As we’ve discussed before, our friends are busy. We are busy. Yet, we still like to get together and do things. We often use Doodle to coordinate multiple schedules for things like dinner parties, but sometimes it would be nice to just be able to get together, simply, casually, without all the crazy organizing and calendar consulting. (Not complaining – any amount of wrangling ends up being worth it in the end with these folks!)

Tacos and cheerwine – always a good excuse to get together with friends

I have an idea I’m going to try out this summer, and I wanted to pass it along! Mind you, I haven’t actually implemented it yet, so it could be a total flop, but hopefully it’s not. Basically, I’m going to consult my and John’s calendar at the beginning of each month, then send out an email to our ten or so couple (and single) friends, giving them a heads up on casual events we’re planning to attend. I’ll let them know there’s no need to RSVP, but that if they decide to go (even the day of!) they should text us so we can look for each other. I’ll keep it to group activities with little to no advance planning required – things like outdoor movies and free concerts and local peach festivals, or maybe even blueberry picking or a hike, if we’ve got plans on the books. Summer abounds with options for casual get-togethers!

I hope this will be a win-win-win situation: they don’t have to feel bad if they can’t attend, we’ll still have fun even if we’re the only ones that end up going, and some of our friends who were previously unknown to each other might end up meeting! I’ll let you know how it goes.

P.S. Can’t find things to do? Try this post.

Charleston is really a place like no other. There are so many delicious restaurants, so many pieces of history, so many cobblestone streets and colorful houses and charming courtyards within just a few square blocks… it’s almost not fair. This was our first chance to return since our weeklong vacation a few years back, and there was still plenty to experience and explore. We rented bikes for the first time and rode them all over downtown and even out onto Folly Beach at sunset (one of our favorite memories from the weekend – magical!). We also tried a few new-to-us restaurants, including Husk, Poogan’s Porch, Xiao Bao Biscuit, Hominy Grill, and Sugar Bakeshop, and we’d recommend them all! The biscuits at Poogan’s Porch were amazing. Where we stayed was decidedly less buzzworthy – the Holiday Inn Express on the edge of downtown :) But, it was nice enough, convenient, and the budget liked the price, and if that means we can take weekend trips more often, I’m all for it!

Just a few of our favorite spots and snaps from the weekend…

This weekend, two of my best friends from childhood and their significant others came down to visit us (hooray!). Most of our time was spent in general relaxation (eating, taking walks, eating, playing board games, eating, and chatting), but we did plan one big activity – canoeing down the Haw River! It’s something I’ve wanted to do for over a year now, and we figured special visitors were a good enough excuse to make it happen.

Our rental was through Haw River Canoe & Kayak Company, based in Saxapahaw, and we chose the “half day” Bynum Upriver Paddle. It was $50 per couple, and they’re really flexible about what time you want to head out and come back (the whole experience took about three hours). We completely lucked out with our weather – mid 70’s and sunny!! We’d love to try a few other trips they offer in other seasons, so I doubt this will be our last canoe trip, but we’re glad to have one under our belt!

See my full 60 Before 30 list here!

It’s official: John and I have booked our plane tickets for California! It’s going to be our big trip of the year, and we are very excited! We’re flying into Los Angeles and then driving up the Pacific Coast Highway. We’ll head east for two days to explore Yosemite, then finish up in San Francisco for two days before flying back to the East Coast.

As thrilled as we are, the planning has actually been a bit stressful so far. As opposed to, say, our Nevis honeymoon, where we were staying on the same small island for seven days and could have done little advance planning and still had almost every option available to us when we arrived, there are SO many decisions that need to be made months ahead of time for this trip. And there are SO many amazing things to do and restaurants to try and places to stay that we’re feeling the pressure of choosing the BEST ones. Of course, it’s also a large financial outlay, so we want to feel we’re making the most of the money we’re spending. Finally, since we live on the East Coast, a trip like this is far less easily repeated than, say, a trip to New England or Florida, so we’re trying to check off as many things as possible — possibly too many things.

When conversation snarled over whether to stay in Santa Barbara or Montecito last night (oh the difficult choices!), we had to take a step back and laugh — and remind ourselves that no matter what we do, even if we simply drive from point A to point B, it’s going to be a breathtakingly beautiful trip, and well worth our time and expense. And whenever we need a reminder, there are plenty of lovely photos to dream over, like these of Ojai from the Sweet Thing blog (a great recommendation from Meredith!)…

Jessie grew up in Ojai and shares beautiful photos from her travels back home. Doesn’t it look like a magical place?

Though we probably don’t need any more information (ha!), I’d love to hear your recommendations for the stretch of California coast from LAX to SFO. At the moment, we’re planning to spend one night in Montecito, one in Cayucos, one in Big Sur, one in Monterrey or Carmel, two in Yosemite, and two in San Francisco!