Yet another fantastic day ready to be recorded. The more time we spend here, the more we fall in love with it.
One thing I haven't been a part of so far on this trip is getting up with the kids. I have run each morning and, by the time I get back, the kids are up and are either eating breakfast or have already finished. This morning, I decided not to run and to get up with them. It was fun. I hung out with them in their room and watched cartoons while Amanda prepared breakfast for us. We then enjoyed pancakes and bacon together.
It was a little chilly this morning, but still beautiful. Having not really gotten great sleep and having to function on our schedule, we wanted to give Ashley a chance to relax without all the kids here. So, we got the kids pumped up to go for a "long" bike ride. In yesterday's entry, I acknowledged how Avin and Parker ride some back at home but bike riding hasn't really been a big activity for them. Since we've had the bikes here, we've been riding about 1 mile each day together. Today, we asked them if they would want to ride to the village and back. They agreed and we were off. Four miles and 53 minutes later, we reach our destination. They really did great. When we got there, we locked everything up and went to Java Java for something other than Java. Amanda got a Peppermint mocha, I got a Hot Apple Cider and the kids got Hot Chocolates. We enjoyed our drinks outside and then wandered around a bit. We went into a little island novelty shop and talked to the clerk a little about when the crowds come and what it's like during those times. Apparently, the area stays consistently busy from Easter until late September. We've loved taking these vacations in November. We feel like we have things to ourselves, plus, we aren't exactly beach bums. After some more roaming around, it was time to start the journey back. Amanda & Avin took off while I did my best to push Parker along. When I say "push" I mean it literally. The poor guy never once complained but it was all he could do to maintain any momentum whatsoever, so, I would give him "nitro boosts." It probably wasn't the safest thing, but I would get up right next to him and push his back as hard as I could while maintaining control of my bike. Avin did great the entire way back until the last quarter mile. He got pretty upset and while he says it was because his legs were hurting, we're pretty confident that it was because Parker past him. He still pressed on and made it the full 4 miles back. In the end, these two kids that had never ridden bikes more than a mile (and only did that in these recent days) rode 8 MILES! and really did awesome.
Back from our ride, we decided to let Reed get a nap in before heading out anywhere. It was too cold to spend any time on the beach but it was still beautiful out. Avin worked on homework for a while and we played games with the kids. At around 1:30, we started to get everyone ready to go get something to eat. We drove to Seabrook Island (another island just south of us) to eat at Rosebank Farms Cafe. When we arrived (around 2:30) we were greeted by a sign that informed us that they were closed between 2 & 5. Fortunately, a friendly real estate agent standing outside her office told us we had to try Fischer's right around the corner. So, we did. When we walked in, we kind of wondered if we were allowed to have our kids there. Fischer's is a small, family owned sports bar and grill that reminded us a little of cheers. We seemed to be the only ones there that didn't have our own regular seats. Once again, this quaint little place turned out to be a great destination. Amanda got a salad that she said was great, Parker got grilled cheese (go figure) and Avin, Cooper & Reed shared some fried fish. As for Ashley and I....I ordered the flounder basket thinking the fish has got to be great and I was right, but, Ashley ordered a burger. I LOVE BURGERS. As much as I love burgers though, I try to be different from time to time, especially on vacation. All to often, I'm disappointed with the burgers anyway. Well, Ashley's burger looked AWESOME, and apparently it was. I told her that I felt like I was cheating on my fish because every time I took a bite, I was staring at her burger. Needless to say, I will be returning to Fischer's very soon (even if it's by myself) to get me one of those burgers.
Enough about my cheeseburger addiction. Let's move on.
As we were taking care of the bill, we asked the waitress (owner) what we "absolutely have to do while we're here." She suggested visiting the Angel Oak tree just down the road and made a pretty big deal of the Johns Island Christmas Light tour. As we left, we debated a little over whether or not to go see the lights tonight, but ultimately decided to go for it. So, we went back to the condo quickly to grab what warm clothes we had and made our way toward the lights.
Since the Angel Oak tree was on the way, we diverted onto an easy to miss, dirt path off the highway that led to "the Tree." This thing quickly became one of the highlights of my trip. With a small visitors center and a fence protecting it, this tree is an absolutely beautiful display of God's artistry. To try to describe it in words, I believe, is impossible. Even a photo doesn't seem to truly do it justice. It's believed to be nearly 1500 yrs old and is considered the largest living thing (on record) east of the Mississippi River. Do yourself a favor, at a minimum....google it but, at a maximum, pack up the family, drive down here and see it for yourself.
Once we overcame our fascination with the magnificent tree, we got back on route to the lights. We were a little early (meaning there was still daylight) so we parked and waited for the sun to drop and then entered. We enjoyed a 3 mile loop of some beautiful light displays. Every year, we take the kids to the Fantasy of Lights back home. This was like that, only 10 times bigger. After our first loop, we began a second and entered "Santa's Village" midway through. We bought tickets for a train ride, despite being under dressed for the cool weather. The 15 minute ride took us through paths decorated with even more lighting displays and gave us different vantage points of some of the displays we had already seen. The kids loved the ride. At the end, we exited the train cars and entered the gift shop. The shop wasn't big but it was full of some really neat stuff. Amanda found a Christmas ornament with 2 adults and 4 children that we had personalized with each of our names and "Kiawah 2011" on it. From the gift shop, we moved to the fire pit to roast marshmallows and make s'mores. We enjoyed the s'mores and some hot chocolate and then loaded up to head back to the condo. All the kids (except for Avin) fell asleep on the 30 minute drive. Amanda, Ashley & I reflected on the day and agreed that the trip just keeps getting better. When we got back, it was time for everyone to get to bed. Tonight, Ashley decided to join the kids in their room in attempt to get a better night of sleep on a real bed. Therefore, we arranged things a little different which led to some issues because Avin wanted to sleep by Ashley and Parker wanted to sleep by Avin and Cooper just wanted to cry for the sake of crying etc....Once everyone was calmed down, it didn't take long for them all to fall fast asleep....except Reed. Reed is sometimes a little vocal at bedtime, but tonight he cried for quite a while. I went in and everyone else was sound asleep, so I took him into our room. We gave him a little snack and played a little. We attempted to get him to talk to Grandma LouLou and then put him back in his bed. He fussed a little but eventually gave in to his tiredness. It's quiet now. Amanda's knocked out and Ashley and I are watching TV wondering how people here stay up late enough to watch "prime time" TV.
I'm really tempted to go get a burger now but I know that it's probably not the best choice at 10:30 at night. Maybe I'll get it tomorrow.
Stay tuned.
JS
No comments:
Post a Comment