I did it. I hosted my very first house guests. This means I’m officially an adult now, right?
I’ve been looking forward to having family visit since the day we arrived in Charleston. I couldn’t wait to show off our new little life and I literally ached for hugs from our family. We were very lucky to have Ed, Judy & Lauren come visit for a while earlier this month.
Ed and Judy arrived on Wednesday 10/5. They stopped by the house quickly to say hello and then headed to Savannah to see the city and spend the night in a really cool boutique hotel in downtown Savannah. They returned to Charleston on Thursday evening with stories of the wonderful food they tried (Candied bacon and “the best” shrimp and grits!) and brought treats back for us AND for Charlie :) Judy spent most of the evening getting to know her new furry granddoggie. It was so great to have them with us and to just catch up.
Rob worked a short day on Friday 10/7 and we took his parents to see downtown Charleston that evening. We had planned to take them to Hyman’s — one of our favorite seafood places here, but it was closed for the weekend to observe Yom Kippur. Bummer! Instead, we walked around a bit and ended up having dinner at a crab shack on Market Street. We all enjoyed our meals and had some delicious Key Lime Pie.. one of Ed’s favorites. I also introduced them to a very fine southern delicacy and one of my most FAVORITE southern foods… Hush Puppies! (Really though, is there ANYTHING better than a hush puppy? No. Absolutely not.)
We woke up early on Saturday 10/8 and took Ed & Judy on our usual weekend walk with Charlie. We walked our usual 3.5 mile loop around some of the Island neighborhoods, across a big beautiful park, and near some really awesome Daniel Island mansions. After our walk we relaxed for a while and then headed downtown to take a tour of the Calhoun Mansion, a 24,000sq foot mansion right near Battery Warf. The mansion was AMAZING. The current owner is an antiques collector so the inside was extremely ornate.. and really interesting. Of course, I was most interested in the mansion because that’s where scenes from The Notebook were filmed. Eee! After our mansion tour we drove around, saw Rainbow Row, and headed home. We grilled burgers for dinner and I made broccoli salad. Ed & Rob went to pick up Lauren at the airport at 7PM and we spent the evening just chatting and hanging out as a family. It was really nice. Ed & Judy headed back to their hotel around 11 and Lauren got comfy on our couch :)
Us @ The Calhoun Mansion!
Us in the Calhoun Gardens.
Rob & Judy at The Calhoun Mansion.
Ed & Judy at The Calhoun Mansion.
Rob’s parents came over around 10 on Sunday and we had breakfast. I made a breakfast casserole and fruit salad.. yum! We hung out for a little while and then headed to Magnolia Plantation and gardens. The plantation was nice and we really enjoyed the history.. but the gardens were a little disappointing. We made it home in time to enjoy the Patriots game and eat some salad and appetizers. We got dressed up later on and headed to Magnolias for dinner at 8:30 Sunday night. Magnolias is our FAVORITE restaurant in Charleston.. the food is amazing and the restaurant itself has some really great southern charm. We had the crab bisque (to die for), fried green tomatoes, too much bread & herb butter, our meals AND dessert. Ed had the pecan pie, Judy had a brownie with homemade white chocolate icecream, and Rob had the pumpkin crème brule. Lauren and I just had bites of everyone else’s dessert :) We finished dinner around 10:30 and headed home with very full bellies and big smiles.
Rob, Lauren & Ed relaxing with Charlie.
Us @ Magnolia Plantation.
Flowers in the Magnolia Plantation Gardens.
Family @ Magnolia Plantation.
Lauren @ Magnolia Plantation.
Family :)
Magnolias - Our favorite Charleston restaurant!
Rob - Dinner at Magnolias (BEFORE).
Rob - Dinner at Magnolias (AFTER). Stuffed!
Ed & Judy - Dinner at Magnolias.
Dinner at Magnolias - Sunday 10/9.
We woke up to a rainy, wet Monday. We grabbed our umbrellas and went downtown anyway. We walked the Market on Market Street, did some antiquing, and drove through downtown to show Lauren the sights she hadn’t seen yet. We had grilled kebobs for dinner and relaxed for the rest of the night.
Rob went to work bright and early on Tuesday, and I dropped Ed Judy & Lauren off at the airport around 11AM. Our house felt eerily quiet for the next few days, and Charlie seemed upset that he wasn’t getting constant attention anymore. I think our first visit from family was a very successful one. Now, we wait. Our next visitors will be my grandparents in late October, and Mary and my parents will be here for Thanksgiving. Lots to look forward to.
Anyway, things slowly got back to normal after Rob’s family left, and soon Rob and I were back in our routine. Rob dove back into his studies for Power School, and I continued to work for Bay State from home.
We didn’t know we’d be headed home so soon after his family left. More on that later…
