Weekends

Weekends are easily my favorite part of the week. I know, I know, everyone would say that. I have been particularly enjoying them lately because I have been getting to see Jake. It's no fun being apart during the week, but it makes it much easier when we can look forward to seeing each other on the weekends. We appreciate our time together and each other so much more when we spend time apart. Got to look on the bright side, right?

Father's day weekend, Jake came down the Charleston. He got off work pretty early, but unfortunately had a tire blow out on his way down so the drive took him a bit longer than expected. Once he got to Charleston, we decided to head out for a date night. We went to my favorite area, Shem Creek. It is a fun little creek that goes out to the ocean. It is lined with vibrant restaurants and has an awesome boardwalk. There are tons of boats, paddle boarders, and even dolphins. It is always busy, especially during the summer months. We had to wait awhile to be seated, so we sat on the rooftop deck and watched the sunset. It was the perfect evening.

Saturday started out with getting Jake a new tire. We also did a little bit of shopping. I found a dress for the Marine Corps ball in November! I got it now because I don't know what my options in Japan will be. My mom also convinced the lady to give me a discount because the beading was coming apart in a few areas. It was originally $235 and I got it for $99! I guess I learned my bargain hunting from my mom. Finally, another thing I can check off my "to do before Japan" list. 

Jake and I spend the next few hours at the pool before my dad got home from a work event. We packed  up the car with all of our beach gear and headed to Sullivan's Island, my other favorite place. We could not have asked for more perfect weather. My parents recently purchased paddleboards and taught Jake and I how to do it. We were fine in the tide pool, but weren't quite ready to go out in the ocean.

My parent's "beachmobile"

For father's day, we had a lowcountry staple and Jake's favorite, lowcountry boil. We also had hummingbird cake. Then it was time to send Jake back to Camp Lejeune. My parents and I then did a "tour of beaches," starting at folly beach and ending on Kiawah Island. Drives and beach walks are our favorite sunday activities. 

Overall, it was pretty much the perfect weekend. Even though it is no fun saying goodbye to Jake, I knew I was going to see him again this weekend. It was my turn to make the 4 hour drive up to Camp Lejeune. I  had an excuse to go up there, because I needed to start the process for my overseas medical screening. I won't even get into that, just another item on my to-do list. I got to see the base(and get stuck in awful base traffic) and I also got to see where Jake lives. We then headed down to Wilmington, since there is NOTHING to do in Jacksonville. We had a room at a very cute hotel right on the riverfront in downtown Wilmington. 

The view from our room

The pier at our hotel, right across from the USS North Carolina.

After we checked into our hotel, we decided to explore the waterfront area. We immediately decided we LOVED Wilmington. We have a thing for waterfront towns. We found a waterfront restaurant with live music and stopped to eat. 

The most perfect salmon salad

We got to see another perfect sunset on the water

We then headed to a free concert on the waterfront. During the summer, they have a free concert every Friday night. They have different vendors and food trucks set up. This Friday it was a Dave Matthews tribute band. It was very crowded and very awesome. We listened to some music, explored some more, found some live country music and a rooftop lounge and then headed home. 

We had originally planned to go to Wrightsville beach with friends on Saturday, but the rain made that plan pretty much impossible. Jake and I drove around Wilmington, got lunch, drove around Wrightsville beach, and then headed back to the hotel. Luckily, the rain cleared up by the evening. Some of our friends happened to be staying at the hotel next door, so we met up and headed out to another seafood dinner. We then met up with another group a friends. It was good to see friends and to explore a new city. Then Sunday came and it was time for Jake and I to say goodbye again. Luckily, we will see each other the next two weekends as well! 

Jake update: He is doing very well in school. Logistics school is less demanding than TBS, so he has more time to workout, study, and sleep. He is enjoying learning about the different things he will be doing and talking to lots of people who have already been to Okinawa. He has also been teaching himself how to "cook." His latest discovery, how to boil pasta. His roommate says he can tell he misses my cooking, and me. Or maybe he said he misses Lexie. 

Until next time,

J and M