Charleston!

This is Alyssa and Ryan writing the blog today!

This is a picture of our group in Charleston SC. Here we are amidst the beautiful old buildings, about to start our tour with Steve. Steve was a member of one of the churches who fed us dinner and generously offered to give us the inside tour of Charleston. He is a retired history teacher so he had a lot to share.

Charleston is located by a large, sparkling bay, perfect for sailing, watching the dolphin that came close to the docks, and taking scenic group photos.

This is a place called rainbow road, famous for its Skittles colored houses. It seemed that this row of brightly colored houses is depicted in just about every painting and post card sold in Charleston. Fun fact: These houses cost a LOT of money.

This is a candy store that offered taffy, home-made chocolates, and South Carolina's famous pralines. Pecan pralines are a must have treat. Fun fact: This store offers free samples of pralines and will offer you a sample of pralines every time you walk in, no matter how frequent you walk in and out, and even if you are holding your recently purchased pound of pralines in your hands. I love South Carolina.

Recommended by Steve, RB's Seafood is located on the water. With the beautiful view, excellent seafood, and Southern hospitality, we had a great time. It just took a bit of explaining when we arrived that it was RB's not Arby's, which would have been rather silly.

We branched out into separate groups after a brief coffee break and found a dock on the bay. After many pictures of the nearby bridges and battleship, time on the giant public swing, games of "Look how close I am to this seagull," (Ryan won) we paused for this cutesy photo. How nice!