Oh Charleston, you are so lovely...

WELL.

The trip with my gal pals to Charleston was a success. If you call eating your way through a town a success that is. We had such a fun time. When we arrived, we had no plan AT ALL. It was so great. D had been there before so we weren't totally lost, but really all we wanted to do was eat, sleep, see stuff and shop. So we started with the eating. Actually, we did check in to the hotel first and visited for an HOUR with the concierge. He was from Pennsylvania, talked really fast and kept commenting on my accent. What? I have never had anyone mention an accent. He also commented that he can always tell when women are from Texas.

1. They are good looking.

2. They are friendly. (He means loud.)

3. They are McCain fans.

Interesting. Anyway, we then took a penny taxi (ie college student pulling three women in a cart by bike through the city streets while dressed in a cat-in-the-hat costume. We laughed so hard we couldn't see straight). We had a lovely Italian dinner and finished it off with Polenta cake. Never have had that and I will never forget it. Wish I had the recipe! We did ask the waiter to get it for us and even gave them my email address. I won't hold my breath! That night we took a REGULAR taxi back to the hotel and went to bed early. Get this. We slept 12 hours. I think the last time I slept that long was 1985. It was great.

The next day we hit the farmers market(such fun) and decided to rate Charleston's bakeries and have a cupcake challenge. So we walked hither and yon to sample their finest cupcakes. The bakery "Sugar" won. If you are ever there, check it out! We walked down King Street, ate at a great lunch place and then we went on the ride of our life. We had booked a tour the day before with a Charleston treasure. She is an 83 year old tour guide who drives a van through the city while telling untold tales of history and gossip, all the while side swiping everything in site. And she has the dents to prove it. If you are a history buff this is your girl. Only problem is I am not. It was 2 hours of my life I will never get back. Overload is an understatement. We were throwing $20's at her to make her stop! No really, it was informative, we are just shallow.

We then caught our breath and headed over to Henry's for she-crab soup, and shrimp and grits. They did not disappoint! It was to die for! The joke of the night was that I was so full that I felt like I had a food baby. Judging from their reactions (wetting themselves) they had never heard that before.

The next day we walked the city. When I say walked the city, I mean the WHOLE city. It is so stinkin lovely. We had brunch at High Cotton (love me some salmon omelets! Really!) Met a talented modern artist at her gallery, toured beautiful homes and just basically soaked up all of the local charm. It was great. That night we ended up eating great pizza at a college hang out on King Street. That took us back. WAY back!

Monday, we finished up our trip on King Street shopping, touching and trying things on. It was great.

Thank you Charleston for showing some Texas girls a great time. Thank you to my husband for being Mr. Mom and handling things beautifully. Thank you to God for good friends.