A Charleston Bike Trip

When I was planning to take dad on our motorcycle trip that I gave him last Christmas, I knew which direction I wanted to head: The East Coast. I couldn’t decide between Charleston and Savannah, so I practiced my favorite decision-making skill: When you can’t decide between two options, pick both. So we picked up a bike in Charleston and drove through Savannah! I had never even been to South Carolina, which is just pretty silly. Tennessee is not that far away. My sister even lived there for a summer. But I had never been. So we headed to the South Carolina coast. But first let me explain a detail which will make the rest of this make sense. We (my mom, dad, and I) drove in my car to South Carolina. Then on one day dad and I rented a Harley to drive up and down the coast. Mom wasn’t on the bike with us. There was no side car involved. And no leather. And I don’t drive, I just ride. I get lots of questions about things like this. So, anyways, our bike trip actually turned into a mini-vacation, and I was quite happy with that. Mini-vacations sustain me.

Biltmore

My mom, dad, and I had all uncharacteristically done very little planning for our South Carolina excursion and noticed just days before leaving that we would be heading straight through Ashville, NC – a place that all three of us have always wanted to visit but had never been: the Biltmore. I’m so glad we were able to stop. What a gorgeous place!

Right as I was taking this picture a sprinkler turned on and completely soaked my jeans. I wasn’t just near the sprinkler. I was apparently standing right on it. Soaked!

Technical Difficulties

"Dad, what does that light mean?"  I ask pointing to the bright orange glow coming from the dashboard of my car. We had just arrived in Charleston after a long day of driving, touring the Biltmore, and more driving. We had pulled into a local restaurant for a 9 o’clock dinner - not because we are hip, just because we are way behind on our eating schedule. "We'll, that's your tire gauge." We checked the tires on the way in to the restaurant, and all looked fine.

We were all stuffed and over tired. And then we go back to my car to see a completely flat back rear tire. We were all just quiet. We opened the trunk as if we change tires every day. I whipped out my flashlight app while dad seamlessly... silently... put on the tiny replacement. We hopped in the car and headed back to the hotel, all leaning slightly to the back right. We quietly got on to the elevator and when the doors closed, dad cut his eyes at us and then pointed to his shirt. A large damp spot right in the center. He started laughing and told us that after changing the tire when he went back in to the restaurant to wash his hands, the automatic soap dispenser squirted the soap straight onto his shirt. It wasn't that funny. But we all started laughing. After a tiring silent night, a good, endless giggle is welcome.

Tire Repair... Not how we had planned on spending part of our vacation...

Bike Ride

The next morning dad and I picked up a bike and rode the bike from Charleston south through Savannah and headed down towards Jacksonville before turning back around over. 

We went over some awesome bridges, through some beautiful towns, and in a little bit of rain.

My first motorcycle rain shower.

And yes, I rode the entire way with my phone either in my lap or tucked under my legs. Now that makes me a daredevil.

Downtown Charleston

We did it all!
We shopped at the market.

We rode the trolley.

We walked to the battery.

Excuse my crazy hair. At the time I thought my hair looked like Pocahontas at the top of the waterfall in the movie. Instead I looked like this. Oh well!

We swang at the pier.

We ate at Poe’s Tavern and Hymans.

We strolled the streets.

We picked out which homes we want to buy some day.

 Mine

Mom's

We saw the USS Yorktown.

We took a boat to Fort Sumer and toured the fort.

And we napped on Sullivan’s Island beaches.

And saw more than a few jellyfish!

Sleep Talking… Twice

"It's okay Emma. It will be fine." I hear my dad say in the middle of the night – our first night of vacation. I realize I'm sitting up in bed, but I have no idea what's happening. "Go back to sleep." I hear him, so naturally I just go back to sleep. The next morning he tells me that I was making airline reservations. 

Again. "It's okay Emma. It will be fine." I hear my dad say in the middle of the night – our second night of vacation. I realize I'm sitting up in bed, but I have no idea what's happening. "Go back to sleep." I hear him, so naturally I just go back to sleep. The next morning he tells me that I got out of bed and said, "I always have to get up and get everyone to go back to bed." 

Oops.

The Road Less Travelled

On our way home we took a major back roads detour through the mountains of North Carolina and East Tennessee. My grandfather always talked about a little town called Maggie Valley, so we just had to drive through it. So beautiful.

What a perfect little mini vacation!