like a skunk, I mean it is stinky and skunky. We cannot leave the bathroom door closed as the smell is just plain icky!!!!! A week later and finally it is getting better. Honestly who would have thought it would have stunk so much.

Finally I think I will have to call the Isle of Palms police department to let them know where to find their abandoned police car. We are staying on the Wild Dunes Resort, which is a gated community. Just down the road they put a four way stop sign system, actually this happened on Friday. On Friday there were two police cars parked there, I guess to make sure people actually stopped at the signs. We noticed at the time, one of the cars didn't have anyone sitting in it, never thought much about it. However two days later that police car is still sitting there with no one in it. Do you think they have forgotten about their police car, or even forgotten where they parked it????

There you go just some odds and ends. Depending on the weather we may go to another plantation or to the museum today (Monday)

Today's Flower...

I have taken a few photos of flowers since we have been down here in South Carolina so here are a couple.

I don't know what this bush is called but the butterflies just love it.



The hibiscus is a popular plant down here in the gardens, we can only grow them outside for a very short while in Canada as it is to cold most of the year for them.





For more beautiful flowers at Today's Flower please click this link.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

I had to wear a jacket today......what the heck????

First let me say how much I am enjoying reading all your comments, I am just having no time to reply to them, so please forgive me........

Saturday September 20th.........Dh's birthday!!!

We had a super busy day, but it was really nice. The plan of action for today was to drive to Georgetown SC to go on a boat cruise up the river, click on this link for more info. Now we have been on this before and it is so well worth it. Captain Rod is a wealth of information as he has lived in the area all his life. He tells all sorts of stories and you are never bored. The only down side to today was that it was downright chilly sailing into the breeze up the rivers. However the sights we saw were well worth it. Now due to high tide and it being windy the wild life was non-existent today, but I remember on our last trip seeing gators!!!!

We got to see some of the old rice plantations and the cruise lasts three hours, actually a bit more than the three hours and is only $26 per adult. We then had lunch at the deli in town, and then had a look around the shops, which lo and behold had a fancy dancy shop full of Vera Bradley Bags, including some being discontinued so of course I had to pick one up...lol Its the Riviera Blue pattern, but not this bag.

Now Georgetown is a good hours drive from Charleston and probably about the same from Myrtle Beach, it really is worth the drive. Mind you it was a total contrast in many ways today. Let me explain. Some of the lots of land by the rivers can sell for up to 1 Million Dollars, then spend the same again on building the house, put a $300,000 dock in (yes we saw one that cost that) and you have some pricey real estate there. Driving from Charleston to Georgetown, you see the poorest of poor houses, literately shacks and yes people were living in them. We took a wrong turn to get out of Georgetown and went into a part of town where we stuck out like a sore thumb, mainly because we are the wrong colour and our licence plate on the car says we're from Ontario!!!!! Pretty interesting to say the least...............

Anyhow, got back from there and had a cup of tea and phoned a couple of people, bought a calling card, pretty neat thing, haven't bought one before. We then decided to go out to TGIF for supper as poor dh just isn't well, but he's insisting on carrying on. Popped into a couple of stores in the mall and then came back to the condo. No idea where the day has gone???

Anyhow, hear are some photos I took today:

This plantation was gifted to the South Carolina Wildlife Association, or something like that, I can't quite remember what he said



A doctor from Florence SC built this home for his retirement, 13,000 square feet!!!



His dock taken up river.



This is either a bald eagle or an osprey nest, I get the two mixed up.



I do have more photos I'll show you at a later date.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

It's another lovely day down here......

not too hot and no humidity. Poor dh though is sick, he's basically all stuffed up and full of cold, so we went to the pharmacy and got some medication, poor thing. When you read this on the 20th, he will be celebrating his birthday, so happy birthday dh, its the big 5.0......but you didn't hear it from me!!!

Anyhow for Friday September 19th, our plan of action for today was to go to Rainbow Row and visit three houses and a museum. We bought a package of tickets on the first day we were here, and basically for $65 each you get into 9 attractions, including 5 houses, 2 plantations and 2 museums. Its a pretty good deal, and the tickets are good for a year. You can buy the same attraction package for say $45 but the tickets are only good for two days. Believe me when I say you cannot see all these things in two days. We saw Middleton Place Plantation earlier in the week, we are going to see Drayton Hall one day next week, and the Charleston Museum and two other houses another day next week, so all in all 4 days entertainment for the $65 each well worth the value.

Today we toured the Edmonston-Alston House and the Nathaniel Russell House. We were supposed to also go to the Heyward-Washington House, but honestly we were dizzy with all the information that they threw at us in those two houses, we came out exhausted. I know you must think we are wimps, but honestly those guides never stopped talking the whole 30 to 45 minutes of each tour. It wasn't enjoyable, as there was just too much information to take in.

The houses were nice as were the furniture, and if you watch the Antiques Roadshow, you'll say, oh I have seen something similar on there.

We had lunch downtown and then went to the Gibbes Museum of Art. That was interesting, we both enjoyed the older works rather than the modern works. Infact me and dh have decided that we should be artists, as some of the modern works, leaves a lot to be desired!!! I did fall in love with the artist Alice Ravenel Huger Smith and bought a print of hers.

We then wandered back to the car park through some of the streets of Charleston and some of the courtyards, are just so pretty. All in all it was a super day.

Here are some of the photos I took:

This is the Edmonston-Alston House that we toured.


A house on one of the side streets, very tall and narrow.

A courtyard on one of the houses on Rainbow Row.

A side street with an American Flag flying.

A magnolia tree at the Nathaniel Russell House, the guide said it was only 100 years old, I thought it looked older.

We were not allowed to take photos in the houses we toured.

Tomorrow (Saturday) we are going to Georgetown and on a boat tour of that area. We have been on it before, but it was so good last time, that we want to do it again.

Friday, September 19, 2008

another lovely day down here!!!

Thursday September 18th.

We went to the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston today. It was quite informative, but not that large. They do have a two storey tank which I must say is pretty stunning. What was also pretty interesting with that exhibit was that they had given a shark the equivalent of a Valium as it was time for his yearly physical, that is why there were a number of divers in the tank. We hung around for a while and they still hadn't caught him/her. I took a number of photos and will include some today.

Now the only exciting thing to happen was when we had just walked in and I started to take photos, then the alarms went off and we had to evacuate the building. I must admit for a second I thought I had set the alarms off, but figured out pretty quick it wasn't me............they were having a practice, which I admit was a bit strange when its full of customers???? We were in and out in a couple of hours, and we had a good look at everything.

Here are some photos:







Thursday, September 18, 2008

Skywatch Friday........

I wasn't sure which photo to include so here are a couple, both taken at The Isle of Palms, South Carolina, where we are vacationing.





For more Skywatch Friday photos, please click on this link

Alrighty then......having a great time down here!!



Wednesday September 17th

Thanks to the major down pour we had last night, got up this morning and it was so much cooler it was great. It was also not as humid and overcast........perfect weather as far as I am concerned. It also stayed under 30 oC, can it get any better. Now granted the native South Carolinians would no doubt find today's weather chilly but not me, I felt downright perky.

Anyhow on today's agenda was a trip to the Charleston Tea Plantation Now I have to say this is one of the most interesting things we have seen so far. Its the only tea plantation in the States, and can only be grown in hot and humid conditions.



Now you got to take a tour of the factory, and learned about the process of making tea, which was all free. We then took the bus tour ($10 each) that went around the plantation and that was very informative.

Here is a field of tea bushes:



Unlike in other countries, the tea is not hand picked they use a custom designed vehicle that they call "The Green Giant."



Thanks to having this machine they only employ three full time people to cut the tea, maintain the fields and make the tea. The biggest tea drinkers in the world are the Irish, closely followed by the English. In the Southern States I think he said 99% of the tea is drank cold, as in sweetened or unsweetened tea.......which is just plain icky!!!! I now know to ask for hot tea when ordering.......we British wouldn't dream of drinking cold tea!!

Here is some information about the place (just click on photo's to enlarge them):









If you are in the area its well worth a visit. I have more photos, but will post them another time.

Now after we left there we were going to go to a vineyard down the road, only to discover it was closed on Wednesdays. Its the Irvin House Vineyard.

Now also up the road from the tea plantation is the Angel Oak. This is one of those things that you should make an effort to see when down in Charleston, as its an amazing tree. I took a few photos, but will only include a couple.



I am five feet five inches and am standing in front of the tree, it was massive.



Now remember how I was telling you how attractive I am looking with my bright red face and lily white legs......well when we were at the Angel Oak, we got attacked by a million bugs, so my lily white legs are now covered in these awful red blotches from all the bites............can I get any more attractive????

So we ended up having a late lunch at I-Hop which is a place I love. We are eating out at lunch time and only having a light meal at night in the condo, as otherwise it kills us eating out twice in one day.

After that we went to Lowes to see if they had any cheap snowblowers....LOL We found that funny, and then I called in at a couple of other stores to pick up some things, can't say what as certain people (dd and future dil) read this blog!!!!;0)

By this time it was 3:30pm, so we had a cup of tea and then walked up to the pro shop to see how much it is for a round of golf...$140 :0( Anyhow a bucket of balls to hit on the driving range is only $5 and the windows on all the houses surrounding the golf course will be so much safer if me and dh aren't hitting balls on the course.

We took our lawn chairs and sat on the beach for a while watching the sea, the beach was practically empty. Haven't been swimming today though.

I bought post cards today, so I am going to write those tonight, never know why I send them, as we are always home faster than the cards!!!! Must say we had an enjoyable day today.

Tomorrow (Thursday) I think we're going to the Aquarium.

Hotel Stay - Dinner

As part of our hotel stay the kids had booked us dinner, breakfast and afternoon tea. Here is what we ate at dinner.  Everything was spot on...