panepinto's lake house

The Panepintos are building a lake house.  The house is not finished but they have access to the property.  They bought a boat which we enjoyed using today.  They took us out to play in their new backyard! 

Winston enjoyed floating on the tube with daddy. 

 Bennett was having fun jumping off into the water.

Bennett refused to pee while swimming in the water.  He got out then peed into the lake! LOL

That was an awesome way to spend the afternoon!

picnic lunch

Maeve and B enjoyed lunch on the lawn today.  Bennett is so grumpy when it comes to taking his picture!

 

wrestling is fun until someone falls off the couch...

It's a lot more fun when no one falls off the couch...

learning to slide

Bennett was too busy playing to go inside to use the bathroom.

the two stooges

We really got to start watching these two.  Caught them grabbing the beer and riding off together.

hard landing

Winston learned when you hit the driveway you don't bounce tonight.  Poor tater tot!

delaware pit stop

We stopped to see the Seymours in Delaware on the way back to Massachusetts.  We spent the day at the beach.  The kids had a lot of fun playing in the sand, fishing and swimming.

angel oak

Angel Oak is a Southern live oak (Quercus virginiana).  The tree is believed to be around 400 years old.  It stands 66.5ft (20m) tall, measures 28ft (8.5m) in circumference, and produces shade that covers 17,200 square feet (1,600 m2).  It's longest branch distance is 187ft in length. 

The oak derives its name from the estate of Justus Angel and his wife, Martha Waight Tucker Angel.  Local folklore tells stories of ghosts of former slaves appearing as angels around the tree.

Despite the popular belief that Angel Oak is the oldest tree east of the Mississippi River, many bald cypress trees are found throughout the South which are many hundreds of years older.

I think it's beautiful.  I have never seen an oak this size.  The branches are impressive.

horse carriage tour

For my birthday we did a horse carriage tour around Charleston.

The Sword Gate House.  The gates were manufactured by Christopher Werner of Charleston.  The City of Charleston had hired Werner to produce a "pair" of gates for the new police station, and Werner made what he understood that to mean: two matching sets of gates—two left panels and two right panels.  The city had intended only one set of gates - that is, a single left and single right panel. Werner sold the duplicate set to George Hopley who had them installed at his house.

The Calhoun Mansion is Charleston's Gilded Age Mansion Circa 1876.   

We rode past the Four Corners of Law.  This is a term commonly used to refer to the intersection of Meeting and Broad Streets in Charleston, South Carolina.  It was coined in the 1930s by Robert Ripley, creator of Ripley's Believe it or Not! and refers to the buildings occupying the four corners of the intersection:

     1. St. Michael's Episcopal Church (Charleston, South Carolina), constructed between 1752 and                1761, stands on the southeast corner of the intersection.

     2. On the northeast corner of the Four Corners is Charleston City Hall, constructed in the                        Adamesque style between 1800 and 1804.

     3. Across the street, on the northwest corner, stands the Charleston County Courthouse. Originally          constructed in 1753 as South Carolina's provincial capital, the building was rebuilt in 1792 for            use as a courthouse.

     4. On the southwest corner is the United States Post Office and Federal Courthouse, built in 1896.

The term "Four Corners of Law" represents the presence of institutions representing federal, state, local and ecclesiastical law on each corner of the intersection.

Charleston, South Carolina, was a hotbed of secession at the start of the American Civil War and an important Atlantic Ocean port city for the fledgling Confederate States of America.  The first shots against the Federal government were those fired there by cadets of the Citadel to stop a ship from resupplying the Federally held Ft. Sumter.  Three months later, the bombardment of Fort Sumter triggered a massive call for Federal troops to put down the rebellion.  It is thought the war officially started at the front of this building.

We ate some oysters at Amen Street.

A celebratory birthday drink. Yes! that's bacon.

Followed by a dessert of course...

It's nice to walk home after a giant meal to get the digestion moving.  I feel like I gained at least 10 pounds since going on vacation. 

boone hall plantation

When in the South, a plantation tour is a must.  Boone Hall is a working plantation established in 1681 known for its moss-draped 3/4-mile Avenue of Oaks and original slave cabins.

It is interesting to see how the slaves lived in the South.  Unbelievable this was the norm those days.

Taking a break back at the apartment before we go out for dinner.

Date night at the Xiao Bao Buscuit.  Thanks mom for watching the kids!

The food is amazing.  The drinks are extraordinary!  Who knew from looking at this place?  The outside is shabby and decapitated, but the inside is modern and inviting.  It's an old gas station converted into an Asian fusion restaurant.