CHS – Hello And Goodbye

After more than four weeks in Charleston, SC – today is our final day before heading to Florida. Our time here been full of emotion, so here’s a recap of our visit “home”.

We spent the first half of our time at a Mount Pleasant KOA made up of a nice staff but a mediocre and overpriced campground. We did get to experience Halloween here and it was fun handing out candy to the kids at the campground.

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Our second half was spent at James Island County Park which we absolutely loved. An added bonus was that during our visit, the park was being prepared for the 30th annual Holiday Festival Of Lights. This event features a three mile driving tour and over two million lights. (Of course, we forgot to take any photos).

There was plenty of quality craft beer consumed while back in Charleston. We had a get together for friends at Ghost Monkey where owners Jim and Holly were kind enough to whip up their 3rd batch of Zaikinator IPA. Yes, its actually a real beer…named for Lynn and I!

We said hello to Indigo Reef, a new brewery in Mt. Pleasant and enjoyed a variety of fantastic beers such as a Citra IPA, peanut butter porter and a Belgian tripel.

We also said goodbye to Holy City…to Lynn and I – the O.B… the Original Brewery that kicked off our love for craft beer. They are closing their no frills tasting room this month and unfortunately we won’t be here to enjoy the new one. Many wonderful memories and pints at this excellent brewery!

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Did I mention there were doctors appointments? Sheesh, we’ve been injected, poked, prodded, X Ray’d, scraped, dilated, cleaned, polished and flossed.

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Lynn did a Power Red donation at the local Red Cross Center. This entails donating two units of red blood cells during one visit while returning the plasma and platelets back into your body. Proud of you, baby!

Speaking of Lynn, she had seven months and seven inches of hair chopped off, going from a long haired cutie back to the hot girl with short hair I love!

Lynn also got a new tattoo, reflective of our new chapter in life.

Me? I got a needle full of propofol and a colonoscopy. Thanks for ass-king.

I also have a new appreciation and understanding for people working through anxiety / depression and what my PCP best described (in my case) as Acute Stress Disorder. A believer of empirical data, I’ve long been hesitant to accept that some random doctor can prescribe an orange bottle of pills that will make someone “feel” better. But, truth be told, after much trial and error….I’m sleeping through the night and during the day becoming a bit detached from emotions. My 3M EAP therapist used a wonderful word I had never heard before – Euthymic (not the Annie Lennox group) – which describes a relatively neutral mood…neither extremely happy nor sad. That’s what I’m gunning for, so to speak. 🙂

Jeez, right about now you’re thinking…”Wait…What the hell happened to that funny, off-color blog I used to read from this guy?” Hang in there…..With fresh air, daily walks….a Circle Of Influence And Control Chart and a little Lexapro and Trazadone – I’m trying to get back in proper form. Lynn and I are fine. The rig is its usual self. We are loving what we are doing. It’s none of those things. Like I said earlier….Charleston is full of memories and the timing is less than ideal. To the left is a familiar neighborhood….to the right…memories at a brewery….in the sky, another fucking C-17.

So, as daylight fades on our last day in Charleston, we will be greeted tomorrow morning with a 30 degree wake up call. Time to blow this popsicle stand and head South. Below are a few other photos from our time here.

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This month reinforced a number of things…

The power of friendship

We Love Charleston

We don’t want to live in Charleston

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Lynn’s 2 cents – Yes, I loved living in Charleston, but the call of the open road drew us away. It was ok to be back, but being here was like pausing our great adventure. Let’s go already! Wide open spaces here we come!