A lot can change in 16 years

Today I am leaving on a little mini-vacation to visit some great friends of mine in South Carolina. All week there has been this little nagging thought in the back of my head ~ I push it away because it seems silly, or maybe just too nostalgic. I am going to Charleston. I haven't been to Charleston in 16 years. My last trip I was in the 7th grade and is one of my top 5 best family trips ever. We walked around downtown and I bought my first clown mask [which I still have]. I have great memories of laughing with my mom and sister while we raced to eat rapidly melting homemade ice cream in a park. I still laugh outloud thinking of my father reaching up for a Beatles Yellow Submarine print at a local market, and somehow managing to knock every single picture but that one down off the wall.

Then two things happened that insured that trip could never be repeated. My parents got divorced - finally - and Hurricaine Hugo rolled through that town. I know Charleston was devastated that year. My own hometown of Charlotte was pretty bad. I have heard that everything is different down there now.

This thought that keeps pushing forward is that I don't want to change the memory of Charleston that I have. There have been many times [including a possible honeymoon spot] that I have said "no" to a trip down to Charleston. I loved every piece of that place, from the carriages and artsy vendors to the hot SC sun waving off the road.

So, I leave to see two of my best friends with a bit of a blue heart. Hopefully it is a hella fun time, and I am going to see if I can't find a vanilla cone to race to eat in the park.