I admit it… I was a bit sneaky when I planned this vacation. My husband’s last day of his contract with the Marines was this past Halloween. To get his mind off things I decided to book a trip to where we were married for Halloween… Charleston, So. Carolina. My plans did not work though! A day before we left he signed up again but this time as Reserve. So for those that know Josh be prepared to see your first glimpse of him with no beard and a shaved head!
Right when we landed I wanted to go to the very spot where we said, “I do!” That would be a black swamp… the same where the boat scene in The Notebook was filmed and the black swamp scenes in The Patriot. For those that plan to visit Charleston, it’s a bit of a drive, but you can’t miss visiting Cypress Gardens. Water Lily’s were blooming and we saw several aligators. We were told some had babies with them but we never spotted little gators. Bummer!
I was excited to see sooo many blooms in late Fall!
These are two of my favorite bridges along the trail around the swamp. The one on the far left we had a wedding photo of us taken here and the one on the far right our five year anniversary photo made. I love the ghosts they had hanging in the trees for Halloween decor.
When we arrived we quickly realized a wedding was about to start. Here is Natalie being rowed to the same gazebo I was married in too! My brother in law rowed me out to the ceremony site and my husband rowed me to the cottage where we had our reception.
Here’s our wedding gazebo! These beautiful roses were in full bloom around the gazebo when we were married late May.
Other than trails and being able to row yourself around the swamp, Cypress Gardens offers a repile, amphibian, fish, avery, and butterfly house! Here is one butterfly I captured with my new macro lens. I have never seen a butterfly’s tongue before now. Wow.
A main draw to Charleston (other than the beach) for us is the awesome seafood! Because it was Halloween a lot of the staff members were dressed up. Here is “Beth” from Dog The Bounty Hunter. ha ha. She said she put a lot of effort into making “the girls” look natural.
This is our hideaway when we come to Charleston. This B&B is centrally located and has a 24 hour kitchen open with snacks for all guests.
The Palmer’s Pickney Inn is a sister property of the “Pink Palace” so we take the ten minute walk to the battery for breakfast overlooking the water.
After breakfast we were right on the Battery so we checked out the Gazebo. Last time we were here it was moved off location and being restored. Looks soooo great now!
We decided to take an afternoon cruise on the Schooner Pride around Charleston’s harbor. Afterall, it was sunny and warm and back home they were enjoying freezing temperatures!
Josh got to help hoist a sail even! I have never been this close to Ft. Sumter before… we could have docked! Toward the end of our cruise we saw dolphins and they fired an onboard canon at another ship!
Another detour before heading home was the Morris Head lighthouse at Folly Beach. We had portraits made here the morning of our wedding day and more in the evening for our 5 year anniversary. It’s a bit of a hike but worth the effort. I hope I have enticed some of my friends to join us next year!
