Charleston, SC

Getting all of the travel behind us, a small sigh of relief was in order, with the thought that now I can just concentrate on our time together, relaxing, having fun, and most of all just watching the girls be themselves.

Right away both of them were nearly dying to spend the rest of their Christmas money, which had increased by $50 each when we picked my dad up at the airport. I had never been to Charleston, SC before so I had no idea where we might go to spend the money, but I got some luck...at least I thought I did. I noticed when we got off the highway to get checked in there was a road at another red light called Mall Dr. That surely sounded promising and gave the girls visions of Kaybee Toys, Toys-r-Us, dippin dots, EBs, Babbages, and just stores galore. So cruising slowly on Mall Dr. (even though malls are HARD to miss) we saw a giant Cinema-Plex that would usually be circumstantial evidence that a Mall was near, but the only other place resembling a mall was a gi-normous structure...easily the size of a mall. The only indication of what it might be were lighted signs proclaiming Verizon Wireless. That's got to be the biggest fucking cell phone store in the world I thought to myself. Now I live in a rednecky, wooded part of Tennessee, and the largest store in my town sells guns, knives, and hunting supplies in a building as big as a Wal-Mart, but this Verizon store was ridiculous...couldn't be, and as it turned out wasn't. It, of course, was some type of Headquaters for Verizon occupying the space that "used" to be a mall. The mall I was hoping the girls could shop in...minor set back.

Since I'm not the typical male, or the stereotype often given to the typical male, I had no problem stopping at a mini-mart and asking where I could find a mall that hadn't turned in to a corporate headquaters. As it turned out, I could find one just 8 or 9 miles north, so away we went...

As a reminder that my babies won't stay young forever they chose to buy some clothes with their money rather than just toys like always in the past. A definite (and scary for me) sign they are creeping towards teenage.

Next day we hit the beach on the Isle of Palms. It had been a long time since I had seen the ocean, and I find that first look still holds some awe. Even after spending 5 years of my life virtually living on the beach in Tampa. The girls absolutely went nuts and ignored the fact that it's DECEMBER. The wind and water were both cold, brrrrrrr cold, but still the little angels splashed and splashed. It was a beautiful day in the mid 60s, so I indulged them for a while, and then finally had to call the clock on them for fear they might get sick. So I packed the waterlogged darlings back in the heated ride, and went back to the hotel, where...they chose to swim (indoors) and play in the hot tub...much better. The hotel swims, whirlpool, and fitness room were used at least once every day while we were there, sometimes 2 or 3 times. I sure would like to have all that available all the time. It's easy to get plenty of fitness in your life if the pool and the fitness center are under the same roof as you, and available 24/7...

Time just flies when I get to spend it with my daughters...we ended the trip by hitting the SC Aquarium down town Charleston, and finally we stormed Fort Sumter. The Fort tour was awesome. You could just feel the history oozing from every nook and cranny of that place. Way back in 1861 the Civil War began at that very Fort. For 2 days the Confederates shelled the Union soldiers until the Fort and with it Charleston Harbor were surrendered to the South. The once 3 story Fort was bombarded down to the 1 story that still stands. Over 44,000 rounds of shelling, and still Sumter survived. The biggest miracle to come from those long hours of decimation...not one death through it all.