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And we’re off!

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My husband and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary last month and decided that milestone needed to be marked with a trip.

(Bet you didn’t even notice I was gone. Yes, I’m that good. 😉)

And my husband being my husband… that meant getting up at 1:30am to fly out of Portland at 5:00 in the morning. It’s an ungodly time of day to travel but landing in DC at sunrise made for some pretty spectacular photos from the plane.

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We arrived in Charleston, South Carolina late morning and while the airport itself is well laid out and efficient.. the path to the rental cars is anything but. I’d reserved and prepaid for a mid size luxury SUV with Avis… but upon arrival was told there were none available. Not an auspicious start to our vacation to be sure.

The agent tried to pawn off a four door sedan on us but I wasn’t having it. After some polite but firm no’s from yours truly… we were upgraded. Which must have ticked him off because he gave us these directions.

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Which were as clear as mud so naturally we got lost. Dragging our luggage in and out of elevators and searching parking garages. We had no “space” and there was no red tent. Good times.

A kind woman took pity on us and told us we were in the wrong building altogether as the rental cars had moved. 20 minutes after we started and cursing the rental agent quite colorfully, we finally found our vehicle. A (holy crap that thing was big!) Lincoln Navigator. I’m not kidding when I say it had every bell and whistle imaginable.

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I’m also not kidding when I say it took us a good ten minutes to figure out how to run it.

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Did I mention it had cooled as well as heated seats? Be still my little hot flashing heart.

More about the beast later, but just so you know?

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This was not an inexpensive vehicle.

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Driving south from Charleston we headed for our resort in Edisto Island. (Pronounced Ed as in Sullivan… iss as in hiss… toe as in the appendages at the end of your feet. Say it with me … Ed-iss-toe. The natives corrected me numerous times so I want you to start this vacation saga on the right foot, so to speak. )

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We passed under and through magnificent live oaks dripping with Spanish moss.

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For a northern girl like me this is heady stuff.

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45 minutes later, we reached the bridge to the island.

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And entered the heart of the low country.

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Marshes.

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Inland waterways.

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And numerous sea islands. Rich in history, natural beauty, fresh seafood and Gullah culture.

This is an area I’d always wanted to explore and I was looking forward to a week full of adventures.

To be continued…

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40 thoughts on “And we’re off!”

  2. Oh, I’m thrilled for you! THIS was the secret travel destination, after all. Guess what… we’re headed to Charleston (first time for both of us after 25 years of wanting to go there) in the fall! We’re staying in the old town, so it’ll be a different experience to yours, but I’m so looking forward to reading all about your adventures (good AND bad, apparently… I’m no stranger to either, as you know). I think I first started following you when you were posting from Sedona, so this is very exciting. By the way, have you noticed that you always get to these places before I do? 😦

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    1. That’s great! I wish we’d had more time because there are so many places to explore. Factor in two days of flying and a week just isn’t enough. My blog series about the trip will be 4 times longer I’m sure.
      As for me always going first… I’m a trendsetter, what can I say?
      🤣

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      1. Haha. Maybe you’ll be a trendsetter with furniture and next year all the manufacturers will come out with colorful fabric from your influence (a year too late for you, but still). 😉
        We’ll have even less time there – 5 days including travel days, but our focus will be much smaller. Still, there’s never enough time when you’re on vacation.

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      2. We always seemed to be at the right place at the wrong time. Off season is tough, lots of places were only open on the weekends…
        😰
        If you’re just doing Charleston you should be fine. We did a lot of surrounding areas as well.

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      1. In addition to the insane time, it bugs me to pay for a full night of hotel, but then only use it until 2am… Ultimately I could pay more for a better flight, but I chose not to, so I really can’t complain. (But I will anyway. 😉)

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      2. I never do the night before hotel thing. Too much packing and unpacking for too little sleep. Our airport is an hour away from our house, but when you factor in being there 2 hours before departure and me taking an hour and a half to get ready… it means getting up when I would be falling asleep.
        🥴

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  6. Charleston is pretty close to Weaverville, about three hours driving, so it’s an easy ride for a three day weekend trip. Cathy has the day off on Friday, so we get one every week, YAY. Sometimes we’ll go to Savannah, just to break it up a little. Did you go to Beaufort? There are some precious Parris Island memories in the greater Beaufort metropolitan area. Congratulations on forty years of peaceful wedded bliss with no fights or arguing Thanks for letting us have a look.

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  7. I’m so excited that you really got away! I love SOuth Carolina and look forward to your recap.
    I’ve not heard of this island—-which surprised me!
    Happy belated anniversary ❤️

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  10. i visit every year! about a ten hour drive from home for me … but well worth the trip! (i hate to fly). i hope you LOVED every bit of it! ❤

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  12. *whistles* My son showed me a few pricey vehicles online after we got talking about Teslas. I couldn’t believe how much they were, and this was one of them!!

    I’ve also not heard of this area. It looks gorgeous.

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