New Favorite City?

Oh Chicago, you have a contender in my heart for favorite city. You may forever be my favorite Midwest locale, but Charleston, darling, has certainly taken a jab at that top spot. Good thing I don't have to decide, there is no Chicago mobster or Charleston pirate holding a gun or sword to my head, now is there.

I will be the first to admit that I went into this past weekend with a gnarly attitude. Having lived through hurricanes, I battled Headstrong Hubby like a prize fighter into cancelling our plans and staying in Greenville. He would only respond with "We're Going." Yes that same confidence and assuredness that normally gets my motor revved really got me fired up. I may have said a few unsavory words in several arguments. We're blaming the crazy hormones for my wackadoo raging. I am also stubborn, but I also can back up my feelings with a you-know-what-you-were-right list as long as South Carolina Coast. I wave the white flag in defeat, and a happy one at that.

We shopped in Charleston's City Market. It is an open air, but roofed, market in the heart of downtown. Local vendors sell their wares to tourists for a pinch too much money in some cases and others for real bargains. Not being a big spender, Shawn and I took off on our own to enjoy the air conditioning and a big ol' bucket o' shrimp at Bubba Gump's. Yes, it is a chain, but it was also right next to our parking spot. We cooled off and then headed back into the heat walking toward Rainbow Row. It is a Omigosh beautiful stretch of houses in varying pastel shades that immediately made me think precursor to Miami's Art Deco storefronts South Beach.

Walking along the beach front, I dipped my aching feet in a fountain and tried to catch butterflies. We played with miniature crabs scurrying on the pier next to a shrimperman (he wasn't fishing as much as he was shrimping). We sat on a trolley for 12 minutes while the driver talked animatedly on her cell phone before we walked the way back to the car. I sweated my face off, I dripped holy-lover-of-all-things-tasty Charleston Mud Ice Cream all over myself and I laughed myself silly.

It was a wonderous first day of our two-day trek to his new favorite haunt.

Le Crabe de Charleston was less crabby than moi!