When I first moved to South Carolina, I called my dad on the phone and told him about a recent experience I had at an AT&T store. He responded, "They have an AT&T store out there!?" Of course, he was joking (settle down, Southerners). But it's been a running joke ever since. Well, I am happy to report that my parents made it out to Charleston this summer and they got to see the AT&T store, along with many other things worth seeing!

As expected, I had made a list of everything we were going to do while my parents were here. So, we stayed very busy. I just didn't want them to miss out on anything! Good thing my parents are awesome and good sports and loved doing everything we had in store for them.

THURSDAY NIGHT. Arrival! Yay! I was SO excited to see my parents standing there at the curb of the airport. It took a little while to set in: My parents were in CHARLESTON. We stopped at the Mt. Pleasant Memorial Waterfront Park under the Ravenel bridge to stretch out legs and see some awesome views. Then we went home (Stephanie's house) and grilled up some Hawaiian chicken and okra. 

FRIDAY. We started the day with a bus tour of Downtown. Very interesting and the best part: air conditioning! The tour ended with another tour of the Justin Manigault mansion. We quickly ate sandwiches in the car on our way to the next part of our day: Fort Sumter. We boarded a ferry and took in the Cooper River views as we made our way to the fort. I kept thinking it was SO hot and humid, but my parents didn't think it was bad at all! So I just let them think that for as long as they wanted ;) Dinner was Publix fried chicken (best around!). We were treated to a thunderstorm as well. Sweet! The South was very welcoming! 

SATURDAY. My dad's favorite day! We took our kayaks out to my friend Kim's dock on Jeremy Creek in McClellanville. She was kind enough to let my parents borrow the two kayaks she keeps there. Thanks, Kim! We made our way to the Intercoastal Waterway and were joined by a pod of dolphins. They were swimming right next to us! It was pretty amazing. We found a little island/sandbar out there, and stopped for some snacks and to stretch our legs. There were some pretty cool shells that we found. After kayaking, we stopped for lunch at TW Graham's. Delicious, as always. My dad was loving the fried clams. We all split my new favorite treat: Pawley's Island Pie. If you have not had it, you need to. It might change your life. It was every man for himself with the four of us and our forks trying to scrape the plate clean!

SUNDAY. Church. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming to my parents, as expected ;) We walked through Palmetto Islands Park afterward. We got to see some people crabbing off one of the docks. We swung on the rocking chairs and climbed the observation tower. It was a great day.

MONDAY. Beach day! Even though we have beaches in California, I thought it would be fun for my parents to see a Southern beach. They really are pretty different--with the biggest difference being water temperature! I couldn't get dad out of the water! Haha. We read books, ate lunch, and spent a lot of time in the water. We ate at Melvin's for dinner and then rode bikes around Sullivan's Island. We got ice cream at Beardcats and my dad tried the famous "olive oil and sea salt" flavor. Not a fan. I stuck with chocolate, as always. 

TUESDAY. Bull's Island. We really loved the boat ride over to the island. Our guide gave us such neat information about the marshes and the plants (spartina grass!) and animals that live there. We saw lots of birds and another dolphin. Once on the island, we headed to the beach to explore the "boneyard." The island is eroding, and because of this, there are huge trees that have been "petrified" by the salt water on the beach. It was something I've never seen anywhere else. We decided to go exploring around the island after spending some time at the beach. Bad idea. The mosquitoes were terrible! You're thinking, "that's why you wear bug spray!" But let me tell you, the four of us went through an entire can of Off Deep Woods. The deeper into the forest we hiked, the more mosquitoes there seemed to be. Like, buzzing in your ears and swarming your face mosquitoes. After many squeals and obvious discontent, we turned around. Did I mention this was the mot humid day so far? Mosquitoes and humidity all in one shot!  It was a fun adventure, to say the least! For dinner that night, we met Nathan and Stacy at Hanks. My mom tried oysters...and liked them. It was seafood at its finest! 

WEDNESDAY. Boone Hall. My mom's favorite day! Lendrum grew up in the neighborhood right across the creek from this famous plantation, but we've just never gotten around to taking a tour! It was fascinating! and beautiful! We loved the Gullah performance. My dad got to participate and be the "tar baby" in the storytelling of Brer Rabbit. He was a natural ;) 

THURSDAY. Downtown. After doing laundry and a bit of housework (we had to make time for that between our fun adventures), we headed downtown again for some shopping. Let me rephrase: My mom wanted to shop...my dad was a good sport. We explored the market, sampled pralines, watched the cruise ship depart, and snagged a rocking chair bench at Waterfront Park. For dinner, we ate at Fleet Landing, where Lendrum, mom, and dad ALL got shrimp and grits. It was a little much...haha. And my parents were leaving the next morning so they couldn't just keep their leftovers for another night. So, we had A LOT of shrimp & grits in Stephanie's fridge. 

FRIDAY. :( :( :( SAD DAY! :( :( :( We all knew it would come eventually, but my parents had to leave. I dropped them off at the rental car place downtown and they started their next leg of their trip: Virginia to see my dad's mission buddy, then off to Prague! We still miss them so much. It was such a fun trip and I always love spending time with my parents. I love them so much. Until next time!