Travels Archives - Page 3 of 9

A Charleston Must: Morris Island!

August 14, 2014 by Susan 1 Comment

Remember that time, last week, when my mom and sister randomly decided they were going to road trip down to Charleston and they called, begging me to join them? Willingly opting to spend 7ish hours in the car with your mom and sister can be a tough decision… so after a little pondering I agreed to join them, but on these three conditions:

1. Chloe could come along.

2. While glamping, there would be AC in the camper. {read about that hotness here.}

3. We had to go to Morris Island with Captain Howie of Adventure Harbor Tours.

Honestly, I was going to go one way or another. I just needed a few items to leverage. Who in their right mind would turn down a trip to Charleston, South Carolina anyway?

I immediately booked our morning on Morris Island with Adventure Harbor Tours. In doing more research, I also realized that this was the only beach in the Charleston area that allows dogs to run around, foot loose and fancy free. SOLD!

My mom was quite enamored with the awesome pontoon boat we rode out to the island. She said numerous times that she had boat envy and that the pontoon ride was her favorite part of our entire mini-vacay. {My family has a slight obsession with boats and campers… It’s the closest we will ever get to being pirates. And I’m okay with that.}

We spent about 2ish hours on Morris Island. Personally, I could’ve stayed all day and been a happy girl. Chloe {the border collie} on the other hand, who is used to swimming in our freshwater river, she learned REAL QUICK that she couldn’t drink sea water. Somewhere on that island is a buried treasure {or two} that no one really wants to find.

Speaking of treasures - if you like seashells {heck, even if you don’t} you will like what you find on Morris Island. I found two Sand Dollars, a Whelk, several sharks teeth, and a trillion other shells. The last time I went {three years prior} we found a giant shark’s tooth and even some starfish {that were alive so we didn’t keep them!}

Below is the pictures we took 3 years ago after I “we” found this huge shark’s tooth on Morris Island. We still fight over who actually found the tooth and who is it’s rightful owner. I guess, since we are married now… what’s mine is yours?! Ha!

We got to enjoy a cool view of the Charleston Harbor, Fort Sumter, and the Charleston Bridge. Being on a boat just does my soul good. It really was a wonderful morning! I’m not sure where I went wrong in life but I’m pretty positive I should’ve found a career that allowed me to spend my days on the water!

By no means was this a sponsored post. I just want each and every one of you to know that the next time you are in Charleston, in addition to oooh-ing and ahhh-ing over the gorgeous homes and southern flair, you need to visit Morris Island with Captain Howie of Adventure Harbor Tours. I promise you will have such a great time. And if you happen to be traveling with your k9 companion - you will both thoroughly enjoy running and playing on a practically deserted beach.

Before we could wrap up our adventure, Chloe had to snag a picture with Captain Howie. Considering this was her first vacation ever, this dog did it right! Thanks again to Adventure Harbor Tours for yet another memorable trip to Morris Island! {Oh, and when you book your tour with them, be sure to tell him Chloe sent you!}

PS. Please don’t forget! You don’t have to be jealous of my vacation - you can win your own! It’s not too late for you to enter to win an AWESOME #SummerofGo Vacation from my past post sponsor Tommy Bahama! I would really love to win this myself… But if I don’t win, I would love for a 2 cats & chloe reader to win it! What are you waiting for?? Go get your pretty little pirate booty entered y’all!

Mini Vacation: Road Trip to Charleston, SC

August 12, 2014 by Susan 6 Comments

Y’all! You are going to be so absolutely disappointed in me. I survived my glamping trip in Charleston… but apparently when I travel, and consistently have a dog leash in my hand, I don’t take many pictures. I was just going through my camera and realized I have almost zero awesome pictures to share with you. Why? Honestly, I spent the entire couple of days saying “Chloe, stay! Chloe, come! Chloe, behave! Chloe, do you need water? Chloe, come here! Chloe, I’m so sorry I didn’t realize your feet were burning on the sidewalk!!” Seriously, I don’t know how mom bloggers do it all! One week away on vacation with my border collie and the entire blog basically implodes! With that being said, how about I summarize our trip and show you a few of the few pictures from our not-so-glamourous-glamping trip to Charleston, SC.

We left, spur of the moment, on Tuesday. The drive to Charleston should have only taken 7ish hours. I believe it took us 10ish? We arrived in the dark and had to wake up the park ranger to find our campsite. Then we set up camp at 11:30PM. And then the camper started smoking, the power went out and the promised air conditioning vanished. We were left in the tin can camper, practically suffocating all night long. Only fools go camping in Charleston, mid-August. It was HOT. Chloe took it like a champ.

Wednesday was an early start. It was the day I was really looking forward to. Michael and I have done Charleston a few years prior, so I knew that we needed to take Chloe out to Morris Island. {It’s no big deal, but I’m so obsessed with Morris Island that I will be sharing more on this adventure later this week in it’s own blog post!} I’ve decided that spending Wednesday mornings on a practically deserted beach is the way I want to spend the rest of my life. Even if I have to bring my laptop and paperwork with me. Quiet Wednesdays on the beach = the best mornings ever.

We spent the rest of our Wednesday trying to revive our power supply in the camper. Because again, let me stress, that only fools camp {without AC} in Charleston, in August. My mom became McGyver, jerry-rigged a few cords, plugs and a rubber band or two - and voila! We had AC! {No lights, but AC.} And that was enough for me. So I busted out my zoodler {I’m still rocking this whole30!} and made zoodle-spaghetti. {Because when you’re hot, nothing cools ya down like making a hot dinner……. Basically we suck at camping in the heat.}

We spent Thursday walking around downtown Charleston. I spent the entire day oooh-ing and ahhh-ing over the glorious southern porches, intricate iron gates, crafting, food and culture. Oh, and taming the wild beast that Chloe turned into. Honestly, the dog did better than most would’ve done. She walked around town on a 98 degree day. She shopped {most shops were great about inviting her in!} She dealt with us when we stopped for lunch and dinner. She was serenaded. She got kicked out of the market. She didn’t freak over meeting the first horse of her life. She even went on a ghost walk with us! We got downtown around 10:30AM and stuck it out, on and off, until 10:30PM. Chloe was a trooper.

*Above - my mom hit it off with the Cats of Charleston girl. So much so that I basically found her selling art for the gal! Also, this is one of the coolest projects ever. She asked if Chloe was local because she wanted her to model in Charleston for her Dogs of Charleston project this winter! We may have to relocate to Charleston… Go give her some love and tell her Chloe sent ya!

So this is where I would be inserting pictures of the stunning homes that I want to recreate here in Virginia. Except, I didn’t take a single one. {So if you want to see one or two pictures from a past trip down to Low Country, you can see them here. Please excuse the horrible blog post formatting… what the heck was I thinking back in 2011?!}

Friday morning we packed up camp and began trucking back home. Again, it should’ve taken 7ish hours. Somehow we stretched our road trip out to 12 freakin hours.

But we all survived.

Thank God.

Thursday I will be sharing my morning on Morris Island with you. It is a must-do when you visit Charleston, so please stay tuned for all those deets.
Have you been to Charleston? Have you vacationed with your dog? Have you survived an enormous amount of time on the road with all the women of your family? I wanna hear about it!

PS. Don’t forget it’s not too late to win your own vacation! Tommy Bahama is giving away a dream vacay! Read more about it here!

Two Truths and a Lie.

August 5, 2014 by Susan 4 Comments

Susan here, clocking in for the third hour of this seven-ish hour road trip to Charleston. In case you missed the news, I am heading to South Carolina for a spontaneous glamping trip! I’m currently fighting car-sickness in the back seat of my mom’s SUV, feet on the hump. Chloe has her dog bed taking up 2/3 of the seat while I’m squished against half of our bags and gear, with my laptop, paperwork and blanket piled on top of me.

Since nothing screams road trip like car games… Let’s play Two Truths and a Lie. Not familiar with this game? Basically I will share three things with you about myself - two of them will be honest to god truths. The third will be a bunch of bologna. {In the comment section below, you tell me which one you think is the lie. I will have the answer in tomorrow’s blog post!}
// Number One // I bought my first piece of kid equipment yesterday. {there was actually a hint about this in yesterday’s post. I wanted to see if anyone actually read to the bottom of that post…!} No, I’m not pregnant. I’m just an insane dog-mom. Actually my mom has gone insane over her grandpuppy. She found a bike buggie for $35 on craigslist! Now, for our glamping trip, Chloe can bike along with us!

// Number Two // I finally caved and got my wrist tattoo! I’ve seriously been coveting so many tiny, but pretty tattoos on pinterest for quite some time. I figured, I’m 30. Who really cares what my folks think?! I’ve made it this far in my life, following all of their rules. It’s time to live it up! Surprisingly it didn’t hurt quite as badly as I thought it would… and my dad hasn’t even noticed it yet!
I have spent the last couple years trying to find just the right word for my wrist. I decided to go with “breathe.” It’s a calming word when things get crazy, but it’s also a reminder to breathe in the great moments and the gusts of adventure that are constantly breezing past me. And I absolutely love the watercolor touch! I just hope the color doesn’t fade too much. // Number Three // Guys! This was a first for me! I hired a cleaning lady! Well - I didn’t actually hire her… it was a LivingSocial deal. I thought the house could really use a good clean up, ya know? Between my full head of wild crazy hair, and Rockie and Chloe Fur, there’s a constant flock of tumble weeds bustling through the downstairs of our house. When I saw the LivingSocial deal {two cleanings for $80} I timidly purchased it. I feel like this is such an adult thing to do! But I can’t seem to keep up with my husband wearing his shoes through the house, the drips and drops in the microwave, and again, the fur. So the lady came this morning before we left. It was weird. I felt like Sheldon Cooper as I awkwardly greeted her and offered her a cup of hot tea. Which she quickly denied before she got right to work, while I stood there semi-befuddled. Do I watch her? Do I help her? Do I give her a tour of the house? Do I hide my purse? Seriously - someone please tell me what I was supposed to do! In the end, she didn’t do a very good job. Maybe because it was a LivingSocial deal? Or maybe because our house was too dirty? I wasn’t very impressed. And I probably will never hire a cleaner again. I mean, I thought she would’ve at least taken the rugs out and shaken them…. // // Don’t I sound like such an adult? Buying kid gear, getting a tattoo, and hiring a cleaning lady? I can barely recognize myself! Here’s to being 30 I suppose! Now it’s your turn - tell me, of my three “stories” above, which one is the lie? Leave your answer in the comment section. Come back tomorrow for the answer {and to make sure I survive this long as heck car ride with the ladies of my family.}

Who actually sleeps in hotels?

July 24, 2014 by Susan 4 Comments

So I spent my last couple of days in Nova {Northern Virginia for those of y’all that aren’t familiar with our stellar state slang.} The corporate office for my marketing job is based up there, so once a month I make the 3 hour commute to work. Now, I am pumped to be working from home most of the time. But every now and then it is great to put on something other than yoga pants, actually sport some makeup, and submerge myself in the corporate world. It rejuvenates me and I honestly enjoy co-workers that don’t hop on my desk, put my pen in their mouths, and run away with it.

But when your trainee is fired 2 hours into the 2 day training session you created for him, and drama ensues, being in the office had me speeding home early today, reminded why I like working from home, on my own little island so much. First thing I did when I got home: I hung up {read: threw on the floor} my business clothes and immediately put on my sports bra before getting back to work - while Ladies of London bickered in the background, of course.
As I briefly mentioned in yesterday’s post about Aunt Flo, I ended up almost hotel-less on Tuesday. I had reservations before I arrived. Reservations as in gut reservations. As in, I should’ve gone with my gut and called ahead. I did have real hotel reservations too. But apparently the hotel didn’t have my reservation. Have I used the word reservation enough yet? No? At least I wasn’t staying on an Indian Reservation. There. Now I’ve used it enough.
So I got to the hotel. I did what good wives do when they are checking into strange hotels without their spouses, I called the hubs to tell him I made it safe and sound. I even said “gosh I hope they still have my room, this parking lot is really full.” I shlepped all my belongings into the hotel lobby, and smiled pleasantly as I spell my new last name for them 4 times. And then I heard the dreaded “we’re so sorry but…” At which point I tuned out. {Seriously - what’s up with my reservations about reservations these days?}
Unlucky for me, there was something wild and crazy going on in Chantilly, Virginia on Tuesday night. I kid you not, every single room, in every single hotel was booked. And it’s not like we are in Mayberry! Friends, we are just outside of Washington DC. There are hundreds of hotels. {Apparently hundreds of overbooked hotels.} Due to the fact that THEY lost my reservation - THEY had to find me a new room. After about 35 minutes they found one, 2 cities over. So I was sent on my not-so-merry-way, 30 minutes {without traffic} from my office, to a strange hotel, in an area I was not familiar with.

Last night, when I was hunkering down in my 2-ish star hotel my brain started going a mile a minute. Do you know how many things you really shouldn’t think about if you want a good night’s sleep in a hotel?! So so many. Buckets and buckets of haunting things.
What do bloggers do when they can’t sleep? They think about blogging. So at 12:23AM I started compiling a list of things that you shouldn’t be thinking about if you want to successfully sleep in a hotel. I feel like it would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t share this sleepily written list with you. So let me do the honors and present the official Don’t-think-about-this-if-you-want-to-sleep-in-a-strange-hotel List:

1 // I wonder who has slept in this bed before me…
2 // I wonder who has touched this tv remote before. Wait where did that remote end up? Ew it’s in the sheets!
3 // Bugs bugs bugs! Maybe I should look under the headboard to make sure they aren’t hiding there.
4 // Did I wear shoes when I walked across the hotel room? Wait - should I be wearing my shoes when I shower here?
5 // Holy crap! Did I accidentally move the $9 handful of skittles or the $19 bottle of water in the pay-per-move mini fridge?
6 // I wonder if anyone famous has ever slept in this room before…
7 // Did I deactivate my room key when it touched my cell phone? What if there’s a fire alarm? What if the power goes out? What if someone knocks on my door and says “Houseeee Keepinggg” but they really aren’t the house keeper?
8 // What’s that noise? I bet it was a bug…
9 // I wonder how often they wash this top blanket? Do they even wash this top blanket? Okay, the top Booger Blanket is going on the floor. OMG it’s freezing in here!
10 // I’m hungry. How much were those 15 skittles again?
Hopefully, when you are laying in your next hotel room, you can reference this list and NOT think about all of the above. I’m just here to serve! {But you know what happens when someone tells you not to think about something…} Wink Wink.
What am I missing? What drives you crazy when you aren’t sleeping in your own bed?
Until next time… Sleep tight friends!

Surprise from Vegas, Baby!

July 12, 2014 by Susan 2 Comments

Y’all. I’m an open book. I’m way too public with my ins and outs, my goings on, my travels and my adventures. So much so that I should probably be more cautious about what I say, do, and share with the world to prevent internet creepers from making me their next victim.

That being said, I just can’t. I seriously suck at secrets. For the last six months a top secret trip to Vegas has been in the works. And it’s been KILLING me to not tell each and every one of you where I’m going. Trip Advisor is great, but so is referrals from blog friends! This trip has been so top secret that even my closest friends had no clue that I was going to be hopping on a plane and jet setting across the country this past Thursday!

You see, yesterday was J’s birthday. She knew her husband had a wonderful birthday vacation planned for her. She did not know where. And she definitely did not know who would be waiting for her at the bar when she checked into the luxurious Hard Rock Hotel.

Her brother flew into Vegas from Minnesota. I flew into Vegas from Virginia. Jess and her hubby flew in from Georgia.

I arrived several hours earlier than the rest of them which left me with a few decisions… Do I nap? Do I explore? Do I catch up on work? Do I lay by the pool? I decided to do what every over-worked entrepreneur would do for her first 2 hours of vacation… I watched trash television and napped. And it was glorious.

Jess was beyond shocked when “a couple” from across the bar bought her a drink the second she arrived at her resort… It was a great birthday reunion! I have a video I can share once facebook unblocks it… stinking facebook.

We spent yesterday as epic tourists: drinking and exploring.

Crafty inspiration can be found anywhere! I was overwhelmed by the glass art and conservatory at the Belligio… how cute is this pennant banner? I’m totally making these flags when I get home!

Around 1 in the afternoon, the girls and the guys split up… we discovered the Cosmopolitan Hotel and all of it’s glam and swank. Pretty positive a girl could get used to a place like this.

Then I surprised Jess with a hair and makeup appointment at iblowdry. I mean, it was her 30th birthday… who can say no to celebrating by getting all dolled up in Vegas, Baby? More on this awesome salon and experience at a later date!

I seriously wouldn’t wish a gluten intolerance on anyone… But if YOU were to do that, I would say you should wish it upon your best friend. Because when you struggle with the same issues, you can do cool things like share lactose pills and gluten free birthday cake!

I never have an excuse to dress up and go out - so this was definitely welcomed. We spent the evening pretending we were rockstars. With champagne in hand we hopped into our private limo, toured the strip and a few hot spots, and then wrapped up our evening playing the Willy Wonka slot machine. I kid you not.

I definitely have more Vegas deets to come - but right now I need to get dressed and ready for a pool party {that I’m kinda dreading… rehab anyone?}

Also! Don’t forget! Time is ticking as we wrap up our Not-So-Dirty 30 Blog Series and GIVEAWAY!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Catch ya when I’m back on the thankfully humid {my skin is parched!} East Coast!

Until next time my loves!