Charleston, SC

Yes, that is the place of my latest adventures. I am sitting here in a beach house on a twin bed while J sits across from me on his twin bed... complete with yellow striped comforters & matching bed skirts. We are staying in our "living in sin" room. Not married = can't share a bed. Snort.

So, the start of our vacation was a bit turbulent. And it has nothing to do with the plane. We were late picking up the Grandparents & the Grandfather spent the first half hour laying in to J. This is not the "typical" Grandpa. He is the grumpy, aggravated at the world, annoyed millionaire type. He's the first of that kind that I've ever known. He's always right, smarter than Einstein & a very successful man just trying to keep the members of his family from slipping in to dysfunction. I'm in awe of him & I won't lie... I am a little intimidated by him. So, we pick him & J's sweet, adorable Grandmother up after hauling all 4 kids to school. And we head out to the airport to fly in a private jet to Charleston, SC. Private. No security check. No other passengers. First class service. I told J I wasn't entirely impressed, but it was a once in a lifetime kind of experience. Have YOU ever flown in a private jet? Probably not. Unless you're famous or just damn lucky like me.

When we arrive we have lunch with some of J's local family members. We explore downtown a bit & head out to our beach house, the one I didn't want to stay in, but sure am glad we did. It's gorgeous. The only complaint is that the pool is not heated & it's a little too chilly to swim! It's a rough life, I tell ya.

You must try shrimp & grits. Just sayin'.

J's Grandparents invite us to lunch at the "big house." So, today we wake up at 10:15 (damn, it's nice to not have the kids!) & get ready to go to Kiawah Island. It's a private island that you can only get on if you live there or are visiting. George Clooney lives here... somewhere. Naturally after yesterday's disaster regarding time preferences you'd think we would arrive early. Nope. Almost an hour late. (we were lost!) Luckily, no ass chewing took place & we enjoyed lunch complete with pretentious conversations about $700,000 single pieces of artwork & an invitation to join them for church on Sunday. Random? The house was extremely impressive. It resembled an Italian museum & backed up to the ocean with an incredible view. I simply could not imagine bringing the children there & that made me a little sad, but I got over it! When we left I joked that perhaps J's Grandparents would leave him one of those ridiculously expensive pieces of art & we could sell it to buy a larger house for ourselves. I am evil. I may go to hell. Snort.

Tomorrow we are having lunch with them again & getting a view of their new condo downtown. Oh the joy! And then rehearsal dinner & a night of going out!

But, honestly, J's family is great even though they remind me NOTHING of my own. I am enjoying spending time with everyone & especially just being here with J.