Charleston: View from City

Five years into their relationship, Brian finally took Jess to his favorite city in South Carolina! For years Brian has raved about the centuries of history, the vastness of the blue ocean, the unparalleled seafood, yada yada yada.

And it's all TRUE! This city is amazing! It's like New Orleans meets Boston!

We began our journey with an easy 3-hour drive from Greenville. The state capital, Columbia, marks the halfway point, so we swung through town to check out the statehouse and the campus of USC.

Not bad, minus the Confederate flag hanging directly behind the General Wade Hampton statue. Hmmm . . .

After a hot drive in our Honda (the air conditioning died just outside Greenville), we wanted nothing more than a couple of hushpuppies and cold, local beer at Hyman's Seafood. Jess enjoyed a little Palmetto Pale Ale, while Brian (like the little academic that he his) studied the menu intently.

Jess had the crab cakes and Brian finally decided on the amber jack filet with a crab cake on the side and fried oysters. But before the meal came, we ordered THE BEST appetizer this side of the Mason-Dixon Line: delicately battered grit cake, fried, then topped with fresh sea scallops and drizzled with a lobster alfredo cheese sauce.

After dinner we walked to the battery to see the harbor and the sunset.

Look carefully and you'll see Banana Republic's fall line on the way to American stores for Jess to enjoy:

We spent the rest of the evening wandering the enchanted streets of the French Quarter, all of which have carriage alleys that look like this:

And then there's the colonial-era cemeteries! On day 2 of our mini vacation we went roaming amongst the headstones. Check out Mr. Edmond James Mills, killed at the Battle of Gettysburg:

Before we left town, it was time for Brian's first taste of oysters on the half shell and one more farewell moment with the ocean.

See our visit to Drayton Hall plantation in the following post, Charleston: View from the Country.

Dog Man

For most of our drive to South Carolina earlier this month, Oliver rode in his dog "hut" in the back seat. He enjoyed the fuzzy bed and the shelter from the sun. One thing you must know is that he never sleeps in the car, even on our 18-hour adventures across country. Sometimes we turn around ever so slowly and quietly to try to catch him in the act of dozing off, but this time he caught us by surprise . . . not only was he starting to fall asleep, but he was also sitting on his back legs like a little dog man!!!

Weird, huh?! Stranger still is that he sat like that for nearly 20 miles!

Eight Little Legs Too Many

You remember this one, don't you?


Yeah, he's still ornery alright. Now imagine a smaller, faster, meaner version . . . with sharper teeth! Meet Coco Chanel:


Add a 60-year old Grandpa with little or no patience and you've got . . . well . . . eight little legs too many.


Ollie was in puppy heaven playing with his "aunt" Coco for an entire month. Together they fought over toys, peed and pooped in every room of the house, chewed up the couch, ate each others' food, and woke up the neighborhood every morning with a cacophony of barks! If only there were more moments in life like this one . . . I miss you, Papa!

Minneapolis is Cold

Minneapolis is only about 4 hours north of Jess's hometown, so we decided to visit Sarah and Jeremy for one night. It was a shocking 52° in Minneapolis that first weekend in June, but we made the best of it!

Our newly-wedded hosts fixed us a wonderful lunch. Afterward, we braved the rain to check out the art museum and conservatory.


I guess Brian was still a little hungry when he turned to me at the conservatory and asked if I had any salad dressing in purse . . .


On Sunday morning, we devoured our fancy French omelets at Brunch . . .


Jeremy and Sarah kindly drove us around the city to check out all the sites. For lunch we shared "The Paul Bunyan" pizza at Galactic Pizza: morel mushrooms, wild rice, bison sausage, mozzarella cheese, and tomato sauce! Yum! For dessert? Their famous "French Meadow Hemp Brownie." Seriously, yum!

The funny thing about the interstate that connects Minnesota and Iowa is a certain sign that reads, "Mall of America: Exit Here." Now, if Jess had been behind the wheel, she would have floored it past this tourist trap, but Brian simply cannot resist the temptation of American excess. To the Mall of America we shamefully headed. Two hours later, a disappointed Brian—with only one new pair of jeans—came to realize that the mall closes early on Sundays. (Thank you, God!)

Oops! We Forgot to Write

You would think that in the summer we would have more time to take pictures and chronicle our adventures together, but alas, nearly two months have passed without any update from the Fruit Patch. As most of you know, Melon and Bry decided to take an extended vacation from the Big Dutch Apple Pie this summer. Below is a brief summary of our travels so far. Stay tuned for some pictures . . .

May 23 We set sail for Cincinnati at 3:00 a.m. in our rented PT Cruiser! Stylish!

May 25 We continue on to Iowa to visit Melon's parents.

June 6 We spend a short weekend in Minneapolis with our dear friends, Sarah and Jeremy.

June 12–14 We take on the annual Bell Tower Festival in Melon's hometown. Aunt Cathy, cousin Kelly, Aunt Debbie, and Uncle Duane join in the fun!

June 17 We head down to Kansas City to party with Melon's best friend, Millie, and her husband Josh.

June 20–23 Grandma Gerry Plebuch passes away after a long battle with Alzheimer's. We spend the weekend with the family in Hastings, Nebraska.

July 3 The time came to say goodbye to Melon's parents, and we hit the road for South Carolina.

One little Honda Civic, a devoted husband, a very sick wife, a crazy Yorkie, 1,070 miles and 19 hours later, we arrived at Brian's parents. To be continued . . .