Passport- Recent Travel History

I have been blessed in this past year, and have been able to travel with my husband and family to a few places so I wanted to document those to begin my new page "Passport".

First Up: Charleston- October 2010

We planned this trip with Daniel's parents, and were grateful for the extra 2 sets of hands when it came to keeping up with Carter.  We rented a condo on the Isle of Palms to take advantage of the Atlantic Ocean, and drove across the bridge to Charleston to do all of the site seeing...and man, was there a lot to see!  I could probably go another 5 times and still wouldn't have seen everything.  We ate great food, walked market street, went on a couple of tours...one haunted of course, and had some fun at the beach. I suggest one of the horse-drawn carriage tours...you see a lot, learn a lot, and don't have to walk!  It's a city full of history, and I soaked up as much as I could.

 

This was our first vacation with Carter, and his first beach experience!

I love the Live Oak trees! They were everywhere.

Next is Washington D.C.-November 2010

This is a trip that all Americans should take...and I'm so glad I did it as an adult.  I was awe struck at the grandeur and history of our capital.  The best night we had was the very first night when we took to the Moonlit Monuments tour.  We saw all of the major monuments at night, all lit up.  It was beautiful, and something about the blanket of darkness and quiet really set the mood.  I cried several times on the tour...the first while reading Lincolns Second Inaugural Address at the Lincoln Memorial-left.  The second was while passing the thousands of unmarked tombstones that belonged to black citizens...some of whom were newly freed slaves.  It was mind blowing to know that those men fought for a country that had enslaved them...and now couldn't even be named.  The more we passed, the more I cried.  I was so proud, and so ashamed at the same time.  That trolley tour was so fun, and it's what I choose

to remember about that trip.  The rest was a blur...but I have a trolley on my charm bracelet to kind of commemorate that trip. 

Miami- December 2010

This trip was a bit of a last minute decision, but I am so glad I went! Daniel had some work obligations to take care of first, so I got some much needed R&R in the sun.  We stayed a few extra days to squeeze in some site-seeing.  We went between thanksgiving and Christmas which ended up being the best time to go because vacationers stay home during that time.  No waits at restaurants, no crowds, no problem finding a pool chair (yes it was warm enough to sun bathe). Perfect timing!                   We toured the Vizcaya Home-pictured left.  So fun...we did a quick tour of the house, and then spent the rest of the day running around in the gardens.  Hedge mazes, hardscape, and water features galore.  The cafe however {which is really just a small food truck} was not so impressive.  But we made the best of it, haha.                                   

We also went to the Miami Zoo, which was also fun.  It has been a long time since I've been to a zoo, and I don't think I've ever seen a real elephant or gorilla.  So I was so excited to go to an open air zoo where there were elephants and gorillas right across a ditch from where I stood!  No fences, just a big ditch. So cool. The giraffe area was one of my favorite stops.