Southern Charm in Charleston

With a three day weekend in February to honor President's Day, a group of us decided to head south for a relaxing trip Charleston, South Carolina.

Our time was perfectly divided between sightseeing and lounging and I loved being able to see some places outside the city.  We were also treated to several special homemade meals, had to time to sit in front of the roaring fire and enjoyed watching the season finale of Downton Abbey together--all important bonding opportunities!

One of our first stops was Drayton Hall, a true southern home that has been beautifully preserved.  It doesn't have electricity or running water--very authentic!

The architecture is one of the best examples of Georgian-Palladian architecture in the United States.

This color paint reminded me of chalk paint!

Walking through the house was like being transported back to an earlier time--no artificial lights, no running water--I kept imagining what it would be like to live there.

The grounds were beautiful too!

The whole gang: Kern, Jordan, me, Charles, Carolyn and Matthew

Another special aspect of the weekend was that we got to live our own plantation all weekend: Wampee.

The view from the front door of our house...

Matthew still does a lot of client work in Charleston and was able to arrange for us to use this lovely home all weekend.

The live oaks were perfect climbing obstacle courses.

R-e-l-a-x-i-n-g

We also celebrated Kern's birthday over the weekend!

With a coconut cake, of course!

We balanced our relaxing country time with some walking around the city, taking in the sites, sampling the fare.

Not my typical afternoon snack...