Charles Towne

After wrapping up my time in the NICU I needed to get outta town for a little while and Ben felt the urge as well so we packed up and drove 4 1/2 hours south-to Charleston. I had never been and had been wanting to visit for a while. It didn't disappoint; we came upon great bookstores and lovely architecture as well as beautiful gardens. We wanted to stay in a place close to downtown without having to pay for it and Ben suggested we stay in a hostel, as he had never stayed in an American hostel and has fond memories of sleeping through Europe this way. So we found the "Not-so Hostel" a few blocks from downtown for a mere $50 a night. Well. Apparently $50 doesn't pay for things like hot water and good smells. It was less than ideal but we weren't there very much so we made up for it. Ben took me to a French restaurant where they served the food in Le Creuset dish-ware and it had a good wine and a cozy romantic atmosphere without being pretentious. There were bicycles parked all over town which made me happy. The pictures are: Ben perusing "Blue Bicycle Books,"


Willowy tree in a churchyard



unique and preserved architecture


Ben at Kiawah beach-

and below, our room at Not So Hostel

Gas Leak?

Prostrate in July
Tawny tummies sunnyside
No purr stirs the air

One year down...

Ah, it's great to be done with intern year! Our class celebrated with a weekend at a nearby lake. We rented a house and a boat and it was great to kick back and relax all together. I really like our class-we've had a good year supporting one another and clinking glasses together in celebration of finishing one rotation or another.
We also welcomed a new addition to the class. One of the original "10" had to return home to California as her husband (also a medical-type person) could not find a job after finishing fellowship. So we lost her but gained a resident from UVa to take her place and her calls :)
Ben was able to join around his teaching schedule and came in just in time to fire up the grill. I have a relatively nice transition to 2nd year, starting out in peds clinics, while some of my colleagues had to transition from the relaxing lake to various intensive care units.