Charleston, Day 3

Harry and I started our third day of vacation at Isle of the Palms beach. It was a beautiful day... but very hot! We got to the beach at about 10:45 so we were pretty fried by 1:00. After that it was back to the hotel to clean up.



Once we had cooled off and cleaned up Harry and I decided to walk the 1/4 mile on the dock to see the naval ships docked in Cooper River.


First, we toured the Destroyer.


Here you can see Harry in the wheel house.(Reminds me a bit of the Deadliest Catch.)


The gun mount on the bow deck of the Destroyer.


On the right you see the bullets that are loaded into the gun mount. On the left you see the mounting cylinder.


After the Destroyer, we toured the Coast Guard cutter. We don't have any pictures of us on this boat because it was SOOOOO hot! We were too miserable to stop and take any pictures. Thankfully the aircraft carrier was a little cooler.


Here you see the stern of the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier.






I thought that it was so cool that the wings of the aircraft folded up to save space.


Last, but certainly not least, we visited the submarine. In the background of this picture you can see our hotel again... further proof of its great location!

Again, it was too hot to stop for pictures on the submarine. I do wish that I had gotten a picture of Harry trying to crawl through some of the doorways... I described it to him as watching a giant crawl into a doll house.

After another shower (oh that Charleston heat!)we saw the band "Wrong Way" on the hotel beach.

Charleston, Day 2

On our second day in Charleston, Harry and I decided to take in the sights at the wharf. We started the day with a boat trip out to Fort Sumter.




Harry and I headed out to the fort.


Fort Sumter was held by the North at the beginning of the Civil war. However, they did not have enough supplies to hold the fort for very long. The south started to fire on the fort in an attempt to claim the fort for the south. The Yankees were finally driven out of the fort after the Confederates set fire to the officers quarters (putting the gun powder stores under the officers quarters in jeopardy). Without a single casualty the Yanks surrendered the fort.


This is the bent wall. Above this wall were the officers quarters. The wall is "bent" because of the continued cannon fire it took from Charleston.




This is one reason Harry is not in the military... I don't think he could pass a gun safety course.

During the Yankees surrender ceremony, on of the cannons misfired and killed a soldier. This soldier became the first casualty of the civil war.


Here you see the fort in the foreground, and Charleston in the background.

After we went to the fort, Harry and I went to the Charleston aquarium.


One of the many gators living in the Charleston Aquarium.


One of Charleston's major environmental focuses is saving sea turtles. The beaches are on black-out from May till October as to not confuse sea turtle babies trying to make their way to the ocean. There were also 32 sea turtle sculptures all around Charleston that will be auctioned this fall to raise money for sea turtle rescue.


A panoramic of the wharf.

After we finished at the aquarium we left the wharf and went down to the battery and Rainbow Row.


Here you can see the sculpture dedicated to Fort Sumter at battery park.


The trees in battery park are very old and beautiful.

Here are some of our favorite houses from Rainbow Row.










Harry and I at Battery Park.

Charleston, Day 1

Last Wednesday Harry and I loaded up took a road trip to Charleston, SC. We stayed in Charleston until Sunday. On Sunday we traveled to hell on Earth (also known as Myrtle Beach) for a White Stripes concert at the House of Blues; then it was north to Wilmington to stay with the rents.


On the way Harry and I passed this semi. Harry immediately looked at me with fear and questioned... vampires? Despite the 100's of vampire killing stakes headed for Charleston, we ventured on.


YEA!! Crossing the bridge... we are almost there!


Here you see our hotel, The Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina. It was right on the harbor and it shared docks with the naval museum.

After checking in we went downtown and walked around Market Street. We also had a delicious crab dinner at the Charleston Crab House.

Stay tuned for more details about our trip.

Body Worlds

So, it may have been a little gruesome, but yesterday for my birthday Harry and I went to the Body Worlds exhibit at Discovery Place (Charlotte's science museum). Many of you may not know what Body Worlds is... and some of you might have caught a glimpse of it in the newest James Bond movie, Casino Royal, and not even known it.

Body Worlds is the display of real humans who have been preserved through the technique of plastination. In simple terms, water from the human body is removed and replaced with a polymer that stops the decaying process. This allows tissues, organs, and even fats to be viewed in a display.

It was very interesting; and for people who know me, you know I have a weak stomach. I didn't feel queasy even once. The whole visit was very educational. Here are some of the exhibits we saw.


This display was designed to compare the human anatomy and the horse anatomy. The rider is holding the horse brain in one hand, and the much larger human brain in the other.


This display was titled the dancing jumper. It was showing the flexibility of the muscles.


This display, the basketball player, was supposedly the most muscled human to have donated their body thus far. It was incredible to see what weight lifting can do to the muscles.

There were many other displays, and some of them I didn't feel needed be posted on the blog. All in all Harry and I spent a little over 2 hours going through the exhibit. There was a lot of emphasis on how life choices, such as smoking and drinking, effect your body. There was also a very interesting display of embryos and fetuses at each week of development.

Like I said, a little gruesome for a birthday, but extremely interesting.

Body Worlds website

The Return of an Old Friend

A year ago, before we started our blog, Harry and I had a visitor. There were a select few (mostly my family) that got emailed pictures and updates about this visitor; however, many of you (both our readers) did not get to see our visitor. To my delight, the visitor is back.


This little bunny, who I will name Hoppy, has come back to visit our peach tree yet again. The reason Hoppy makes me so happy (what a pun) is because I love bunnies (as any of my relatives, close friends, or students can tell you). Last year Hoppy visited every night and even got so bold as to stand up on his hind legs to pick peaches off the tree. To Hoppy's dismay, the tree is bigger this year and he cannot reach the peaches. This means tomorrow I will be picking a peach or two off the tree to put at the base for Hoppy to eat.


Joey and Phoebe also love Hoppy's visits, as is evidenced by this picture. If you will notice, you cannot even see Joey's tail because he is so happy to see Hoppy.


Hoppy last year (June 2006). Notice the ties on the smaller peach tree.

Alive After Five

Last night Harry and I met a couple of friends downtown for Charlotte's Center City Alive After Five, an event held in downtown Charlotte every Thursday evening with live bands. Last night Alive After Five featured Who's Bad?... a Michael Jackson tribute band. The band was good, and we got to hear some classic Michael including Thriller, Billie Jean, and Smooth Criminal. We even got to see a heavily intoxicated man get dragged off the stage.


Here you see Harry and I enjoying the concert. Please forgive the picture quality, it was taken on my phone.

Happy Father's Day

Yesterday was Father's Day and we spent the day celebrating with the Thompson's. The whole fam drove up here for a large dinner. We even managed to get a good picture of everybody together. (It was tough getting Laura to leave the house in the SCORCHING heat; and look, she didn't melt!)



We did not get to spend Father's Day with my dad because he and my mom are on their way to Maine... lucky ducks! Happy Father's Day to all dads!

A Night with the Knights

Tonight, Harry and I traveled south to Knights Castle... a.k.a Charlotte's minor league baseball team. They were playing the damn Yankees, not the band, but the minor league team from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Unfortunately, the Knights lost 2-3. Harry and I still ended up having a great time.


Here we are before leaving for the game. You can't tell by the picture but Harry was freaking out because we only allowed 1 hour to get to the game and buy tickets. (By the way... we had plenty of time to get to the game and get to our seats.)


We saw this AWESOME lady in line while waiting to get tickets. We are pretty sure that she is wearing jammies, with a nautical flag theme. It was awesome. Also, notice the shout out to Clemson on the guy's shirt next to her!


This is one of the Knights mascots... a girl dragon. She also has a beau, a male dragon named Homer.


Here you see the Knights up to bat.


Harry and I enjoying the game.


Now, although Task Force Scrunchie has seemed to have disbanded, I am still rooting out those who still abuse the 80's fashion trend. This scrucnchie, on the woman sitting directly in front of me, is special. It is made of PEARLS and has a black ribbon tied around it. What are, not just consumers, but manufacturers thinking?!?!?!


Our evening ended with fireworks. I can't wait till the 4th of July!!!

Summer Is Here!

Today is my first official day of summer vacation! Yea!! I woke up late (8:45), went for a run, lunch with friends, and a little shopping. I LOVE summer time! In addition to having free time to do whatever I want, our gardens are in full bloom and looking beautiful. Check out our day lilies in the back yard.



In an unrelated, yet funny, note... My friends from work and I went out to get some drinks after work at a place I will not name (they do have dollar beers on Wednesday). I got carded, which rarely ever happens anymore, but I am under 30 so that's ok. Now, the waitresses at this establishment are not known for being the brightest crayons in the box, but they can usually handle bringing you a beer. When I got carded, the Einstein that was waiting on us took at least a minute looking at my ID, even checking to see if it had a hologram. Then, in a very nasty tone, told me my ID looked nothing like me and wanted to know if I knew my drivers license number. I told her no, and asked who on Earth memorized the DL number. She then told me that she would NOT serve me without another form of ID. I was outraged! I was the oldest person at the table and this server just called me a liar to my face! So, I asked her, in a not so nice tone, if she was joking and I started to empty my wallet. I started with my credit cards and then even produced my marriage certificate! Finally, after me blowing my stack, she handed me my ID back, told me it still didn't look anything like me, and asked me what I wanted to drink. Needless to say, she transferred us to another server after the entire table of about 12 friends proceeded to ask in disbelief if that just happened.



You decide... am I the 26 year old pictured in the drivers license, or am I a 20 year old trying to drink illegally?

Welcome Home Clay!

We know nothing can make up for our lack of posting lately, but we thought Clay's return from Afghanistan was a good reason to jump back on the wagon (or is it off?...whichever one means blogging again). To celebrate Clay's arrival back in the states, we each created a picture. Meredith went the more traditional route with a hand-crafted sign and photo-luminescent Army shirt:

Alternatively, I chose the road less traveled and opted to use my graphic communications background to create an arguably more heartwarming photo. Nothing says "welcome home" like red gingham and Elmo!


Either way, we're glad you're home Clay. Hope to see you soon!