We are Family...I've Got All My Sisters and Me!

Man o' man, have we seen some family lately and we love it! After South Carolina we stopped in St. Augustine. My Dad and Sue came over and we grilled hamburgers and visited. What a fun time. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. They also gave us a Coach-warming present, which was so thoughtful and beautiful. They had one of our pictures from Maine engraved in a piece of wood with a quote that says, "We took the road less traveled and it has made all the difference." I was really touched. Thanks Dad and Sue.

We also got to see Scott's mom and Bobby. They drove over from Jacksonville and spent the day with us. It was great fun. We had lunch in downtown St. Augustine and went to Camping World to pick up supplies. (You can't buy biodegradable toilet paper just anywhere.)

Then it was off to Tampa for my cousin Becca's wedding. We had a blast that weekend. The ceremony was right on the beach, and it was beautiful. One of the highlights of the weekend, was singing karaoke with my cousin Ronnie. It was quite a scene. Picture two white girls singing "Whoomp there it is". I thought we brought the house down, "boyeee". It was so great seeing everyone again especially my mom and sisters. I've really missed them. Unfortunately Rachel couldn't make it. She just delivered baby Lily on October 16th.

Going Cow-a-Bunga in Kiawah

This week we are in one of my favorite places, Charleston, SC. I love the architecture, history, food and the nature in the surrounding areas here. We have had a great time this week.

Yesterday we took the kayak over to Beachwalker Park on Kiawah Island. It is a really great spot to kayak because you start off kayaking in the marshy river and end up in the ocean. We saw all sorts of wildlife. We even saw dolphins and a Bald Eagle. We talked with a student from Georgia, who was doing turtle research on the island. He found a Glass Lizard and showed to to us. I'm not an reptile expert, but it looked more like a snake to me. Once we reached the ocean, the waves were pretty big. We were actually able to surf a couple of the waves. I think kayak surfing should become a new sport. It was so much fun.

I must say that when you are on a budget you will do just about anything to save a buck. Case in point, we sat and listened to a two hour time share/vacation rental sales pitch just to get some free stuff. We ended up getting two free passes on the ghost tour and $75.00 in gift certificates to any restaurant. Even though it was long and I was trying to plan my escape the whole time, it was worth it. The ghost tour was fun and we had lunch at Wasabi, a great sushi restaurant and even had enough left over for dinner at Hyman's Seafood.

We leave for St. Augustine, Fl tomorrow for a short trip to visit my dad and Scott's mom. Then we go to Tampa for my cousin Becca's wedding. I'm excited to see my family again, but it is such a strange feeling to be going back to Florida.

The BBQ Mission

We have been in Asheville, NC for a week and have really enjoyed it. When you mention Asheville to most people they say, "You have to go to the Biltmore. It's so pretty. You must go". Being that we are on a budget and the tickets cost about $40.00 a person, I wasn't that crazy about going. But we ended up getting discounted tickets through the RV park that we stayed at, and we decided to check it out. Wow, was it amazing. I would have really missed out by not going. We ended up going two days in a row, because there was so much to see. We toured the enormous house and the beautiful gardens, drove around the estate through the lush forest and stopped at the winery for a tour and free tasting. We had a blast and even made time for a seminar on wine and chocolate pairings, yummy!

We also went to a place called Chimney Rock (elevation 2,280 feet). It was a total tourist trap compared to most of the places we go hiking, but it had beautiful views. The town of Chimney Rock had a great little barbecue place where you could eat right beside the river. I must take a side bar here and mention to you our obsession with barbecue lately. There really isn't good barbecue in West Palm, unless you go to a place in Hope Sound, locals aptly call the Barbecue Nazi. (If you have ever seen the Seinfeld episode with the Soup Nazi, then you know what I'm talking about. If not, never mind, the joke has passed you by.) So it has been our mission to hit up every little local barbecue place we can find, and boy have we conquered that mission. I think we have found a barbecue place in every town we've visited. My Pop from Texas sure would be proud.

Next stop is Charleston, SC and I can't wait. I hear they have great barbecue...

Click here to see all our photos from Asheville, NC

A Relaxing Time in Virginia

We spent the week in Urbanna, Virginia and I don't have too much to report. It was a pretty relaxing week. We checked out Historic Williamsburg, which was neat. We grilled hotdogs and watched the Gator game. I don't really have too much to say about the game either, except...bummer.

It was nice to sit back, read books and relax. Oh, and of course we fit in some kayaking time on the 'Rivah'. (For you Floridians, who aren't on the up and up with the lingo, this is how Virginians pronounce river. I am learning so much on this trip.)

The highlight of the week was when we got to go see some of my old friends, Dawn and Trip, that live in Richmond. They have a beautiful baby girl named Isabel. I wish I had a picture to show, but she went down for a nap before I thought to take out the camera. We sat on their sun porch, ate lunch and talked. What a great afternoon.

After an 8 hour drive, we made it to Asheville, NC. I am really excited to explore this town. Stay tuned...