Small Family Getting Bigger: May 2017

We had a very exciting week. We took our first family vacation. On Saturday we flew from Madison to Charlotte, NC. This was Max's first plane ride. We were worried about flying with a 1 year-old but he was great. He fell asleep at takeoff and woke up when we landed. We were so relieved.

We stayed with Gus's college friend Ben. He has a golden retriever that looks a lot like Oscar, which made us feel at home. Max may have even thought it was Oscar. On Saturday Ben and his girlfriend, Amanda, took us to get BBQ and then to a couple breweries. The breweries were surprisingly really family and pet friendly. On Sunday we met up with Gus's other college buddy, Dave, and his girlfriend, Nicole. They showed us around the downtown area. Charlotte is a really cool Southern city. It was Max's actual first birthday so we had cupcakes that night and he blew out a candle.

On Monday we drove a rental car down to Charleston. We stayed at a nice Airbnb in downtown Charleston. We fell in love with town. You can walk everywhere, although it can be difficult pushing a stroller on the narrow sidewalks and brick paved streets. There's so much history. The homes and parks are so old, unique, and beautiful. The food is delicious, and the restaurants are aplenty. On Tuesday we took a horse-drawn carriage tour and learned a ton of the town's history. It was so interesting. For lunch we ate at the famous Husk restaurant. Dinner reservations at Husk have to be made months in advance. Thankfully we were able to get in for Lunch. After lunch we hung out in the park along The Battery. This was our favorite spot. It was right along the water and was filled with these neat trees. Later we went on a harbor tour on a boat. Max loved riding on the boat. We learned more history and saw a bunch of dolphins. During the tour the Captain joked that "he was going to take a break and anyone who wants to can drive the boat." We took Max to the cabin and the Captain let him sit in the Captain's chair and touch the wheel. Max was enthralled with this. Later on he just stood outside the door and stared into the cabin. We got back to dry land and after a long day of being tourist we crashed.

For Wednesday-Sunday we rented a big home on Sullivan's Island with Gus's college friends and their partners. There were 6 other couples, and 2 other babies. Luke & Tara brought their 18 month old, August, Kris & Katherine brought their 6 month old, Lily. Billy & Jess, Ben & Amanda, and Dave & Nicole also came. We had a blast. The kids are still pretty spaced out at their ages so they didn't interact a lot. Still you could tell they were having fun with all the people, and watching each other. The home was "on the beach", but you did have to walk about 50 yards through a Marine Forest that was swarming with flies. It was worth it because the beach was beautiful. Max loved digging and walking in the sand. He loved it a little too much. The first time on the beach he reached down and grabbed a big handful of sand and stuffed it in his mouth. It was really neat to see Max enjoying the beach. We hung out by the pool and relaxed on the big wraparound deck with the big couch that Max could climb on and off, which he loved. We had a low boil and a Cinco De Mayo feast. Saturday was Derby Day so we got a bunch of wearable horse heads off of Amazon and had races on the beach. It was great to share our vacation with other families in such a nice and historic part of the country. We would love to go back. On Sunday we said our goodbyes and drove the 3 hours from Sullivan's Island to the Charlotte Airport where we then flew to Madison. It was a long day of travel, but made easier since Max was again a great traveler. He hardly fussed at all and slept the entire plane ride home.