weekend getaway

Four day weekends are the best! We finally drove down to Charleston to visit Jen and Rutledge's new home in the good ol' South. It was a seven hour drive down 95, but we made a few detours to break up the trip. I've always wanted to go to the infamous South of the Border. It was everything I expected.


Jen and Rut built a beautiful house in North Charleston. It has all the modern amenities and Jen did a great job picking out all the interior details. I'm a little envious, as they didn't pay much more than what we paid for our old house, you know - the one without central air and the ancient appliances.


The oak tree in their front yard has the typical Charleston spanish moss. That stuff is weird.


We had a great time seeing the town, dining, and literally frying at Folly Beach. Charleston was alot smaller and more quaint than I had expected. It's non-smoking, so I could *gasp* actually hang out with my friends downtown at night.


So, yeah, we had a blast. And they have a nice guest room if anyone else feels inclined to take a little road trip of their own.

BTW - for Jen's friends: she's coming down for her birthday the weekend of June 20, so we're going to have a cookout in her honor. Mark your calendars.

here it is...

How does one sum up a two month absence? Well, it's simple really – I'm pregnant.

You'll have to forgive me for the lack of posts, but I wanted to be safe into my second trimester before sharing the news with you and the rest of the world. When it's all you can think about, it's hard to write about anything else. Plus, I had to wait until I told everyone at work before spilling the beans, because you never know who may be reading.

Which is why, last Monday, I sent an email out to everyone at work with the subject line: "Yep, I'm pregnant. Donuts in the kitchen!" If you're ever unsure how to approach a sticky situation, just bring Krispy Kreme donuts. Believe me, it works.

Anyhow, Bobby and I are extremely excited and the constant anxiety is slowly starting to subside (at least for me anyway). We had been trying for some time and were beginning to feel the sting of one negative test after another. Two weeks late, I took a test and saw the single line again. A week later, Julie urged me to take another because she said it took four to determine her first, so I did. And sure enough, the double line appeared. When? The day before we left for California.

So, we hopped on the plane and flew to Los Angeles. It wasn't the trip we originally planned, with me having to go to bed early and the avoidance of bars, coffee & sushi, but still very special. Our hostess Nicole was very supportive and insisted on going to Barnes and Noble to get the required reading material - "What to Expect When You're Expecting." I think she was just as excited as we were. BTW - don't read the book too early - it's terrifying.


We went to the wedding in Topanga, spent a few more days in Santa Monica, and then headed to San Francisco via Highway 1 along Big Sur. Word of advice: we were told it would take 7 hours, but I think it was closer to 10. Also, before approaching the Big Sur area, fill up your gas tank. There's nothing more scary than approaching Big Sur at night with an 1/8 of a tank. We were saved by the pump in Gorda, but if you've been watching the news lately, you'll know they're the highest priced gas station in the country at $5 a gallon.

We arrived in San Francisco around 10 pm and drove through the Tenderloin to find our hotel. Interesting area to say the least. We stayed at the Adante, which is a very reasonably priced hotel a few blocks from Union Square, but if you walk in the opposite direction from the square, you'll quickly find yourself in the midst of porn cinemas, crackheads, and the most homeless people gathered in one area. We usually find ourselves in this situation wherever we go.


It was Bobby's first time in the city and my third, but it wasn't the city I remembered as a naive 17-year-old granola muffin. That's right, the last time I was there I saw Jerry Garcia perform at the Warfield, which was enough to blow my young mind (he died months later). Did I mention I went with my parents? But, that's a different story.

We went to every store you've read about on every blog and visited all the necessary landmarks. I took few photos and purchased very little - again, the mind is racing - I'm pregnant, I'm pregnant, I'm pregnant. If I had only waited to take that test!

...............

So, we've been back for almost two months. I've spent most of the time eating, sleeping and watching television so bad it's too embarrassing to admit. Bobby has been staying up every night until 4 am playing video games, which is a new activity, but I'm glad he's getting it out of his system now. Before I found out, I was eating spicy tuna sushi as much as possible. How I miss it!

Our families are probably more excited than we are (we're still in the shock-terror phase). This will be the first grandchild on my side and the first in 10 years on Bobby's. Our nieces have been begging us for a cousin ever since we got married, so needless to say, we'll have great babysitters when they're in town.

And I forgot to mention, Marissa is exactly one month and a day further along than me. It's kinda cool to think that our children will grow up a few blocks away considering Mar and I grew up in the same neighborhood in VA Beach. Our moms are best of buds, so the grandma frenzy is going to be out of control, which is nothing to complain about.

So, that's that. My 2 half-sisters are in town this weekend and we're having them over for dinner tonight. I haven't seen them in over 8 years. I'm a little nervous, so there's much preparation and housecleaning to be done.

Ciao for now.