Does Pixie Dust Help with Decision-Making? A 2012 PTR! NEW! 6/30 pg.85

[Charleston Princess]

I love the south & really want live there. We are going to downsize & move in 2 years, but I can't get DH to move out of state. Ideally I want to move to Florida, North Carolina would work also, but DH won't budge.

Does he not mind the winters? That was one of the deciding factors with my parents when they moved (my parents moved to Cleveland after my dad retired from the Navy -- I was already living here in Georgia), and my mom just couldn't take the cold anymore. Of course, she has lived most of her life in the South.

NC is good!!! I live about 20 minutes fromthe beach...but I don't go that much! LOL!!

I want to visit the Outer Banks at some point!

What a cute little cottage. LOL at Charles and him wanting to move there right away.

The man knows what he likes. LOL!

The mad rush to get going. So much for relaxing when it comes to leaving the house.

That cottage looks adorable. I can't wait to hear about all the relaxing and good food.

Charles always does that to me -- even if we are just going out to eat. I think we are leaving at a certain time, and then he insists we leave earlier. Throws me into a panic every time.

There was a lot of relaxing and a lot of food. LOL!

I feel like I need to vacation there! You paint such a wonderful picture and then the great photos! It looks wonderful.

Ah, thanks, TK! Charles and I really want to move there once the kids are out of school. He keeps saying, "seven year, seven years."

I think Tybee looks adorable, and all of your photos and comments makes it really easy to love as well! I want to hear more about what you all did on vacation! I always like to take notes for future adventures! Vero Beach has been GREAT!!! And for that reason, I think ocean vacations are wonderful... there is nothing like a little salt on your skin and sand between your toes! Looking forward to more!!!!

Thanks, HD! Lots more adventures and relaxing coming up! I agree -- there is just something about sand and sea air! I still haven't vacuumed the sand out of the car -- I just can't bear to do it! LOL!

Looking forward to another PTR! I made it on what? The 13th page? Hey, that's my lucky number! Anyways...great job. Sounds like you're having loads of fun!

Welcome! Glad you are here!

That cottage looks like a dream! It looks so cute and....oooh! I would love to go there! Me and Chelsea could bond over Sarah Dessan too! I love her books Sitting in that screened-in porch with one of those books would be a wonderful way to spend an evening! I can't wait to see more of it!

Sarah Dessan is one of Chelsea's favorite writers! I haven't read any of her stuff -- would I like them, too?

What an adorable beach cottage! love the color...it's my favorite!

I'm so glad everyone was excitted and enjoyed themselves.

Makes me long for a beach vacay myself!

I love that you wore a Disney tee!

The colors and decorating of the cottage were so perfect. That blue just made us instantly relaxed!

Jumping on board! Looks like a great start to your vacation and hope that you get WDW next year.

Thanks, Kerri! Glad you are here! Are you posting pictures from your ultrasound today on FB?

 

[Charleston Princess]

I was at HS on Wednesday and just had to stop by and see a certain person's favorite person...

He told me he misses Chelsea very much!

I LOVE IT!!! I will have to show Chelsea -- sadly, she doesn't seem to pine away for Bo the way she used to!

Can't wait to read about your stay on Tybee Island. The cottage is adorable.

Thanks! I am looking forward to sharing more of it this morning!

I came to see what kind of island fun I had missed while we were gone, but I guess you were too busy with your head in the books this past week to do an update. Unless we are typing over each other right now, as we have been known to do so often at this time of the morning.

I have been a slacker this past week on the DIS. Lots of schoolwork was done, but now I am all done with projects and papers. I have a final on the 20th, but until then, I just have to show up for class. I should be able to update more.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Now that we were all unpacked and settled into our little home away for home, it was time to head out for dinner. My plan for the week had been for us to eat breakfasts and lunches at the cottage and to eat dinner out each night.

Our first restaurant of the trip was A.J.’s Dockside Restaurant. I figured this was a good one for our first night since it was literally right around the corner from the cottage. We could just walk there and not worry too much about finding parking or finding the restaurant.

We headed out and true to the map and directions, it was up the street and around the corner…

Charles always looks forward to our vacation meals.

Before we even had time to break a sweat, we saw A.J.’s.

There is a large outdoor deck with lots of seating over the marshes, but our hostess suggested we might want to eat inside since it was so hot outside. We took her advice and were seated by the windows overlooking the docks and marshes. So pretty!

We ordered our drinks (I got a rum punch of some sort -- soooo good) and Buffalo Shrimp for an appetizer. Oh my goodness! The shrimp was outstanding. It was fried and then glazed with buffalo sauce. Not too spicy, and I could have eaten the entire plate all on my own.

Connor, while perusing the menu, decided he wanted to be an adventurous eater on this trip. Okay… He ordered the Jambalaya Pasta. Charles ordered the Mahi-Mahi, Chelsea ordered the Fried Scallops, and I ordered the Fried Shrimp. We all loved our food except Connor. He was not a fan of his Jambalaya Pasta. So much for being adventurous. Out of all the places we ate during the week, AJ’s shrimp was by far the best! Big and fresh and just writing about it has made my stomach growl.

We decided not to order dessert -- we were thinking we might get ice cream down near the beach later in the evening. Grand total for dinner with tax and tips: $122.34

After dinner, we meandered back towards the cottage and snapped some pictures along the way.

Cute sign outside the restaurant.

Lowcountry palm trees or maybe palmettos. This was an ongoing discussion the entire trip. What is the difference between a palm tree and a palmetto? I should probably know this since I grew up in Charleston, but the best I could manage in the way of an answer was, “I think palmettos are shorter and bushier.” Which would lead me to guess these were palmettos. At any rate, they are a welcome sight to see!

Charles and I attempting to take a halfway decent photo together.

Beautiful marsh view!

As usual, my family does not stroll together anywhere. They just speed walk ahead of me.

At this point the kids were DYING to go see the ocean, so off we went. It was probably about a ten-minute walk there and not bad in the cool of the evening.

Our first view of the ocean. This was near the Pier and Pavillion and was the most crowded part of the beach. We found a quieter spot the rest of the week.

It was Memorial Day, so the Pier had a live band playing a sort of Southern Rock (think Lynard Skynard covers), and Chelsea turned into her usual judgmental teenage self.

“Mom, all of those grown-ups are acting like teenagers and dancing. It’s sad.”

“Really, Chelsea??? What? We get to a certain age, and we can’t enjoy ourselves anymore?”

She just rolled her eyes at me, and I danced a little just to embarrass her. LOL!

After playing on the beach for awhile, we stopped on the main little street that leads to the ocean (Tybrisa St.) to get ice cream at a shop called Tradewinds. The kids got handmade waffle cones. I don’t remember what flavors they picked out, but I got a scoop of Savannah Mud (chocolate with all sorts of goodies in it) on a regular cone.

Word to the wise. Homemade waffle cones do not stay together very well. It is like trying to eat ice cream in a regular rolled waffle.

See where I am going with this?

If you know my children, you know that by the time we reached the cottage, they were wearing as much ice cream as they had eaten. It was melting all over the cones and all over my children. Not to mention Connor was complaining that he had gotten sand in his ice cream. This of course furthered my belief that my children are unable to eat ice cream on vacation. Doesn’t matter if we are at Disney or the beach -- something like this always happens.

Charles and I just laughed and sent them right around the back to wash off in the outdoor shower.

We spent the rest of the night sitting on the screened-in porch which we discovered had twinkle lights, and the kids decided to watch Pirates of the Caribbean in the living room.

Chelsea summed it up best on the kitchen chalkboard.

UP NEXT: You want to do what???

 

[Poolrat]

MMMMMmmmmmmm shrimp.

Your dinner and stoll sounds heavenly. Funny how kids can always find a way to make a mess with ice cream.

 

[Charleston Princess]

MMMMMmmmmmmm shrimp.

Your dinner and stoll sounds heavenly. Funny how kids can always find a way to make a mess with ice cream.

I really thought they would outgrow it at some point, but since Chelsea will be getting her driver's permit in a year, I guess she isn't going to. It's a lost cause.

 

[Poolrat]

I really thought they would outgrow it at some point, but since Chelsea will be getting her driver's permit in a year, I guess she isn't going to. It's a lost cause.

It is funny to see the things I thought mine would outgrow but didn't.


Maybe chalk it up to a hot day and fast melting ice cream?
Probably not but we can hope.

 

[TarzansKat]

Wonderful update! I am loving this vacation, it seems relaxing, and quaint and...well, lovely!

I like that you danced to show Chelsea we're not old farts yet!!!

And the ice cream thing is too funny. I think you're right, it doesn't matter where you are.

And ending the evening with pirates? Well, what's better than that?

 

[mousescrapper]

"oh Mom..." in that teenage sound sounds like a lovely and sticky evening... I love those little qauint seafood joints along the sea...the seafood always tastes SO much better...

good for Connor venturing out, hope he'll find something else new to enjoy!

looking forward to more

 

[Charleston Princess]

It is funny to see the things I thought mine would outgrow but didn't.

Maybe chalk it up to a hot day and fast melting ice cream?
Probably not but we can hope.

Well, it does always seem to be in the heat of summer when we vacation. I swear every single one of our trips has a melting ice cream story -- Chelsea's root beer float right before SpectroMagic in 2008, Connor's Mickey bar in Animal Kingdom in 2009, Chelsea's mango shake at the Taste of Africa in 2010, and now the Great Tybee Waffle Cone Fiasco of 2011.

Wonderful update! I am loving this vacation, it seems relaxing, and quaint and...well, lovely!

I like that you danced to show Chelsea we're not old farts yet!!!

It was a great vacation -- one of the best -- but I think I say that a lot.

Chelsea kills me -- I am totally going to remind her of that comment when she is my age.

And the ice cream thing is too funny. I think you're right, it doesn't matter where you are.

Nope, inevitably there will be ice cream disaster on vacation. It's almost become a tradition. LOL!

And ending the evening with pirates? Well, what's better than that?

I even wandered in and watched some of it. It was funny because there was a great selection of DVDs at the cottage, and when the kids saw they had the first Pirates they pounced on it like we didn't own it at home. I think watching it at the beach makes it better, though.

"oh Mom..." in that teenage sound sounds like a lovely and sticky evening... I love those little qauint seafood joints along the sea...the seafood always tastes SO much better...

good for Connor venturing out, hope he'll find something else new to enjoy!

looking forward to more

We had great luck with little seafood shacks on this trip.

Connor tends to be a very picky eater. It was an ongoing dilemma throughout the trip...especially because he is not a fan of seafood. He says he doesn't like to eat anything that resembles its original form when it was alive. LOL!

 

[Happy Elf]

Your dinner sounded wonderful! about the ice cream.......although you aren't giving me much hope that my kids will outgrow the messy ice cream eating phase.

 

[jenjolt]

WOWzer I love those pictures!!!! What a gorgeous beach!!! What a nice walk!!

Hmmmm...shrimp sounds really good!!! Of course the ice cream story is hilarious!!!! Can't eat ice cream anywhere!!

Can't wait for more!!!

Really like that picture of you and Charles!! SO NICE!!!!!

 

[*dreamit*doit*]

What a great start to your vacation!! A seafood dinner and a stroll to the beach plus relaxing on that porch sounds just perfect! Okay, now I'm craving shrimp. And, no, some kids never outgrow such things...as my DH would have been wearing that ice cream right alongside my kids!

 

[oOJulieOo]

It sounds like you had a very nice evening.

You pictures are wonderful! Really, I must go there someday.

It's good that Connor decided to be adventurous, but sad that he didn't like his adventurous food!

 

[Megablocks]

Oh, that meal sounds sooooo good! And your cottage is just sounding better and better to me, especially the screened-in porch with the twinkle lights!

Connor being a picky eater reminds me a lot of both Charles and Kailyn. My sister has surprisingly gotten a lot better, but Charles won't touch seafood, won't eat steak b/c he hates the texture, and hates the appearance of things like prime rib. He's been known to set up a fort between plates using menus so he doesn't have to see anything.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

That looks like such a relaxing place! And your dinner sounds great. I am very intrigued by the shrimp. I've never had them fried and dipped in hot sauce. Sounds good though! I love shellfish! Scallops are my favorite!

Another ice cream debacle!

 

[MeMom]

That was kind of my thought, too. I haven't shown them Sea Glass yet, though. Although now, Charles has informed me he would like to do a week at Tybee and a week at Disney next summer, so we may go with Fish Camp Cottage again so we can afford both trips. We'll see how things pan out. You know me -- I dream big and then have to alter those plans to fit our real-world budgets.

Yay for Charles!
Two separate trips, or move from one place to the other in one 'go round'? Like a week at WDW followed by a relaxing wind down week at Tybee?

What a sweet picture of you guys!

Your first evening was very nice - eating some good food, a walk to the beach, slopping ice cream all over the place, and hanging out with the family. Good stuff.

 

[cdotla]

Sounds like a great and relaxing evening.

Love that photo of you and Charles....did Chelsea take that?

 

[TarzansKat]

I even wandered in and watched some of it. It was funny because there was a great selection of DVDs at the cottage, and when the kids saw they had the first Pirates they pounced on it like we didn't own it at home. I think watching it at the beach makes it better, though.

For sure! It's all that salty sea air!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Just reading about your evening makes me feel more relaxed.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

What a great day! Your dinner sounds wonderful and hanging in the porch, with twinkle lights and POTC on the video sounds like a great way to spend your first night!!!

Did you think the meals were expensive, or is that the normal price range out there? To us Midwesterners, things on the coasts are often more expensive than here. Were your dinners around $20 each?

LOL at the ice cream debacle!! and at Connor's feelings about food and its original form!!