I love Charleston, and not just for its Chew

Friday morning started off with me having a doctor's appointment in the opposite direction of the way we were headed, but it was an appointment I was actually looking forward to, so I decided not to cancel it. (More on that to come... ;-)) After the appointment, I gave Sal Gal a text and told her to meet me at my house to pick me up, so that we could hit the road for Charleston.

After giving M to the Izz A one more nervous look about leaving him and Kate alone for the weekend, I gave them hugs and kisses and hopped in Sal's ride. The girl musta been crazy because she brought her Zune along for the ride, without the cord to plug it into the radio speakers, as if she was gonna ignore me the whole trip. I don't think so. Didn't she know I was excited and completely prepared to talk her head off?! The actual drive to the planned destination is one of my favorite parts of any trip!

Once we arrived, Big Al and Mom showed up right behind us.

And out pops my mom...carrying this:

Really? Ever since she's gotten older and her eyesight is not what it used to be, she has to have this huge magnifying mirror to get ready (put on makeup, etc). It is a hoot! And seriously, if you've never looked into one of these mirrors, don't. Not if you want a shred of self-esteem left to your name. That mirror magnifies things that were never intended to be magnified.

We originally thought that I was missing an earring in this pic, but realized we could see it in later pics taken that night, so it was obviously just hiding. It's okay, that one seems to be blingin' enough for the both of them. Darn flash.

Shoving our money into the 'box' at the parking lot. Primitive.

Declaring my love.

Sal Gal's homemade racerback. Also know as, barretteback.

What can give you a big enough sugar high to do the Carlton (Banks) in your hotel parking lot?

This mamma-jamma right here.

Hey Sal, the 1970's called: they want their luggage back.

Proudly displaying her 'cute' luggage bit in an effort to redeem herself for the large red no-no shown above. But ooooh, ouch. She was unaware of the tapestry piece lurking in the background of this shot. Bummer.

'mise well tuck your tail and run at this point.

Listen, that's what we do. We make fun of each other the entire time and love every minute of it. Take a hit and throw one right back. It just doesn't get any better.

This was trip numero uno of many to come. We're planning on doing it every year, maybe changing the location each time, who knows?

Tomorrow's Friday and I'm looking forward to doing a whole lotta nothing this weekend.
It's finally starting to feel like Fall around here and I'm loving it. It makes me smile...

..And makes me at peace with the fact that my summer tan has long faded and my skin is now the color of a Dove soap bar.