Vacation

We have been looking forward to a family vacation for quite some time. We went back and forth about what to do and where to go. We strongly considered the Outer Banks but were hesitant about being stuck in one place for an entire week. We decided to try and stick close to home and save the Outer Banks for another trip. I am a planner and a list maker so I love the planning part of the trip and I think that this time I did a pretty good job. Mike made fun of my binder full of typed itineraries and directions but I think he secretly loves my organizational skills. I was determined that we would spend no longer than 4 hours in the car at any one point. We learned on our cross country drive from Louisiana to Washington State in 2007 that Olivia occasionally gets car sick so we wanted to be careful about that on this trip.

Day 1--Savanna, GA
It took us just about 4 hours to get to Savannah from our house. We left early in the morning so that we would have the entire afternoon to spend in Savannah. In Savannah we had fun checking out every single one of the 22 city squares. Mike had been to Savannah once before but I had not and I LOVED it. Savannah is a beautiful city. I loved that it didn't feel crowded. I love the history. I loved that we were just able to wander around. When we walked by Telfair Square we saw the Telfair Museum and I remembered that it was one of the museums participating in the Blue Star Museum Program so we were all able to visit the museum for free. There was a really interesting exhibit of current solider portraits printed using the 150-year-old collodion wet plate photographic process. The particular technique requires the subject to remain posed for up to 60 minutes in order for the image to be captured so the photographs were so fascinating. We headed over to the River Walk for dinner and some souvenir shopping before heading back to our hotel. Our sleeping arrangements throughout the trip were interesting. In Savannah Peter slept most of the night in his pack and play and Olivia had a bed to herself but somehow the kids and I woke up in one bed with Mike in a bed by himself.

We picked up breakfast at a cafe and then headed out to continue exploring the squares. Peter loved chasing the birds around. It was so neat to see how the different squares reflected the different neighborhoods. Walking around in Savannah reminded me of walking around Rome, there's so much history. People are living modern lives surrounded by hundreds of years of history (of course in Rome it's thousands of years). We headed over to Forsyth Park so that the kids could enjoy the huge playground and splash fountain before loading into the car and heading to the beach. Forsyth Park was enormous and beautiful and had the cleanest public bathrooms I've ever seen! I wish I would have had the camera with me in the bathroom, they were beautiful, so bright and clean. The kids loved the park, it was such a peaceful spot.

Day 2--Tybee Island, GA
We took a short 30 minute drive over to Tybee Beach (formerly known as Savannah Beach). On our way we stopped off at Uncle Bubba's Oyster House, the restaurant owned by Paula Deen's brother. A friend of mine had told me that the Lady and Son's (Paula Deen's restaurant in Savannah wasn't really worth the hype and suggested this place), she was absolutely right! We went for lunch and it wasn't crowded at all. The food was fantastic, I had the shrimp and grits and then Mike and I shared key lime pie. They also have a community special on Monday's and entrees are buy one get one free so our meal was very inexpensive. I also got a cook book while I was there (signed by Paula Deen of course) and her brother, Uncle Michael was also there signing books. Uncle Michael was very nice, he's there in his restaurant almost every day, he really is an owner/operator, we saw him greet customers, refill drinks, buss tables, it all seemed so laid back!

Tybee Island reminds me a lot of Key West. It's a quirky spot, it's not overdeveloped, in fact there are only a couple of small local hotels. The island is full of local shops and pastel beach cottages. We loved it. There was not much traffic, most people seemed to be on bikes. The beach was peaceful, the surf was calm. Peter loved the ocean, he ran straight into the waves and loved to sit on the beach as the waves washed over his toes. Peter loved playing in the sand. Olivia is the ultimate beach bum. The sand and waves were very soothing to her. She'd play in the water for a bit to cool off but was completely content to cuddle in a beach chair. Mike and I took turns switching off between the kids so we each got the best of both worlds.

The kids slept great at Tybee Island. Our room had a king bed and they gave us 2 pack and plays and Olivia and Peter each slept in one. We actually ended up putting Peter in the pack and play in the shower and Olivia behind the door to our room. It was unique but it worked well. We went on a dolphin tour and Peter loved seeing the dolphins. Olivia was very unsure about the dock but seemed to enjoy the boat ride. I know that she saw the dolphins but she didn't seem impressed by them at all. We stoped off at the Tybee Island Light House and then headed the the beach for a few more hours before setting off for our next destination.

Day 3-4--Moncks Corner, SC and Charleston, SC
We had a short 2 and a half hour drive from Tybee Island to Monck's Corner, SC. I love Charleston but Mike and I just went to Charleston for a long weekend in April so I wanted to try and find something different for us to do. I was looking at military hotels in and around Charleston and I found Short Stay, the US Naval Recreation Facility in Moncks Corner, SC. This place was fantastic. It's a short 45 minute drive from Charleston and we were planning on staying at Short Stay at night and then heading into Charleston for the day but once we checked in at Short Stay we didn't want to leave. We had a 2 bedroom "roundette" cabin with a full kitchen and we spent much less per night than we would have if we'd stayed in Charleston. Short Stay is on Lake Moultrie and there's a swimming beach (with lifeguards), playgrounds, picnic areas. I was hesitant about the lake swimming thing but Peter loved that it was just like the beach without the waves. He saw the water and headed straight in. The water was clearer than the ocean and there was a shallow swimming area for kids that was only about 2 feet deep. They had boats for rent and Mike took the South Carolina Water Safety test so that he could get a boating license and rent a boat. We rented a little Johnny Boat and had a blast exploring the lake. Olivia enjoyed herself but was content to sit and hold my hand while Peter insisted on helping Mike drive the boat. By the end of our excursion Peter passed out and fell asleep on Mike's lap.
Since we had 2 bedrooms in our cabin we were really able to spread out. It was nice to be able to cook our own food and not be concerned about how much noise the kids were making. We tried having the kids sleep in one bedroom together but that didn't work very well so Mike and I were in separate bedrooms with different kids but we all slept well. We headed into Charleston to check out the Battery and visit Rainbow row but my favorite part of Charleston was our visit to the Angel Oak. I had never heard of Angel Oak before but it was awe inspiring. Angel Oak is a 1500 year old oak tree on Johns Island outside of Charleston. There are no words to describe this tree, it was amazing. Peter just kept pointing up and saying "ohhh".

Day 5--Myrtle Beach, SC
We left Charleston/Moncks Corner and headed to Myrtle Beach for one last beach day before heading home. We arrived in Myrtle Beach in time for a summer downpour so headed to the outlet mall during the storm. I cannot believe that I'm already buying 24 month clothing for Peter. And now that Olivia is finally gaining some weight it's nice to be able to buy some new summer clothes for her. We headed to the beach bright and early and Olivia again settled into beach bum mode. Peter was a little disappointed that the surf was a little more rough than he had been used to. Mike and I decided that Myrtle Beach was not one of our favorite parts of the trip, it's overdeveloped and so crowded. The beach is a stretch of one high-rise hotel after another, the surf is rough, and there are just too many amusement parks and entertainment complexes. We think we'll stick a little closer to home and head to Wilmington the next time we have to have a beach day. We were in a very nice hotel in Myrtle beach but the kids didn't sleep well at all. I think everyone was starting to get a little tired of the unique sleeping arrangements by this point.

All in all we had a fantastic time. It was really great to have some time to relax and spend time with each other. Mike has taken off of work for next week as well but we'll all be in Durham for Olivia's 12 month post-transplant studies. It will be a very busy week of doctors appointments and I'm glad we had the chance to relax before heading into that week of stress.

I put together a slide show of our vacation photos. Enjoy!