After we left Titusville, we took our time traveling up the coast to Myrtle Beach. Our first stop was just a few hours north, in Jacksonville, Florida. We went straight to our hotel, which turned out to be a MAJOR step up from the "Low" Quality Inn. We had a large, two-room, kitchen-included suite. Sweet! As an unexpected bonus, the hotel even offered a light dinner that night.
The kids couldn't wait to try out the swimming pool. We stayed two nights in Jacksonville, and swam every day.
On our second day in Jacksonville, we visited the Jacksonville Museum of Science and History. I can't say I was overly impressed, but it was a fun, indoor diversion.
The kids enjoyed the museum well enough, but were anxious to get back to the hotel to swim and have some popcorn while watching TV (always a hotel highlight).
The next day, after a morning swim, we left for a leisurely drive to Savannah, Georgia. We had plenty of time before we were scheduled to get to our friends' home, so we took our time. We stopped for a (hot) picnic lunch, and later allowed ourselves to be swayed by the roadside signs promising "PEACH PARADISE!" Which, of course, ended up being hut next to a gas station with ridiculously overpriced peach-flavored treats. We tried some peach ice cream and peach fudge which were solidly mediocre (although, if you ask Aubree and Bryce, they remember the items more along the lines of "unbelievably amazing!").
Our good friends, John and Sue, moved to Savannah a couple years ago. When they heard we were heading their way, they immediately offered to let us stay with them. I assured them they were nuts! John and Sue have just one little boy. They'd visited our house enough to have a small idea of what chaos might ensue with our brood, but they insisted that we stop and they proved to be the epitome of southern hosts.
A few miles before we reached John and Sue's, Bryce indicated that his stomach was hurting. One mile from our final destination, he begged, "Pull over, I'm going to puke!"
And puke he did (thankfully, he made it out of the car first).
That's how we arrived - a puking kid and a carload of unwashed laundry (asking, "can we please use your washer and dryer?"). Don't you wish we'd come to visit you?!
After a little bit of rest, Bryce perked right up. Soon the kids and adults were busy catching up and getting down to the serious business of play.
Graham and Daniel were immediate buddies.
Bryce and Thane were much more interested in the dog- Benji. The poor dog didn't have a moment's peace the whole time we were there!
Sue made us a delicious, and perfectly nostalgic, dinner of chicken gnocchi soup. She also made oodles of her famous chocolate chip cookies, and invited the kids to eat their fill. If they didn't already love her completely, that alone would've won them over.
In another show of generosity, John patiently showed the kids how to play the drums...and then allowed them to pound away for hours. Aubree, our budding musician, spent the most time trying to figure out how it all worked.
Nellie was a bit of a nightmare. She hadn't slept well since we'd arrived in Florida, and this was no exception. When it was time to put her to bed for the night, it was extra hard because I didn't have a pack and play or a crib. I tried everything I could think of to get her to go to sleep and/or stay asleep. No go.
Eventually, I gave up and she stayed up way too late.
The next morning, we went to explore downtown Savannah. We'd heard so much about the beautiful, old town that we couldn't wait to see the sights for ourselves. We parked at an old park and the kids found a fun playground.
That turned out to be a colossal mistake. Even though it was early in the day, it was so hot and humid that twenty minutes of play wiped out every ounce of their energy. As we proceeded on our walk, they one-by-one wilted onto nearby benches.
Savannah is an absolutely charming city, with mini-parks on every block. It was hard, however, to appreciate this beauty while melting. We even ducked into a Jewish synagogue advertising a tour just to have a few moment's air conditioning (unfortunately, the tour ended up being quite expensive).
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| Gorgeous Catholic cathedral |
The only way to convince the kids to continue, was to promise them ice-cream. On we plodded, with a narrow-minded, "get-to-ice-cream" focus. Until - we made it!
John and Sue treated everyone to ice-cream. Nellie had her first taste of ice-cream, and became an instant convert!
Let me acknowledge that I am a huge ice-cream fan. It just might be my favorite food. Our stop at this ice-cream shop strengthened my conviction that ice-cream is a Super Food.
Before ice-cream = droopy, miserable, whiny people.
After ice-cream = restored energy and enthusiasm, willingness to smile, joy.
Our return trip through Savannah was much more enjoyable. It was certainly still unbearably hot, but we took advantage of some of those old fountains.
I tried to help Graham get a little dip, but just might have accidentally dropped him in. Eek!
Thane planted himself firmly by John's side.
Someday, I'd love to go back and explore more of Savannah, just NOT in the summer (and especially not in the summer with a baby on my back)!
After saying good-bye to the hosts with the most, we drove another few hours to Charleston, South Carolina and checked into our final hotel of the trip. I stayed in the room with Nellie to try to get her to nap (I bet you can guess how that turned out), and Mark took the big kids down to go swimming.
They returned unexpectedly grumpy. Aubree and Bryce complained and complained about the pool. Then they fought about pushing elevator buttons. Then I thought, "what's so great about vacation again?"
The following morning, Saturday, marked the one-week point into our trip. Sweet Nellie was a mess. Don't let the cute smile fool you. I posted this picture on Instagram with the caption: "Vacation is torture for this baby. In the last week I've learned that she will NOT sleep in her stoller, she will not sleep in the Ergo in the front, she will not sleep in the Ergo in the back, she will not sleep in a make-shift bed on the floor, she will not sleep in her car seat. Where will she sleep? That's an excellent question. I will let you know if I figure it out."
A friend responded, "sounds like a frustrating Dr. Seuss book." Indeed!
Regardless, the trip must go on, so we went to downtown Charleston to see what we could see. Unfortunately, it was another steamy, brain-meltingly hot day. None of us had much umph to do any real sight-seeing. We walked the pier, trying to stay in the shade.
We found the famous pineapple fountain, and agreed to let the kids wade as long as they didn't get their clothes all wet.
I'm sure you can guess how that worked out (this time he fell in by himself).
Once again, we cut our exploring short. Someday, we'll have to re-visit Charleston.
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