Escape to....Charlotte?

Usually my escapes involve the destination EDISTO but not this time! I was lucky enough to spend the weekend with my fabulous friends/college roommates/youth soul sisters in Charlotte NC. (The Mercer boys stayed in SC for a guy weekend full of fishing and tooting and other testosterony type stuff.)

My original plan was to stop in Columbia and visit the museum of art exhibit called Painting America The Beautiful: Masterpieces of the Hudson School Painters http://www.columbiamuseum.org/exhibitions/hudsonriver/  but the traffic gods had other plans. I-26 was a parking lot at one point which led to a lovely drive through Cameron, SC and the back roads and that ate up my museum time...also, by the time I got to Columbia I was just ready to be sitting on Lauren's cute balcony, flipping through a magazine with a glass of chilled wine in hand. Kind of bummed I missed it though.

Speaking of wine...after staying up late Friday night, eating amazing pizza and catching up we decided to spend Saturday in NC wine country. AWESOME! First stop was RayLen Vineyards http://www.raylenvineyards.com/about-raylen They had an event with music and an oyster roast so it was a little crowded, but the wines were wonderful and it was a great way to start our day.

Next destination was Laurel Gray, Lo and Tiff's favorite. http://laurelgray.com/ I did not know the history behind the company, land or family until now (I just read the web site that I linked to above) but I love this little winery even more now!!  The grounds were lovely and the porch was cozy and the wine was fabulous!!

I love these girls and I am trully blessed to have them in my life!!

Tubing

Just a quick post to share a few photos of Pnut and Spud's first tube ride on the river. (It was ALL Pnut's idea! He asked to blow it up and take it out!!)

Daddy surprised the boys with starter skis the next day...they just happened to be on sale at Bluffton Marine. Yea, right, sure they were. Pnut got the hang of it pretty quickly...Spud not so much. I will keep ya'all posted when they actually take the skis out to the river..as for now they are happy to practice in the pool.

Azaleas!

My LOVE of azaleas continues! I  dragged the family to Bonaventure Cemetery in South Savannah to look at the "pretty flowers." While we were there the hubby took these wonderful photos of me and my boys. Thank you honey!! I am rarely in photos and when I am I rarely like the photos but these I LOVE!

Disregard the fact that we are sitting in a cemetery. The flowers were beautiful and added to the beauty of the surroundings.

 After Bonaventure we headed into Savannah to Forsyth Park. I have driven past it many times but never had the opportunity to stop and play there. On our way there we received a call from Aunt Karen that she was in the area, along with Great Pop and Great Grammy, so we ended up having a family picnic in the park! (This never would of happened if we had actually planned it!)

Nanna in Savannah Part 3

The boys and I did our usual Wednesday morning CBS class which allowed Nanna to chill and enjoy her coffee and rest up for another exciting day. The weather was gorgeous so we enjoyed a nice lunch by the pond with Aunt Karen.

After lunch we headed over to The Sandbox, our favorite "Children's Interactive Museum." Every time we go the boys ask if we can invite Nanna and I always reply with "when she visits we will have to bring her here."

With our recent trip to the doctors office Pnut was focused on playing in the "Vet" section first...( I won't take it personally that we were his patients.) It has Xrays and the viewing lightbox and the doctor clip boards with information sheets to fill out regarding the "patient."

My son, the handsome doctor!

I received MANY shots... but I wasnt as brave as Pnut.

When they tired of playing doctor it was off to the airport. Captain Spud and Co-Captain Pnut made sure Nanna had a safe flight. (This is MY favorite play area...an actual cockpit with all of the knobs and buttons and levers!)

Please fasten your seat belts and prepare for take off.

Is it just me or does he look a little like Elvis here?

Unfortunately the plane did not have any food onboard so the flight crew decided to land so that Nanna could get a cup of tea and a sandwich. Luckily there was a cafe and a store right next to the runway.

Once everyone was fed and happy we moved on out to sea.

Finally off the ship, the boys headed to the building site and the moon sand pit. It was hard to tell who had a better time at the Sandbox to day..the boys or Nanna?