life, huh?

we're back from the trip and life continues. zack, "studying for the LSAT," and me, "packing to head back to school." (yeah, i haven't seen either of those happen yet either)

so yesterday, instead of tackling all the things on my to-do list, i created this sweet distraction from real life. maybe i should just open up a bakery...hmm...

Double Chocolate Brownies from the Big Book of Baking that my mom got me last Christmas (maybe?)

that's all, folks.

 We're hooooooome! It was a grand adventure and we had such a great time getting to know each other and our dear old East Coast better over these past few weeks. Here is a grand summary (we were kind of bored during our very last car ride), as well as a few pics to wrap things up:

• DRIVINGGGG:
• total miles driven: 3,393
• # cities visited: 10
• # fill-ups (gas): 9
• $ spent on gas: $411.40
• total hours en route: 47 hrs. (and that's just from city-to-city. Yuck.)
• most states in one day: 5
• FOOOOOD
• # meals "out": 22 (including 2 Burger Kings, a Zaxbys, a McDonalds, and a Pizza Hut)
  
• $ spent on food: $435.12
• # home-cooked dinners: 7
• # ice cream joints visited: 5 (plus we got ice cream with dessert at 2 other places...)
• # coffee stops: 6 (3x Dunkin Donuts, 2x Starbucks, 1x McDonalds)
• "best" restaurant, based on overall atmosphere, location, prices, selection, and flavor (drumroll please...): Southend Brewery & Smokehouse in Charleston, SC (although there are many honorable mentions, including Cru Cafe, Halo, Black Sheep, Brickwall Tavern, and more!)
• MISC
• # miles run: 90.5
• # of zero-mile days: 4 (don't tell my coach...)
• fave running destination: it's a tie! both Fairmount and Holmdel parks were great (Philly and NJ, respectively)
• # things accidentally left behind: just 3! (pair of shorts, towel, and toothpaste; not too shabby!)
• # pictures taken: 483
• # mixed CDs made: 3 (a low number based on the fact that the Altima doesn't have an auxiliary input (that's "iPod-pluggy-thing" for you old folks)
• (# of times we heard those 3 CDs: probably 7 times each)
• highest gas price seen: $3.85/ga (lowest: $3.28)
• least favorite road: I-64

Some pics from Charleston day 2:

some wall decor at our hostel. I felt like all 3 applied so well to our trip!

MUSC: the Medical Univ. of South Carolina. Definitely a nice campus!

mmm...trying on things that were out of my price range...couldn't resist.

umm, new Game Day outfit, anyone?

dat boy's got some loooong hairrr

there is so much to love about this picture.

"Rainbow Row"

$7.4 mill, NBD. We bought it while we were up there. Just a getaway home, ya know?

And finally, after twenty days of suitcase-livin', city-hoppin' fun, we welcomed this view:

(the top part of the sign anyway...)

Well, That's all folks!  Thanks for following along.

Savannah...

oh, hey Georgia.

 It. Was. Hot. And not even like the a little toasty kind of hot. It was the skin-blazing, sweat-dripping, uncomfortable kind of hot. We didn't have a game plan for Savannah really, so amidst the insane heat and the hoards of tourists we roamed up and down two main streets, popping in and out of some shops without making any purchases (Mrs. Andrews, we almost bought you this, but those tourist traps are so overpriced, so we didn't. Happy upcoming birthday anyway!). Once we were practically overcome with heat stroke, we had lunch at a very tasty b. matthews eatery and set to the streets again. Add two visits to Savannah Bee Co. (2 different locations in town) and a trip to Starbucks, (did I say Starbucks? I meant super cute, local, organic coffeeshop), and we were pretty much done with Savannah. We also spent some time at Forsyth Park (in the shade! by pretty houses!) before heading home.

i think i might scrap this whole med school idea and apply here. how's that sound?

Ultimately, I think the soaring temps and our general lack of purpose took away from our visit to Savanna, for by the end of our little excursion through town we were quite ready to be h.o.m.e.

NC/SC

Sorry for the delay in updates. We've been movin right along these past few days-- left NJ on Friday, spent the weekend in Nags Head, NC (the Outer Banks) and arrived yesterday evening in Charleston, SC. We didn't get to town until 6-ish last night, just enough time for a short run (along the West Ashley Greenway) and dinner and dessert on the town. We're about to head out to explore the rest of the city today, so we're gonna be lazy and let you interpret the following pictures as you wish-- they span our journey to NC from NJ, our adventures in Nags Head, and our brief outing last night. Enjoy : )

This one's for you, Buddy

finally! pine trees again!

no caption necessary.

near the Chesapeake Bay

that is one loooong bridge.

ooh, ooh, turn left, turn left!

biggest. dunes. ever.

no rain for us!

zack won. what a beast.

Zack and Tucker became good friends...

this crazy thing would periodically go out into the water to survey for the dredging project going on.

zack calculating escape velocity. what a nerd.

is this a problem??

we forgot to move out of the way for the ocean floor...

we're not very good at bowling...

but look what team got 1st at the recent tournament. Awesome.

not ALL of our meals are some gourmet adventure, but they ARE all delicious.

mmmm....great meal in Charleston

the end.

GTL

Well, our NJ visit has been fabulous. Wii games, playgrounds-at-the-park, Ralph's, and--of course--the Jersey Shore itself all provided plenty of adventures during our stay. We head to Nags Head, NC in the morning and will send updates on that later : )

 

WiiFit HulaHoop champion!

 

the Play-Doh challenges (and victories) continue

GIANT one-legged seagull we spotted

the b.r.u.c.e.

family time is adventure time! (m&z w/Unc Angelo, Aunt Courtney, and cousins Anthony, Carrie (3wks to go!) and Anna)