Well...another vacation has come and is nearly gone. It's my last evening to listen to the waves crash against the shore as I reflect on my day. The timing is just about right. We absolutely love it here for so many reasons but we're all ready to be home. As we prepared for bed tonight, Avin got pretty emotional and, when asked what was wrong, he would say that he "missed home." We all miss home.
This morning, I completely one of the goals I've had all week. I got up at 5:30 and drove to Charleston to run the Arthur Ravenel Jr. bridge. This "Cable Stay" bridge is the second longest in the western hemisphere. I parked on the Mt. Pleasant side just as the sun began to barely peak over the horizon. It was an awesome run despite the 1 mile slow uphill climb at the beginning. On the trip toward downtown Charleston, the sun rose behind me, but on the trip back the harbor was lit beautifully. That challenge checked off my list, I headed back to the island.
I've notice that people around here move at a different pace. I was anxious to get back quickly after my run this morning but the commute turned out to be a little frustrating at times. First of all, people here take the word "limit" for what it really means...an absolute maximum. If the speed limit is 50, your lucky to get behind the guy that's actually going 50. Secondly, there are no passing lanes, therefore, you stop for everybody making a left hand turn. Finally, the roads leading to the island are so narrow that 10 and 2 becomes absolutely necessary. SC doesn't need a "don't text and drive" law...people are too scared to try. But enough about that.
I got back to the condo and was greeted by my wonderful wife and kids. While I grabbed some leftovers from the kids monkey bread, Amanda made me some bacon and eggs. We relaxed around the condo quite a bit this morning hoping the temperature would rise enough to get some beach time. Amanda started getting things together for our trip home tomorrow while I....didn't really do anything. At around 11, we hit the beach. We dress the kids in "play clothes" and told them we were going to the beach to play, not to get in the water. Yeah right! Our kids seem to be impervious to cold. The temperature was nearing 60 and the water was frigid, but that didn't stop them. We played in the sand for quite a while but Avin kept inching closer and closer to the water. Before too long, they were all in. Avin in his sweatshirt and pants, Parker in his jeans, Cooper in her fleece jacket and even Reed. We gave in and just enjoyed watching them play. Amanda did end up getting their bathing suits and we changed them. I'm sure people passing by thought we were nuts. While on the beach, we saw a lot of really neat treasures. There are remnants of crab (particularly Horse Shoe Crab) everywhere. There's also a lot of coral, sponge, starfish and drift wood. We used some of these items to decorate a lovely sandcastle. While the kids splashed in the water, we got to watch more dolphins. This time, they seemed to be very close to the shore. It was amazing to see 3 or 4 surface at any given moment. Another thing I always love watching is the Pelicans. I get a kick out of watching them dive bomb into the water for fish. It makes me curious about the things that animals do instinctively. What if our parents told us that, in order to survive, we would have to free fall 25 feet, face first into the water to catch each meal. Just another glimpse at the creativity and beauty of God's creation.
There was a pretty interesting moment on the beach thanks to the food we brought out for our picnic. At one point, a flock of seagulls (not the band) attacked our area scavenging for scraps. The kids all watched in fascination. Amanda and Ashley were less "fascinated" and more "girlie" about the whole episode. Avin was able to bait them away by running down the beach and chucking what was left of his taco down the beach. Then he ran back making a sound that was kind of a combination of screaming and laughing.
With our kids all chilled to the bone, we headed in. We all got cleaned up and hit the trail for a bike ride around the loop ending at the playground. At the playground, Avin conquered the proper form on the monkey bars (he's been able to do the monkey bars for a while, but he's never done it quite "right"), Cooper climbed things higher than was probably safe, Parker explored areas where no one else was and Reed wanted nothing to do with the areas designated for his age, he wanted to be where the big kids were. He's a lot like Parker in that, he will fall and bust his face and go right back at it again. Call me a bad dad, but, as long as they aren't in any situation where they can get REALLY hurt, I tend to let them take the spill for the sake of learning. Whether or not they actually learn from it....that's up to them!
The afternoon was slipping away and we were all getting really hungery so we rode back to the car and headed back to...yep, the village. Amanda really wanted to go back to the King's Street Cafe where she had a really good salad earlier in the week. We sat outside and all discussed our highlights from the trip. We then did our best to prepare the kids for what tomorrow will be like. They all seemed to be okay with the long car ride. I think it's because they're all looking forward to being back home.
After dinner, we did our laps around the Christmas tree while Amanda & Ashley did some shopping. With the kids loaded up, Ashley wrapped up her purchase of her first pair of minimalist running shoes....I'm so proud!
We got back to the condo and got the kids ready for bed before giving them a little treat for dessert. Amanda & Ashley really went into full packing mode and the kids and I watched TV and played Angry Birds.
It was when I was putting the kids to bed that Avin got emotional. It happened when we were talking about getting home late and that they would be asleep in the car before we got home. He said, "what about the grown-ups, how will you guys sleep." I told him that, if we needed to, we would take turns driving. I'm not sure if his emotions were based on a fear for our safety or a desire to be home or what, but I'm pretty sure he was just really tired.
Now it's time to get my stuff together and ready to hit the road early tomorrow.
We love Kiawah....as a retreat! We love Evansville as a home!
JS
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