A Visit From My Parents

 We have had soooo many lovely visitors in the short time since we moved.  My parents were the very first to make the trek out to the North Carolina coast.  They decided to drive and headed our way for labor day weekend.  It was such an amazing weekend.  I love that Tyler and I have so much fun with my parents and love that they share our sense of adventure.  My parents expressed their desire to see as much of the coast as possible so we did not want to disappoint.  

They arrived on a Friday afternoon and showed up with a cooler of veggies from their garden and homemade treats for us. Typical.

We took them straight to the beach and stopped at Buddy's for a drink.

 Surf City Beach

We headed into Wilmington to walk around historical downtown and riverfront and then ate a fabulous dinner at Elijah's.  

Our first taste of southern fried grits 

It was SO good.  We made a commitment to try all the southern foods and drinks, including grits, fried okra, hush puppies, and carolina sweet tea (a mixed drink), and ate seafood the entire weekend!

The next morning we ventured north along the coast to Beaufort.  From this adorable little town we took a ferry to Shakleford Banks.  This is a small island that is one of the most southern parts of the outer banks.  These islands are known for their wild horses.  Apparently a dentist owned the island back in the day and put horses on it.  We were lucky enough to see some of them.

On the boat 

 Love them :) 

 Tyler and my dad's loot.  They spent a lot of time diving for these beauties.

 Typical Ron picture 

 Perfect weather and perfect company for a day on the beach.

Exploring the island

We soaked up every second of the sunlight!  We stopped for ice cream on our way back home and then to Topsail Island beach for a long walk.

A fisherman caught a skate (looks like a stingray)

Sand crab

On our walk back he caught a sand shark 

We had a wonderful dinner at our house and sat around the table talking and laughing all night.  In the morning, we decided to venture south and picked Charleston, SC as our final destination.  Charleston is about four hours from us.  Like I said, I LOVE that my parents are adventurous.  There visit was a vacation for us too.  

 Pit stop in Myrtle Beach for lunch 

 My two favorite men

At the hotel we had more drinks and planned our agenda ;) 

Our hotel was within walking distance.  I loved Charleston.  SO much history in this city.

Dinner and drinks at Hymans. 

Probably the best Bloody Mary I have ever tasted

The next morning, we grabbed coffee and lunch at the cutest bakery and then stopped at the fire station.  This is the oldest, still standing fire station in the United States.  My dad and uncle are both retired firemen and my brother is currently a volunteer fireman.  It has become a tradition to stop at stations in big cities and buy shirts for them.  It just so happened that the fireman that was on duty offered to give us a tour.  It was very cool to see all the old trucks. 

Next we toured the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon.  Blackbeard was held in this dungeon and George Washington stayed in the building.

My mom really wanted to check out a plantation so we picked Boone Hall Plantation.  This plantation is famous for the live oak trees that line the drive up to the house.  

Old slave quarters 

Since this was the last day my parents were here, we squeezed in a stop at Wrightsville beach on our drive back.  We had dinner on the Intercoastal Waterway and saw our first dolphins in NC :) 

We can't wait for my parents to come back!