Movin' On Up to the West Side...of downtown Charleston!

On Sunday, 11/4, we ran the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge on a beautiful warm sunny day. We took a walk down below the bridge on a fishing pier and took in the views, which included the USS Yorktown. The carrier sunk in Charleston and after several attempts to resurface it, it was pulled back up and now sits idle on the shore. In the afternoon we went to a friend's place for a very informal Pampered Chef party...yup, we got a few more things. Can't pass up kitchen items! We then went to Mass at the Cathedral at 5pm. Joyful joyful we adore thee!



USS Yorktown - stocked with F-18s and prepped for the Carrier Classic...which didn't happen



We checked out another house downtown: another old, charming Charleston home with beautiful hardwood floors but the kitchen was small and the bathroom was gross. At this point, we were somewhat worried about finding a place. We contacted the agent again to show us two of the places we had already seen.

Chris went to his first Knights of Columbus meeting in downtown Charleston with Council #704. He met some great men and looks forward to glorifying the Lord through works of charity throughout the Lowcountry.

Thursday was our 2 month anniversary - we went to DIG (Daniel Island Grille) in North Charleston for dinner and drinks. We can't believe how fast the time has gone! We are very blessed to have each other as well as our family, friends, faith and our jobs!

To cap off the week, we checked out another potential place to rent: this one, an old artist's studio built in the early 1900s but newly renovated European style by the owner who is from Sweden. The place is behind a mansion that the artist used to own which is split up into apartments today. The mansion was used for the South Carolina Inter-state and West Indian Exposition from December 1901 to June 1902. It is just south of Hampton Park near the Citadel Military Academy. We then went out to get sushi and drinks with two other couples in Mt Pleasant. One roll was called "Boeing 787" so we had to get it.



The pink colored roll is the 787

We had some great discussion around marriage since one couple has been married 7 years now, we, just having been married and the third couple is planning theirs! 

We woke up Saturday and headed down to check out the house from the night before and went on a solid 5.5 mile run from there down to the Ashley River at the Battery and back to the house. It was a gorgeous day: sunny and 70s!

After the run, we signed the lease for the house...and our landlord is the owner of Hyman's Seafood - the most popular seafood restaurant in downtown Charleston! We can't wait to move in and host some gatherings of family and friends so come visit us! Give us a ring or text if you'd like the new address! We stayed in Saturday evening to continue working wedding thank you notes and dine on some gourmet North Charleston Pizza Hut. It was actually quite delicious!

View of the Ashley River from near the Battery

 

View of the Ravenel Bridge from an SC Veteran's Memorial



First Week of Our New Adventure

We arrived Sunday evening after flying from STL to BWI hours before Hurricane Sandy hit the Eastern coast. The turbulence was pretty bad and rain in Baltimore had us wondering if we would be delayed and/or stuck there. Hundreds of flights were already canceled at that point. Surprisingly, nothing from Sandy hit the Lowcountry.

On Wednesday, All Hallows Eve, Rita Jo co-hosted a Development Fair for the entire Boeing South Carolina (BSC) site; she shared her new employee development program with approximately 1,500 BSC employees. That evening, our newly engaged friends, Sarah and Trey, had us over for beer and chili (made by Sarah) from Southern Tier brewery. Trey had two growlers, one of pumpkin and Chokolat beer mixed (delicious!) and one of just pumpkin. A few trick-or-treaters came by, two of them being in their late teens and coming by at 9:30pm. Strange. We discussed their upcoming wedding plans and, of course with RJ, work-related topics.

Thursday was All Saints Day, a day when the Church recognizes, remembers and honors the holy men and women that have gone before us that have been canonized saints. The Mass, celebrated by Msgr Brovey at St John the Baptist Cathedral in downtown Charleston, was beautiful with an incredible schola (choir) and homily on how we should model our lives after the lives of the saints. After Mass, we had dinner at Tsunami Sushi on East Bay with a few friends for $1 Blue Moon night.

Friday, All Souls Day, we worked late unfortunately. We hung out at the hotel and Jo did some homework for her class while I began this blog. We had some 'za delivered and went to bed early. Eternal rest, grant unto them O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Saturday was our first house hunting trip. Our realtor picked us up at the hotel and took us to Daniel Island, Mount Pleasant and downtown Charleston. We saw some beautiful condos/townhouses but nothing really felt like the place we want. It's hard to find a place like we have in STL with the size and space for the low cost! We came back to the hotel to relax for a bit before heading back downtown for a glass of Malbec and some Nevat cheese from Spain at Bin 152 at the corner of King and Queen Sts.

Bin 152

For dinner, we met our friends Grace and Hannah at Mercato, an Italian restaurant on Market St. A live Jazz band played as we enjoyed homemade pastas...and more vino =) We topped the evening off with some cookies n cream and pumpkin frozen yogurt on King St.

Life is good so far in Charleston. We are so thankful for the opportunity to be here and to be with each other but we miss all of our family and friends!