Month: March 2022

Carl and I decided that since we’d been back to Illinois in both October and November that we’d stay put for Christmas. While this choice is always a little sad because I love Christmas and it’s just not the same with cold weather and our family, it turned out to be absolutely wonderful this year. We had 4 days off of work together with zero specific plans and we enjoyed every second of it. The weekend included dinner at The Tempest, a bike ride, checking out the Christmas lights show at the College of Charleston as well as the James Island County Christmas lights, and a beach day (going to the beach on December 26th is definitely a reminder of why we moved here).

We day-tripped to Savannah, GA on the 4th to visit our friend, Sarah, who was there from Louisiana to visit her brother and sister-in-law, Dave and Georgia. We had a lovely day catching up with the 3 of them as well as getting to checkout the space where Dave and Georgia will be opening a new restaurant there next spring. Can’t wait to visit again when the restaurant is complete!

For the first time in what felt like forever, we attended a wedding reception on the 10th. Our friends, Alli and Jon, got married back in June 2020, but had a family only wedding due to COVID so planned a reception for September 2021 to finally get to celebrate with everyone! The venue was beautiful and we ended up reuniting with other friends, Erin and Laura, who we didn’t know knew Jon and Alli as well so all in all a great night!

Carl’s mom visited for a few days at the end of September which also overlapped with the rescheduled Cooper River Bridge Run. The run was originally supposed to take place in April 2020, but got moved several times (thanks COVID) before they felt it was possible to hold it again. Carl and I both got course PRs and got to grab some beers with our friends Becca, Jason, and Kelly afterwards at Bay Street Biergarten.

Highlights for the month:

Carl went shark fishing with our friend, Ethan, and brought home more shark meat than we knew what to do with. Tried it fried into fingers, made into jerky, and just straight-up filets. Consensus was that some parts were tender and tasty and some parts were tough and a little weird. The jerky overall was a hit.

I had dinner with my friend, Helen, at Coda Del Pesce on August 13th and it was soooo tasty. I was excited to actually do my hair and make-up for our dinner since that happens so rarely these days and got a little overzealous about curling my hair. Apparently I held the straightener (which I use to curl my hair) on a few strands for too long and fried the crap out of it so now I’ve been working on repairing it and am so mad at myself for this.

Mom visited from August 20th through 26th to not only visit, but also see me participate in the She Tris Hamlin Plantation Sprint Triathlon. The triathlon was a big success due to finally getting to see some fellow triathletes and friends again and taking 3rd overall which is my first overall finish! I was super surprised and very happy! This win qualifies me for the USAT Age Group Nationals race next year which was really the whole point of doing this race so super stoked!

Mom’s visit was lovely and we got in some beach time, watched a Bears preseason game at Mac’s (a Chicago bar in downtown Charleston), and visited the Angel Oak Tree and Deep Water Vineyard out on Wadmalaw Island.

Carl and I also snuck in a last minute trip to Hilton Head when a room in one of the Hilton timeshare properties there opened up. We brought our bikes down and rode for miles. We hit what has come to be known as the “trifecta” one day visiting a brewery, a winery, and a distillery all in one day. The mini vacay was wonderful and we’re both agreed there will be more Hilton Head trips in our future!