Not-So-Hostel

The girls and I took a trip to Charleston this weekend. What a fabulous city! There is so much to do and so much to see! But I’ll get back to how amazing it was in a minute...

Being poor recently college graduates and living off of our 100$ per week stipend, naturally we attempted at making this the cheapest little vacation ever. We decided to save our money for shopping and instead of splitting a hotel room so we split a private room at a local hostel called Not-So-Hostel. It was only 60$ total for one night so 20$ a piece; sounds like a pretty sweet deal right? Wrong! Because it was a private room rather than staying in the larger room with bunks and a bunch of randoms, we thought it wouldn’t be so bad. It was pretty bad. I walked in the entry way to check us in and imagine this as my first impression of where we were to be staying that night: 1.) An elderly woman sitting on the couch complaining to the lady at the check in desk (if you can call a coffee table with a laptop on in a check in desk) about her bags being stolen. 2.) A guy walking around the corner claiming to have seen a strange man walking upstairs with bags that could have possibly been the woman’s things. 3.) The lady at the ‘check in desk’ offering to call the police. I reluctantly took our room key and walked outside to meet the girls to grab our things. After sharing with them my lovely little encounter we couldn’t help but burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. We said we wanted an adventure, and an adventure is what we got!

So back to how amazing Charleston is. Check in time wasn’t until after 5pm so when we drove into town around noon we found street parking and made our way to Kings Street. We had been told Kings Street was where all the prime shopping was and I had read that it was supposed to be the happening place. So of course that’s where we were headed first. We pit-stopped at a Starbucks and you will never guess who I met…. MICHAEL JORDAN! … Ok, just kidding, but at least I know you’re still reading :-) The guy working at the counter said he was from Seattle so I said ‘oh me too!’ Then he proceeded to tell me he is really from Cle Elum but always says Seattle because no one has ever heard of it. I was like ‘no way! I’m really from Bainbridge Island but always just say Seattle too!’ I told him I went to CWU in Ellensburg and was just there a month ago for graduation! We couldn’t believe it, we both knew where the other was from, and I had spent time in his town/in another small town right near his. I swear this world continues to get smaller and smaller.

Kings Street was phenomenal; shops lining both sides of the street for miles. The girls and I literally shopped until we dropped. I’m pretty sure we went non-stop from noon until 5 and finally sat down somewhere for dinner. We then headed to our Not-So-Hostel to check in, and you already know what happened next. We napped for a couple hours in our Oh-So-Hostel, puny room (with one twin bed for the three of us) then decided to see what the Charleston nightlife was all about. Long story short, the nightlife there is spectacular! So many different clubs, bars, lounges, etc… No matter what you’re in the mood for there is somewhere to go and something to do. We had a blast!

Sunday morning we didn’t waste any time peacing out of our luxurious accommodations and continued exploring the beautiful city. I took about 100 photos between Saturday and Sunday. We saw so many things; the city has so much to offer I wanted to document it all. The homes are spectacular! We walked along the seaside boardwalk looking at all of the side-by-side mansions. The parks were so green with fun statues and fountains. I wish I could post all of my fun photos but my laptop is still out of commission!

That’s all for now, keep it touch y’all!

PS: please pray for me that after my internship I end up exactly wherever I’m supposed to be. As of now I have a couple places interested in talking/meeting with me in San Diego and in Portland. This is a very fun, exciting, and scary time for me and just could use some extra guidance!

Surreal

Another week down here on Hilton Head Island; I still can’t believe I only have 5 weeks left! This whole experience has, and continues, to fly by. I have created a bucket list of things I must do before I leave this beautiful and fun area. I can’t believe how much there is to do, how much I have done, and that there is still so much on the list!

As usual this weekend was loads of fun. For the 4th the girls and I headed to Harbor Town which is right on the water where a bunch of yachts are docked. The sizes of these yachts are, for a lack of a better term, amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing! I’m not sure they can even be qualified as yachts; “mansion that happens to float on the water” would suffice. A friend of mine that I met down here said that one year he saw a “yacht” that had two jet-skis and a HELICPOTOR on it! Ridiculous.

We spent the evening walking around the marina and popped into all of the cute, touristy shops. There was live music, fun games, and plenty of food to celebrate the holiday. Before the fireworks we watched the sunset over the horizon. I have some incredible photos that I will try to upload ASAP! This sunset was like no other one I had seen before; truly stunning. Vibrant blues, pinks, and yellows streaked across the sky as though I had dipped my finger in paint and pressed it directly over the clouds.

There is so much going on here at the institute it is near impossible to sneak away for some alone time. Every couple of days when I bike down to the beach after work and see that the sand and ocean is once again waiting for me I can’t help but smile. This is the most incredible way to spend a summer; lots of work accompanied by lots of play! The sand feels like flour between my toes and the water as warm as bath water. As I watch the waves crash over evening swimmers and the diving pelicans chasing their dinner, I can’t help but think how surreal this whole experience has been. Before I left Washington I kept saying, “it hasn’t hit me yet that I’ve been accepted to something this amazing, I can’t believe I’m going there!” Now that I’m here, and have been here for 11 weeks I find myself continually saying “I can’t believe I have been accepted to something this amazing, I can’t believe I AM here!”

Be looking for photos, I’m going to try and post them soon! Love and miss everyone bunches!