Vacation's Over

Jessica and I are back at our respective homes and back to a regular schedule. But we brought back wonderful memories. It was just a lazy, relaxing time away. We had time on the beach. Time to read. Time for movies. We watched five of them. Thank you, Redbox.

Time to knit. Notice mine matched the furnishings? It's a new pattern called Summertide, most appropriate for my beach knitting.

Two visits to Brookgreen Gardens—the sculpture garden, the zoo and the butterfly house—provided many paths to walk after delicious meals. Jessica even found the labyrinth to walk.

And we made plenty of time to visit our favorite coastal restaurants. Some were worthy of a second (and one got a third) visit. I have never eaten crab in so many versions--crab cakes, crab nachos, crab quiche and crab hush puppies (or maybe they were shrimp hush puppies?) Every bite was perfect. Of course, there was shrimp, flounder, grouper, and mussels, too. Can we get those seafoods here at home? Of course we can. But it's just not the same as eating it at the beach.

On Tuesday of last week, it felt like we had been there forever with more days stretching out ahead of us. On Wednesday, I could see vacation's end rushing toward us. And on Friday, it felt like "we just got here" and it was time to start packing up.

I'm already looking forward to the next beach visit.

Among Friends

One weekend a year—when everyone is wrapped in sweaters and scarves and the tree branches are bare—the "beach girls" make a trek to the coast for a few days together. There is nothing in particular on the agenda except catching up with each other. Get up early or sleep late. Walk on the beach or stay inside. Knit. Read. Or not. It doesn't matter. We learned about what all the grandchildren have been doing during the last year. (I think there are close to 30 grandchildren between us, ranging from babies to young adults.) It's so much fun to get the giggles over the silliest things. That tears-running-down-your-face kind of laugh just doesn't happen when I'm by myself at home. You need friends for that.

                                                Photo courtesy of Daddy-O

This year while we were at the beach, it snowed back at home. Typical of southern snow, it was gone by the time we got home the next day. We did see a flurry at the beach just about midnight. Midnight snow at the beach was reason enough to celebrate—pull out the crackers and chips and hummus and get the ice cream from the freezer! After that we agreed...crazy snack fests like that can only happen when it snows at midnight. At the beach. Gotta have limits. Especially after trying out multiple restaurants—a bistro, a tavern, a cafe and a traditional seafood house. All excellent meals.

The beach girls are some of the best cooks around, so in addition to enjoying fresh seafood at wonderful restaurants this weekend, there was plenty of good food brought from home. Yesterday, we pulled out everything from the refrigerator for a parting feast. Oh wow. We couldn't have had anything better. Glad to be friends with these ladies. For lots of reasons.

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” 
― C.S. Lewis

“A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.” 
― Elbert Hubbard

“There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate.” 
― Linda Grayson

Beach Blanket Baby

Saying the words "family vacation" could bring to mind something similar to a Chevy Chase movie but this trip could not have been better. The weather was perfect--which was a miracle given our extreme heat this summer. Everyone stayed in good humor for the whole time. Another miracle when that includes a baby and a big sister. I was happy to spent some extra time with the girls in the evenings while Mommy and Daddy had some time to themselves. Both girls were so tired that putting everyone to bed was unbelievably easy. They were ready to go to sleep. It should be so easy at home!

After eating delicious northern Atlantic seafood a couple of weeks ago in Canada, this weekend it was time to indulge in our southern seafood--crab cakes, fried shrimp, shrimp gumbo, and flounder. And don't forget the hush puppies! Our favorite restaurants did not disappoint. Every bite was delicious. 

This was Baby Sister's first trip to the ocean. She loved it. She loved the water. She loved the sand (except for the handful she ate.) She loved the breeze in her curly hair. And we all loved watching her. In fact everyone around us was quite entertained. She is a real people person already.

Big Sister was more adventurous with her boogie board. 

Digging in the sand was fun, but if you look at the pink knees, you can see Baby Sister liked crawling in the sand just as much. She took off lickety-split toward the ocean. We wondered how far she would go, but after she had gone a good distance she looked back to see where we were. She went another couple of feet, then stopped and thought about it. And crawled right back up the beach to us.

I did manage to sneak out by myself just after the sun came up one morning to enjoy watching the waves break and to listen to the ocean's roar. Glad I am an early riser by nature because I love it when the beach is nearly empty. I will never get tired of this.

Thank you Mommy and Daddy for inviting me to share a few days with all of you.

What a wonderful way to end the summer.