Hangovers & History

I started Sunday morning slightly hung over. It was bound to happen. I did mix Guinness, white wine (bad, slightly sweet white at that) and a full bodied Cabernet, after all. I rebounded fairly quickly, getting all my Sunday errands done by early afternoon. Ryan and I had been talking about taking the boys to Andrew Jackson State Park for a while and we had nothing better to do so we decided to check it out. They had two hiking trails that were each a mile along. The boys loved it. The trails aren’t the only draw of the park though. They also offer camping, fishing and some history surrounding Andrew Jackson. Now, we didn’t go with the intention of educating ourselves about Andrew Jackson, nor did we take the time while we were there, but I couldn’t help wondering about the guy. I mean, he was our 7th President and was born in the “land of the waxhaws,” which is where I call home, so I thought I’d at least check out Wikipedia to see if he was even a noteworthy president.
Apparently his parents were Irish Immigrants that settled in a Scotch-Irish community in the region of the waxhaws, which is the area that straddles the NC/SC border. Whaaaa??? A Scotch-Irish community in Waxhaw?? First of all, the Scotch-Irish are not Irish, they’re Scots. Had they actually been Irish, then I don’t think there ever would have been an issue with the whole “liquor by the drink” ban surrounding Waxhaw until just recently. Secondly, that might explain why Waxhaw has a Scottish Society and Highland Games instead of an established bar scene and respectable night life. Just sayin’…..
I really have no idea how valid this all is, but to summarize, Wikipedia basically states that Jackson shaped the modern Democratic Party, but supported slavery and Indian removal. This guy sounds like a real a**hole. How does this combination exist?? I’m pretty sure you can’t be a democrat and support the ethnic cleansing of Indians at the same time. Granted, politics wasn’t all that evolved yet, but c’mon. He is also noted as a very successful and prosperous slave owner, planter and merchant. Interesting and all, but I can no longer regress back to this point in time. Onto something more inspiring, like my handsome boys and my ability to hike 2 miles after drinking like a tank the night before.

Autumn Treasures.

This past weekend was Waxhaw’s annual fall festival.  Live music, bbq cook off, petting zoo, and plenty of arts and crafts made up the weekend long event.  My favorite booth was the mechanical bull. Good ol’ Waxhaw.  Ya gotta love it.  We spent about 45 minutes taking in the festival before ditching it for Southsiders and its Guinness & Fat Tire on tap.  Oops.

Honeymoons Are Awesome!!

Not only do you get to spend every waking minute with the one you love, but you get to eat whatever you want, drink whatever you want, shop all you want, and not feel guilty.  Oh yeah and you get to do absolutely nothing but all of the above.  Pefection.  We went to Holden Beach, NC and stayed at my boss’s massive oceanfront house.  Now, I am not a huge sun worshiper. Not anymore anyway. Sure, I’ve spent many days crisping and aging my skin, but that was light years ago.  If I’m tan, it’s a total accident.  That being said, I don’t go to the beach for the sun. Nor do I like to swim.  Honestly, I am just too chicken to get in the water and lose my arm to a shark.  That shit happens and I want no part of it.  I prefer to have my appendages and fill out both sleeves, thank you very much.  Ok, so why do I like the beach? It’s beautiful and amazing and the atmosphere is totally relaxing.  When have you ever had a Corona that tasted better than when you were at the beach?? Not never.  Anyway, being directly positioned in front of the water and blue skies while rocking back and forth with a drink in hand and the wind in your hair, all while being covered by a roof is pretty much unbeatable to me.  I’m at the beach and enjoying all of its magnificent benefits and not reaping any of the negatives according to this girl. I didn’t have to pack a cooler, haul it to the car, drive a few miles, lug it through the sand, lay blankets out while fighting the wind, wear a massive hat to protect myself from the sun, put on an obnoxious amount of spf 70, and most importantly, when it was time to use the bathroom after beer 2, I didn’t have to stress about where I was going to go to find a public bathroom or god forbid, just go in the water to handle the necessary.  Nope. I just walked the two steps to the door and went on inside where there is a toilet and toilet paper and a door and privacy and then just grabbed another beer on the way back out. Bliss.  Of course, we did go down to the land of the sand.  We walked and ran while witnessing beautiful sunrises and beautiful sunsets. Chico chased every bird he saw and Ryan ran to keep up with him.  Did I mention how much I love crashing waves?? I could listen to that all day and night and be happy.  It’s calming and stirring all at the same time….. probably why I love the beach some much. It appeals to my extremes and pulls me in because I understand and admire it.  So powerful and capable, but so relaxing and peaceful.



At Fishy Fishy!! Love their Salmon Rockafeller!

Morning Walk

Love this sand castle! We totally didnt build it.

Detail.

Love this one!

One of my favorite photos of all time!

Pelican Gang.  They keep a pretty strong presence at the beach.





 

Bridals

These were taken a couple of weeks before the wedding by my friend/coworker, Bryan Bazemore. He did an amazing job with them.  My friend and coworker, Katie, also helped with the shoot.  She was all over it, supplying the props and playing photog assistant extrordinaire. : )

happy birthday young love....

Happy Birthday to my new husband!!  My sweet love turns 25 today.  I know, he’s a tad younger than me. I’ve heard it all before….. particularly from the ladies of the Social Security office and DMV as of late.  I’ve never felt like I had to address this “issue”, mostly because anyone who has ever met Ryan and knows me, realizes within minutes, that he much more mature than I am.  The fact of the matter is that if it works, it works.  Pieces of a puzzle don’t fit together when they’re exactly the same, right? Right. So, today I celebrate my wonderful husband knowing now more than ever, that we fit.  Happy Birthday baby! I love you!

Hank...Because he's a badass.