charleston, the holy city.

to conclude posting about our incredible trip to south carolina, this, friends, is the holy city of charleston!  our beach house was a short drive away, so we were able to drive into the city a few times for shopping, exploring, happy houring, bar touring, history touring, delicious dinner-ing, & even a girls trip to the spa!

it truly is a beautiful city with so much history & character.  there is an open-air market with all sort of goodies, hole in the wall bars to fancy dining, very old churches & homes, & a story to each part.  & we got to enjoy all of it with these wonderful friends.
 

the fellas had an awesome afternoon at the griffon, a well-known pub with great beer on tap & dollar bills all over the walls & ceilings with names of past patrons.  luckily for all of us, it was also a stop on our bar tour later that day!

{check out our dollar bill when you're there!

it's above the corner booth catty-corner to the bar.}

{the one & only bill murray sat at our booth too.}

when you travel with the mcgowans, you find your favorite restaurant or bar in town & you go to that restaurant or bar as many times as you possibly can.  it's fantastic.  that restaurant on this trip - pearlz. this oyster bar has a great atmosphere, fabulous oysters, & delicious food.  oyster shooters, raw oysters, baked oysters, & the fish & chips.  so so good.

just up the street is a truly impressive prohibition-sytle bar called the gin joint.  they have fabulous cocktail menu filled with local & seasonal ingredients, super interesting flavor combinations, & plenty of things of you've never heard.  it's pretty darn impressive.  & fun.  & delicious.

with all of this fun & imbibing, we did find time for a history tour of charleston!  we went on a walking photo tour of the historic district with the beautiful historical homes & st michael's church where george washington attended & many more famous & important gorgeous buildings.  

{st michael's church}

{one of the many lovely gardens}

the trip of a lifetime.  absolutely incredible.

love love,
kjp.

the beautiful isle of palms.

a sunrise on the beach must be one of the most beautiful sights in the world.  enjoying it with your husband, your dog, four of your best friends, & their two dogs - an absolute delight.  we watched the puppies run & play in the sand & in the ocean for the first time all together.  they frolicked & jumped for joy & made all of us smile.

we all went for a run or for a walk or for a fish on our first morning at the beach.  it was the perfect way to start our week of vacation.

{amy & ogden & lola}

{our wonderful family}

{tank & maudy having the time of their lives.}

when the sun was fully up & a little warmth took over, we all headed back to the beach for a day of fun in the sun.  the girls got some rays while the boys threw a football for hours.  joy for all.

{my beautiful friends}

{matt & elyse & baby rogers!}

{the mcgs}

for our last afternoon, we all headed back to the beach to enjoy it all one more time.  the pups ran & chased & played their hearts out.  the fellas threw the football as long as their 30-year-old shoulders would allow them {or maybe even longer, if we're being honest :)}.

{run pups run!}

{the fellas}

{the men & their pups}

{best photo ever.}

{& the ladies}

{#mcportgers}

truly a trip we will never forget.  

love love,
kjp.

mcportgers beach vacay 2013!

great friends, a beautiful beach, a historic town, delicious food, & the pups - this was truly a trip of a lifetime!  we had an incredible week of fun & relaxing, a little bit of learning & a little bit of partying, & an all around amazing week of memories.

{bff lola & tanky enjoying the drive together}

{the mcgowans & porters!}

we stayed at an adorable beach home in the isle of palms, just outside of charleston.  we spent time getting rays on the beach, exploring charleston, watching the dogs play & play & play, eating our weight in oysters, discovering all sorts of brews & cocktails, & finding out that blakey & i are moving to kansas city.  

{our adorable beach home}

{the mcportgers!}

{signing day!}

we celebrated match day & our last day of this incredible vacation with whole cookout afternoon!  brats & hot dogs & wings & shrimp & veggies.  all while the pups partied right along with us.  a fabulous day indeed.

{sleepy bubba}

{& sleepy lola & maudy}

{ogden super pumped about grill day}

{our ridiculously amazing meal}

{& my sweet husband with whom i got to enjoy the entire week}

love love,

kjp.

thankful thursday - these wonderful friends.

oh my goodness, we had an amazing time in the isle of palms & charleston.  really, we had an amazing time with our friends.  it was an incredible week filled with sun & rain & the beach & the city & dogs & wine & food & food & more food.  an absolutely wonderful week.  & i'm going to tell you all about it soon.

i am so thankful for these friends.  we are so thankful for these friends.

i hope you can think of something today for which you are thankful.

love love,

kjp.