I told you Sunday that we just
returned from this year’s birthday trip, and it was such a GIFT. We hadn’t been
away for a lengthy birthday trip since 2021, and I think it may have started to
show. This year’s destination was Charleston, South Carolina, and the main
reason we chose it was because South Carolina remained a glaring hole on our
travel map. We’d been through it before – and even spent the night with some
friends in North Augusta, South Carolina, but alas, it was before the map, and
we didn’t actually do anything in the state other than stay at our friends’
house, so it didn’t count as destination travel. We’d heard such good things
about the beauty of Charleston…and so it became our destination! Come along
with me today as we look at the start of our trip!
I had to giggle out loud when I
got up the morning we left and did my Scripture writing for the day. I read the
passage in Mark where Jesus sent the disciples out to minister, and he told them
not to pack a bag or take anything excessive. The whole time, I knew this was
in the next room. Gulp.
The Shaffers: Charleston bound!
The entire day of travel was
fraught with slow-downs, constructions, accidents, re-routes, and rain. It was
one of the most frustrating driving days we’ve had for a long time. We tried so
hard not to stop for any reason. I think we only had three stops the entire day
– and they were for bathrooms/food/fuel – in and out so fast. And yet we lost
three hours off our time from start to finish. Here are some scenes from the
road:
The mountains appeared at last,
complete with a tunnel!
In a TOTALLY unexpected event, I
drove three full hours of the trip, including all the mountains, torrential
downpours, back roads, and darkness. We didn’t want to pull over to switch
drivers because we were afraid of losing another half hour off the trip!
The first night we stayed in a
little tiny town – home to some friends of ours. They sweetly offered for us to
stay in their guest house, which was small and absolutely perfect for
us.
The next morning we made our way
(still in the rain) to their house to have breakfast and spend the morning with
them. They have a sweet puppy who helped us fill the Lexi void. They also had a
screened in front porch, and we were able to sit out there while a gentle rain
fell, and it was the sweetest way to spend a morning. Forced slowdowns like
this are much more welcomed than forced slowdowns in traffic.
So our friends used to live in
the same town where Ryan and I grew up, and we went to high school with their
daughters. A few years ago, their youngest daughter passed away very
unexpectedly after giving birth. Ryan and I had never met any of her girls
until this trip. We really loved meeting them. (One of the girls was gone to
practice that morning so she missed the group picture.)
We finally packed up and hit the
road again, and about four hours later, we finally made it to our home for the
week! To try to save some money (cities are NOT cheap for lodging) we stayed in
North Charleston in a Residence Inn. We looked at Airbnbs but couldn’t justify
the cost. This hotel gave us breakfast every day, but we had a bigger room with
a couch and kitchen, which made it really helpful for a longer term stay.
We were so happy to be there,
and I’ll be back Thursday to tell you about our adventures exploring downtown
Charleston!
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