Fall Break 2018

Last Christmas, the Pressleys very generously gave us a gift certificate towards a stay at Charleston (SC)’s Ansonborough Inn. That made picking a place to spend the boys’ Fall Break an easy choice. Bright and early this past Saturday morning, we headed to the Holy City (fun fact: though I spent most of my life in South Carolina and had visited Charleston well into the dozens of times, I had never heard it called “the Holy City” until after I’d graduated from Furman. How about that?).

Our first stop in town was, actually, in Mount Pleasant. We took the boys to tour the USS Yorktown, a decommissioned naval ship. I felt like our visit could go really right or really wrong, but as soon as the boys saw the bombs and heavy artillery displayed on the grounds, they were sold. We spent almost three hours there - touring the ship and gawking at the aircraft both inside and on top of it. 

Earlier in the day, there had been a reunion of some Yorktown alum, so a stage was set up and, behind it, a massive American flag. As soon as the boys saw the stage, they took to it and started performing their spin on “The Monster Mash.” They reminded me of Wallace & Davis from “White Christmas.” After they’d sung, Jones said we needed to do the pledges. Since we were in front of an American flag that could make a Camping World jealous, Jeremy and I assumed we’d be starting with the American flag. Not so fast, Mom and Dad. According to our Master of Ceremonies, we needed to pledge to the Bible first. I guess that’s how they do it at school.

Anyway, from there, we checked in to the AMAZING hotel. Seriously. I don’t envision us spending a ton of time in downtown Charleston, but I do know, whenever we can afford it, we will stay at the Ansonborough. It was quiet and comfortable and a super easy walk to the Market area. Not long after we got to the hotel, we headed out to dinner. Jeremy picked Hank’s, because it’d been his Uncle Ronnie’s favorite place to eat in Charleston. I can sure see why. From the jumbo-est of cocktail shrimp to the fried mashed potatoes, our Hank’s experience was a delicious one.  We then cruised the market area and headed back to the hotel, where our VERY sleepy little boys willingly hit the hay. 

The next morning, we decided to take a carriage ride. We went with Palmetto Carriage Works - there is an advantage to being the first to pop up on a Google search! - and boarded our 9:30 ride at their adorable red barn that was only about five blocks away from our hotel. To the boys’ delight, the horses who pulled our carriage were named Yogi and BooBoo. Jones later told us this was his favorite part of the trip. 

At least, it was his favorite part until we took them to Folly Beach. My plan had been to just walk on the shoreline and try to avoid getting nasty before driving home, but since we arrived at high tide, that agenda was quickly sent out to sea. The boys were ENVELOPED in saltwater and smothered in sand and had the absolute time of their lives. To top it off, a lady who’d been flying her kite on the beach asked the boys if they’d like to fly it for a little while. They were thrilled, which reminds me: “Add higher-quality kite to boys’ Christmas lists” (she said hers was $20, which, I assume, means it’ll last longer than the $1 numbers we’ve been buying the boys when we’re at the beach).

There was no cleaning up the mess they’d made of themselves, so we found Folly’s BEAUTIFUL city park at the far end of the beach. There, outdoor showers were available to fix the boys up before eating pizza at Woody’s on Center Street. This was the first pizza Jeremy and I had had for the last three months, and - light on the cheese and low on the grease - it tasted a little bit like I think Heaven may. 

After we loaded up to head home, Freddie excitedly said, “THAT was a fun day.”

I’ll take it one further: “THAT was a fun Fall Break.”

Here’s to next year’s!

Jeremy HATES it when I make him buy the photos
they take at the tourist attraction, but I'm sorry: we are all
looking at the camera and smiling at the same time.
This seemed like some sort of milestone that was
well worth the $33 it took to make his wife happy. 

As soon as they saw that stage set up, they couldn't stay
away from it. They were on it and singing "The Monster Mash"
in no time flat.

one of the worst pictures ever and, yet, one of
my favorites of all time 

For the first time in their lives,
they watched "Sesame Street" on
Sunday morning. They were SMITTEN
with the Cookie Monster.

Jones & Freddie with Yogi & BooBoo

Woody's Pizza at Folly Beach hit the spot!