Adventures... and Charleston!

This weekend we got to go to Charleston, SC to see my bestie graduate from MUSC (Medical University of South Carolina) as a MASTER in Occupational Therapy! YAY! She's a big girl now! 

It was an adventure for sure! 

We left on Thursday, late afternoon. We PLANNED to stay in Savannah, GA for the night... eat some yummy food on River Street, relax, and then get up and head to Charleston on Friday. BUT... that didn't happen. 

As we were driving through The-Middle-of-Nowhere, GA, we were just gabbing away... talking about everything and enjoying the ride. We were literally the ONLY car on the road... and there was NOTHING around us but trees and grass and flatness.  I looked over and saw some cute trees and told Jacob to look at the Christmas trees! He informed me that those were just pine trees, and then...

BOOOOOOOM!!!! 

Jacob killed his first buck... with our car! We squared up the deer!! It came from the median and definitely found us! Only car on the road... 90 degrees in July... afternoon... yep... not normal. And... we later were jokingly told that the trees I had spotted were actual Christmas trees and that we had, in fact, hit a reindeer! 

The dent on the passenger side... the head. The dent on the driver's side... the butt.  FUNNY: there was deer poop IN THE HEADLIGHT!!!! Bahaha!!! 

So... we pulled over... we couldn't drive it... radiator was busted.  So we called insurance and waited for the cops and a tow truck.  We were seriously in no man's land... the cops couldn't even find us! It took an HOUR for them to locate us... finally a state trooper just took the call and came to help us. So... here we are... no car... no rental car places in the area... the rental cars in the nearby cities were closed.. and no hotels. WHAT?!?! 

A tow truck came and towed us to the State Farm certified car shop in the area, The Auto Shop in Butler, GA. Mrs. Christina, my mom-in-law, called The Auto Shop to make sure someone was still there and to beg them to stay until we got there.  We arrived with our car in tow and were greeted by the owner and his wife. He asked us if we had a plan... nope. We asked him for suggestions and he confirmed that in Butler... there were indeed no hotels or car rental places... actually there was JUST a Subway and a wings place... GREAT. 

He then offered for us to stay at his house.  He said he had a 2-story house and plenty of room. I was all for it! Jacob... a bit hesitant.  (My thoughts - if I can survive Kenya... I can survive Butler, GA). He told us he would show us the house and then we could decide what we wanted to do. We saw the house... and Jacob immediately gave in. :) We really didn't have a choice. If not for this awesome couple... I guess we would have slept in our car... in a car lot... with no AC... yea... I'll take the house. 

Please note - when we got in the car... he had the radio on a Christian station... I knew at that point he was a believer and I whispered to Jacob, "He loves Jesus." Jacob was confused... as usual with my comments.  Then, we walked into their house... filled with crosses and a study Bible on the couch... and I KNEW this was God. When we told them that Jacob was a youth pastor... THEY WERE PUMPED and the conversation flood gate opened wide. The shop owner was VERY involved in the local youth ministry and had lots of stories to share and questions to ask! 

They bought us dinner (they wouldn't take any money). They invited their church's youth pastor and his wife over so we could meet them - they were GREAT! Made us feel at home. Sat and talked with us. And gave us a wonderful place to sleep.  We were overwhelmed and thankful... so were our parents. We got to share our story - dating, marriage, youth ministry, and adoption. And we got to hear theirs. We found out that the youth pastor had done a 7-month internship in Belize and the shop owner and him had been to Belize several times as well. 

The next morning, the wife offered to take us to the nearest rental place (45 minutes away). Before we left, they invited us to join their daily morning devotional and prayer time.  Can you believe all this? SO crazy!!! God is hilarious. It was great... even with the fact that our car was stuck and our plans were changed! It was a blessing! 

We got the rental car... a tiny Toyota Yaris... that we named Yoda. 

And were on the road to eat lunch in Savannah and then on to Charleston! 

Savannah was a quaint and historical city... we liked it. We found some yummy food too! 

A few hours later... WE FINALLY MADE IT TO CHUCK TOWN!!! We had an AMAZING time with Em and her friends!!!! Here's a picture explosion... READY, GO...

REUNITED... and it feels SO good! 

I love this girl so stinkin' much! I feel like I can be ME around her... and I think we pretty much bring out the best in each other. we laugh alot. Freak surrounding people out. Talk about our other besties. Tell our incredible stories. And just do what best friends do... she's just a really great person. I don't know what I'd do without her.

YUMMY food @ Cru Cafe!  

Our classic pic

We even got to hang out with Allen and Joy!!!! YAY!!! 

Cute Charleston...

THE GRADUATE!!!! She looks so official, huh? 

She got a new cape and had fancy wings!!! We had to show them off! 

Waiting to eat @ TOAST in downtown Charleston.

Us with Jay & Em @ a BBQ place on Sullivan Island! DELICIOUS! 

We had a WONDERFUL time hanging out with Em and her friends! They are great, too! 

We ate scrumptious food, walked around the fantastic town of Charleston, frolicked on Sullivan Island, and got to spend quality time with EM!!!! :) It was marvelous! 

Our car is still in Butler... being repaired. We are back at home... thanks to my mom coming to get us where we dropped off the rental.  One-car family right now... woot woot! 

Loved this weekend... LOVE adventures with my hubs!