Edisto Beach

So I know that you all are probably tired of hearing about our trip, but I just want to tell you about the beach part, because it was really pretty cool.
Gabriel took a turn at the wheel first to give me a little bit of a break.

I liked this on the car next to us...'cuz I personally love grits and a lot of people don't even know what they are!

Anyway, we drove for what seemed like forever down this little 2 lane highway and then turned off on onto an even smaller road that went by this:

 

 
...and I knew that we were in the country, and Jimmy wondered if this was really where we belonged.  It was actually kind of intimidating with all the local people looking at us like we were intruders...with money, which is kind of what we were.  We were there to vacation and support their local economy.

But then we went farther and crossed the bridge onto the island and turned down our dirt road to our cabin.  The landscape and foliage was incredible and stunningly beautiful.  For all the days that we were there, I still didn't get used to seeing this:

Live Oaks draped with Spagnum Moss with palm trees and fronds tucked in between them and pine trees sticking out, too.  It was like a tropical forest that had been untouched by human hands (well, when you weren't looking at the road, that is).

Then we went to eat and I picked up a paper and saw this article about the Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial which was really kind of interesting because we were pretty far from home, but this is the same project that we had been working on and that we had just left behind.  They were talking about our stuff!  Wow.  Sometimes I think that when you are in a big city, you forget how much that big city's actions impacts little places all over the country.  Of course MLK was important in this southern state with roads called Harriet Tubman Freeway and Freeman's Court!  This is what MLK was all about, and our fingerprints are all over recognizing him and his work in the fight for freedom.

Then there was Daddy time...

 Which always brings smiles...

 And there was all-alone-in-the-sand time...

 And surf time...

 And brother-sister time...

Which brought smiles to everyone's faces!

Some of us were braver than others.  Can you guess?  Liz going way out, Gabriel holding onto Daddy's hands but out in front and our Jo hanging onto his shorts for dear life and hiding behind his legs!

 We took hikes...

Went to the end and back...

 And had a blast doing it!

 Like I said, the foliage and forest were awesome.  I have never seen anything like it. 

 The ocean was wonderful and we went in the late afternoon or evening, so we mostly had the beach to ourselves to fly and kite, play in the sand or waves, or just relax and minute or two.

 Gabriel and Daddy chose our paths with care and led the way...looking for where there may not be so many bugs!  But they were horrible!  I did ask one of the local park rangers what kind of bugspray to use and he told me to get a natural one made in that area called Evade-A-Bug, so we did and slathered ourselves in it and got relief.

 One morning Elizabeth got up early to make us all pancakes, which were a big hit!

 And many fun games were played in our awesome cabin.  The cabin was huge with 3 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, a full kitchen and a big screened in porch across the back with rocking chairs on it.  All this in a state park!  And we got it for a great deal because we were willing to rent it for the days in the middle of the week when no one else wanted it because  it was rented for both surrounding weekends!

 (Seeing these shoes lined up like this made me realize just how many feet there are in this family!)

 We also took some time to go to the Serpentarium...basically a snake zoo with turtles and crocs, too.  It was interesting and we got to see the turtles being fed.  I was not much interested in sticking around to see the other animals being fed!

 We also found some of our own wildlife!

 And then we went from this (above...and yes, pretty much the whole cabin looked like this!)
To this (below) in and hour and a half, getting everything packed up and ready to go to come home

But we wanted a family picture before we left, so Jimmy set the timer and....

 So Jimmy set the timer and...

Ok...wait...so then Jimmy set the time and...

 Ok...last time...

So then Jimmy set the timer and...



 





 Here we are!

Thanks so much for joining me on my trip back through our trip!  I hope you enjoyed it!

Elizabeth's Schedule

I've just got to brag on Elizabeth a little here and give her some time in the limelight.  The little dudes are just so durn cute that they seem to always get the spotlight, so now it's Liz's turn.  Hope you don't mind a little bragging...

This is Elizabeth's schedule of classes this year:

1.  English 8 Advanced Academics

2.  Health and PE 8

3.  French 1 (Mais oui, c'est français qu'elle va être à étudier!)

4.  Investigating Matter and Energy (Science) Advanced Academics

5.  Advanced Band (Tuba.  They asked her to play the tuba again this year and offered tutoring with a professional tuba player.  She will also be available on the baritone, which she will practice at home.)

6.  Civics 8 Advanced Academics

7.  Geometry Honors (a 10th grade class that will count for highschool)


Need I say more?  Sometimes I feel like I don't say enough about our oldest, but I am truly proud of her!  Way to go, Elizabeth!

Perry and Pinehurst, Georgia

I am kind of excited to tell you more about our trip.  (I hope you are interested in reading about it, too!)

I knew that our drive getting to Perry would be about 11 driving hours, although we broke it up into 2 days, and the trip back would be about 14 driving hours since we were taking a 'detour' to Edisto Island beach in South Carolina.  This trip was broken up into 2 days, too, with the first day being on Monday with 4 hours of travel and the second day was not going to be until Friday, but it would be the remaining 9 driving hours.

Last year, I had read a post from one of my favorite bloggers and decided to try out her idea of making a bag of goodies to be parceled out during the long hours of the trip. 

I didn't have much time to prepare, though, since we didn't really finally plan the trip til the week of, but I got 2 bags, one for Jo and one for Gabriel, at the $ Spot at Target and got a few goodies for each of them in their bags to be controlled and handed out by Elizabeth when the ride got too long and too much for our littlest travelers.

It worked out well, but I do think that next time I would like to take more time to plan out the trip like Tammy did.  I think that this would help not only to prevent boredom, but also to let the kids know how much longer we had til we got there.  The little dudes are still a little young to understand that passing of time, and Elizabeth is old enough to understand hours and miles, but by the next time we take a long trip like this, the kids' ages will be better suited to the kind of activities that Tammy had in her blog.


I had some pictures and memories that I wanted to share with you yesterday, but I was having a hard time getting things to download, so I gave up and I will put them here today:

 The Trampoline.  This is actually not a very good memory for me.  The trampoline was at my cousins' house.  Of the 5 of us cousins, I was the youngest by 3 years.  One cousin, Bill, was about the same age as my sister, Cassie, and the other cousin, Chad, was about the same age as my brother, Aaron.  That meant that they would pair up and play and I would always either be left out or allowed to join in because they were forced to let me play with them.  That meant that when the 4 of them played on the trampoline and I wanted to join in, they wouldn't let me because they said that I was too little.  Then they would all go off to do something else and I would be left to jump alone, which when you are visiting cousins, is not really that fun to do.


BUT...this time around, we made some new fun trampoline memories.  This here is Jo jumping with her cousin Sam and his friend.  The boys were actually very patient with her as she was really being quite annoying!

 This is what I really remember...the sand!  The church that we used to go to when we visited my grandparents was 2 doors down from their house so we would always walk there on Sunday morning.  This was the era when jellies (remember those shoes?) were in style and they always filled up with sand on the way between the house and the church!  And then, on this trip, I got to wondering...how did all that sand get there?  There is not really a beach anywhere close...but that's just another geographical history lesson waiting to be uncovered, I guess!

 Then there are the pinecones!  We do not have many pinecones around the house here in VA, and it was really funny (for me at least!) because Gabriel was really afraid of the pinecones!  I guess when you are that little and haven't really seen one before, they do look a little menacing!  But he finally got over his fear and started collecting them once he saw them as a 'Little Boy' which is the name of one of our cats and which is what he calls all smallish fuzzy-ish things.  'Itta Bo!'

 Of course, those pines cones must come from somewhere, and I always know I'm getting close to GA when on the side of the highway are the tall straight lines of pine trees!  You can smell them on the drive.

 But this is something that I remember, but do not cherish!  These holes house ants.  And they bite.  Hard!  Gabriel found that out the hard way.  One got stuck under the strap of his sandal and he still has the red welt from it!  That is a small animal that will NOT earn the title of 'Itta Bo'!

 I always thought that this was strange when I was little and still do.  All the grass is flat, like crab grass, except for these sprigs that stick straight up.  The ends are covered with little black seeds.  I used to think that they were bugs, and they really do look like it, but it is so weird to see them sticking out so high over the other matted grass.

 And, of course, with all the pine trees, what to do with all the needles other than used them for mulch?

 And then the sun.  The hot, blistering, sweltering sun.  That brings the sweat that attracts the gnats that swarm all over and get in your nose and mouth and eyes.  That was not and still is not one of my favorite things. 

 And the AC units.  Everyone has one, and they run.  ALL.  THE.  TIME.  I mean, it makes sense because it is so hot, but you see these houses with the huge yards and no life in them at all.  No kids outside.  No one sitting on the porch rocking chairs.  No one.  Anywhere.  We were always the strange ones when we went there because we played outside and rode the bikes that were only brought out once a year when we visited.  This time, again, my family was amazed that the first thing the kids did when they got there was to run outside and explore the yard and play only to come in for water.

 The fields are big and open with pine breaks...

 And the traffic moves relatively slowly...

 past the cotton

 and the tobacco...

and oh, the traffic!  Look at that!  I think another one just passed us going the other way, too!  What are all these people doing out? 


I want to tell you about the beach, too, but I've been told that I really must get to bed soon, so I will save it for another day.


But I will tell you how we chose where we were going to go after we left Perry...


We looked at the map, Elizabeth, Jimmy and I, and we looked online at SC State Parks, and basically closed our eyes and jabbed a finger in the general direction we wanted to go and landed at Edisto Island State Park. 


To say that we knew nothing of it would be an understatement...


But I will leave it at that for now...

A Trip Down Memory Lane...95 to 20

Last week, at the beginning of the week, my boss told me that he had decided that he would be able to give Jimmy and me the following week off!  He had told us before that we would not have any time off this year, so this was a welcome surprise.  He had mentioned that it may be a possibility, but nothing had been set or promised, so we couldn't make any plans or reservations to go anywhere or do anything until he finally gave us the green light.

I was so excited!  We quickly decided that we would take the trip to Perry, Georgia, to see my dad's family there.  I have not been there for about 6 years,since my grandfather passed away,  and Jimmy and the little guys have not ever been!  Elizabeth has been able to go just about every year with my parents, but it has never worked out that we could all go together as a family and take that long road trip to get there.

But finally, Jimmy and I decided (ok, it was mostly me) that this was the year.  My grandmother, Lulu, is not getting any younger, and as it turns out, she is suffering from dementia and unfortunately couldn't recognize me or Elizabeth, and won't remember the little guys or Jimmy, but at least we went and get to see my Aunt Jeanie, and my cousins Emily, Sam and their dad, Bill.

But I think that I am getting ahead of myself a little here.

Let me set the stage for you:

Neither my grandmother nor my aunt can hear much at all, so all the communication between me and my aunt concerning our plans to visit took place on facebook, mostly through my cousin Emily's account.  I think that it was on Thursday or Friday (the day we left) that I actually was able to confirm that the 5 of us would be arriving on their doorstep on Saturday afternoon.

Gabriel is 18 months old, and is not a very good car rider, (but it turns out that he actually did quite well) and Jo is 4 and sometimes gets carsick (as we soon found out).  I am 4 months pregnant, and Jimmy doesn't drive, so I was the only one behind the wheel.  We have a 90-something rusty blue van that holds 8 passengers, but that doesn't  have any cargo space, as well as no AC and the radio doesn't really work so well, either.  Halfway through the trip Jimmy's window started to stick either half-way up or half-way down, whichever way you DIDN'T want it to be.

And it the van doesn't lock.

I mean, it DOES lock, but then it very well may STAY that way, so we don't try it...anymore.

But...I have a great mechanic who came the day before we were due to leave to give it a good once over and said that although it's not a beauty, it is running fine and should make the trip with no problem.

And that's the part that matters, right?

So...

After taking stock of what we wanted to take on a week long trip and how much space we had in the car, we pared our stuff down to what we NEEDED to take for a week long trip and decided that in an effort to give the kids the most space to conserve their and our sanity, we would fold down the middle seat and put all 3 kids along the back row:

This gave Elizabeth space to stretch her legs and also gave the little dudes space in their car seats.  Otherwise, they are crunched up behind us with no foot room.

For some reason, I don't have a picture of this, but in front of the kids is the folded down seat with our camp box, a big blue wooden box that opens in the front and holds camping stuff (or snacks in this case!) and has been with us everywhere we go.  That meant that when we needed a road snack, Liz only had to reach up, open the box and they could take their pick.  It also held other important stuff like first aid, card games and stuff like that.  We  had gotten a smaller cooler that fit right between our seats in the front for water and fruit.  That way, Elizabeth didn't have to unbuckle and reach behind the seat to get stuff.

Fortunately, those smiling faces soon turned into this:

Anyway, I think that the one that was most excited to start this trip was me.

 I remember when I was little and my mom and dad would take me and my brother and my sister to spend the summer months in Pinehurst, GA with Lulu and Daddy Bill, my dad's parents.  We would get up at 5 in the morning and huddle into the van and haul on down there.  We used to make the trip...all 11+ hours of driving...in one day.

I was thinking about that and about how we had decided to not make the trip in one day but rather to stop on the way and stay at a hotel in Florence, which is a little past halfway.

What is it that makes us more chicken than my parents were?

First of all, I don't know at what age we started making that trip, but the earliest age that I remember was when I was about 5 pr 6, which would have made my brother about 8 or 9 and my sister 11 or12.  That is a big difference than riding with a toddler and a preschooler!  Also, I remember that as soon as we got on the highway, my sister and brother stretched out on the bench seats, and I took my pillow and blanket and hunkered down in the step-well of the van!  No car seats or seatbelts for us!  I can't imagine Gabriel sitting in his carseat for 11+ hours straight!

There may be others of you out there who would have saved the $50 for a hotel room and pushed right on through, but you are far braver than I, and my hat's off to you!

Anyway, riding down there was an amazing trip for me.  I was so excited!  Heart pounding seeing familiar landmarks...Richmond, South of the Border and the Savannah River!  I always used to love to see the rivers and marshes that we passed over and to see the little dirt roads that go along the highway.  I loved to then, and still do.  I wonder at the town names.  Who settled here first?  Where did that name come from?  Why is this overpass called Dry Bread Road?  What was it like to pioneer here?

What were the Native Americans like?

I am fascinated by that history.  I don't want to get into the politics of it, but no matter what you think of it, it is the history of our country...both good and bad, it is what built us.

I feel my roots on this trip to GA.  I feel the blood of my father pulsing through me.  He grew up here among the gnats and the pine trees and the sand and biting ants.  He rode his horse and went to school and made friends here.

He passed the same slave shacks that we do on this trip down to see my family, only when he passed them as a boy, they were not so old and run down.  Were they still occupied?

How did that shape him?  How does that shape me?  How am I letting this shape our children?

What does my dad feel when he travels these roads to see his mother who barely recognizes him and is in the constant care of his sister, who's health is not all that good, either.

My dad is from here, now.  Washington, DC...VA...Alexandria.

And so am I.  And so are we.

And to drive down these 2 lane roads and stir up the dust on these dirt roads takes me to another time.

It is slower here.  I'm not talking about Atlanta.  I don't know much about that.   

I'm talking about Perry.  I'm talking about Pinehurst.  Can you even find it on the map?  It's there.  I promise.

Things move slower here.  People drive slower, talk slower and seem to savor slowly the life that they have been given.   I seriously felt that I was going from 95 to 20, not only in highway numbers, but in life's speed limit.

I understand that it is not all like that.  That I am visiting my family, who is older and set and never lived much in the big city and probably never will.

But I remember the easy life of staying with my grandparents.  Lulu in the kitchen all day cooking up absolutely delicious meals.  The cousins coming over to spend the day with us.

The 'beauty res,t' as my Daddy Bill used to call it, after lunch.

Daddy Bill would take us fishing off a pier that went out over a lake.  But this wasn't just a pier.  It had been hog styes.  So, there were places on the pier that we were not allowed to walk because it was rotten and would fall through.

But we still used it.

It wasn't cordoned off with no trespassing/danger tape across it.  We used it because it was there and we were there and by golly we wanted to fish.

So we did and then we would take the fish back to the house and clip them to a board hanging from a tree out in the backyard and my Daddy Bill would scale them and pass them to Lulu who would fry them up.

There were no limits on how many fish we could catch.  There were no warning about pollution and don't eat these fish.

We fished.  We caught.  We ate.

It was sweet.

So I traveled down this road into those memories knowing that it is different now.

Someone else owns the house in Pinehurst, and my Daddy Bill has passed away.  Lulu won't be cooking anymore, and my cousins have their own kids and don't fish anymore.

So I pass over the Savannah River and I dip into these rich memories and I wonder...

How can I pass this on to my kids?  How do I show them the simple pleasures in life?

And I realize that I can't.

I am from the city.  I am their mother.  I can't do for them what a Daddy Bill can do, and unfortunately, Elizabeth is the only one who can remember him, and that from pictures. 

Jimmy and I have to work on making our own types of memories for them.   And they will be different, but they will still be good...at least that is what we are hoping!

And it's not about going to fancy places or traveling the world...although that would be nice, to me it's about sharing my childhood with them in the small snippets that I can and spending time with them doing sharing new adventures as a family.

So, we rented a tape of the Brer Rabbit stories from the library, and listened to some of them on the way down.  It took a few tries, though, because they were taped in the original dialect and that voice seemed to scare Gabriel at first, but then he got used to it and Jo really enjoyed them.

Then we stopped at the museum, which was always a great landmark for me when we would travel to Pinehurst.   

And there is Brer Rabbit.

I think he is not what Jo was expecting.  I think that she really wanted to see the REAL wily old rabbit, but I doubt she'll forget him at least for a while!

And after traveling down 95 and turning onto 20 in Florence, we finally arrived in Perry.

Jo and Gabriel did a wonderful job with Lulu and her not child proof house, and Lulu loved to see the little kids, too.

I have more to say about Georgia, but I'll have to save it for another day.

Maybe tomorrow....

:)

Update

I am almost back in the land of the blogging.  I know that this has been a really long silence, but our project is almost done and I feel somewhat human again after having yesterday (Saturday) off and knowing that I had today off, too.  Jimmy and I have not had a weekend in almost a month!

Jimmy is sick, though, so he may get another forced day of tomorrow.

I have not taken any pictures of what we have been up to...I keep forgetting my camera!  But some of the others on our team have taken pics and I will try to post at least a few of them here.  The sheer size of the project will knock your socks off!

Anyway, I am off to tuck myself into bed to get ready for these last 2 marathon days, with a hope for getting some days off to go and visit my family in GA at the end of this week and into the next! 

I'll keep you posted and don't loose hope!  I will be back!