{1} ahead of the storm.

The storm that flooded Nashville hit Knoxville the evening before we were set the leave. It was then headed east toward South Carolina, which happened to be our destination. I wasn't exactly thrilled that our beach vacation had a rainy forecast, and Chris and I prayed we would get a little sunshine. Luckily, prayer works.

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We drove through the crazy storm on the way to Charleston/Isle of Palms. It was intense, so much so that we had to pull over at one point and wait for the rain to let up. But we ended up beating the storm to the coast. Upon our arrival, it was seriously overcast and had a mugginess only the South can give you, but it wasn't raining. So we headed straight to the beach.

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Carly was tired after our journey, and had no idea what this crazy place was that her parents had taken her to. So her initial meeting of the Atlantic had mixed reviews.

Carly and daddy checking out the seagulls.

She is turning into a serious daddy's girl.

She was good until we 1) got too close to the waves, and 2) put her in the sand.

Love this. Look how she is eyeing those waves suspiciously.

Getting a little better.

After her traumatic encounter with the ocean, we decided to get some dinner. We went to a seafood place (of course!). I love seafood, but haven't eaten a lot of it since meeting Chris because it literally makes him gag. On his mission he told people he was allergic to it. But he was nice enough to let me order a seafood platter. And let me tell you, it look like the bottom of the ocean. The shrimp and crab legs were de-lish, but the oysters, I'm pretty sure, still had sand on them. They were a little much, even for a seafood lover.

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It was a really fancy place. Even came with a balloon animal maker.

Carly just stared at him while he made the giraffe.

He said, "Wow, by the time I'm done you are going to know exactly how to make it yourself!"

She is quite the observer.

The day was a bit exhausting for her. Took her about 3 seconds to fall asleep in the car after dinner. Unfortunately for us, and fortunately for her, the rain came the next day, and she didn't have to face the Atlantic again until the day after.

{to be continued . . . }