Peter Cottontail

We had a lovely Easter Sunday.  Our friends Sandy, Joe, Sophia, Gary, Patrick, Gabe and all of us had a delicious dinner.  Sandy brought all the sides, including her famous mashed potatoes and a delicious cake.  We provided the ham and atmosphere.  The atmosphere was in the form of a religious revival CD that I played during dinner.  When we were at a farm stand, they had a basket of free CD's for travelers.  The sermons were all different topics and have lots of singing on them, not all of it good!

Our favorite part of Easter is always the egg hunt.  Sophi and Gabe were "too mature" to participate, but everyone else got in the spirit.  Can you say "competitive?", Patrick?!

 

Home Sweet Home, Saturday

Yeah, we made it!  We got home at 2:00 p.m.  We got the girls up and moving by 9:30 a.m. and in the car by 10:30.  The good news was that a half hour down the road, we switched into central time so it was still really 9:30!  That worked out really well!

We got up to cold, rainy weather.  It poured rain the entire drive from Lafayette to Rockston.  For some reason our GPS took us off the interstate and through all these back roads in Gary, IN.  We have no idea why.  It made for a very interesting route.  Driving through Chicago is always a challenge, but in the rain with tire spray blowing everywhere was a hand clencher.  But, we got home to a beautiful sunny day.  Our daffodils are bloomed, tulips have huge buds, bleeding hearts are up, and the lakes are all thawed.  People are out in their shorts running and biking.  We got home just as Kiel was dropping Digger off.  Digger was so happy to see everyone, even the pups.  It took all afternoon to unpack the car and dig all the garbage out of its crevices. 

All in all we had a great trip.  Hugh managed to fit in well enough. There were a few power struggles between Millie and him over NPR vs. Adam Lambert, but they always managed to compromise!  Living for a week in close quarters, all cooped up in a small car, is my idea of a family vacation.  I know where everyone is at every minute, and I never felt safer!

Friday night

Another day of driving over hills and mountains. We went through Tennessee, Kentucky and half way through Indiana.  More beautiful scenery, but no pictures.  The girls and I thought we could make it home in one day.  Only five hours left, easy.  But our knight had other thoughts of accidents and over tiredness.  So, we landed in Lafayette, Indiana.  We've told the girls that we are going to get them up EARLY tomorrow and hit the road. It would be nice to be home in the afternoon.  I'll let you know what time that actually ends up to be!  

Friday morning

Well, we made it through another night in a hotel.  Barking dogs, bad beds, snoring noses.  Hugh is playing the girls a good morning, wake up song on the cello.  I was hoping to be on the road by now.  We are still at least 12 hours from home, not counting all the stops we make.  Maybe we'll make it into Indiana tonight and have a short ride home tomorrow. 

It's interesting, when I traveled with the girls when they were little, we had so much stuff.  Portable cribs, strollers, car seats, toys, favorite stuffies and blankets, diaper bags.  Every night, it all had to come out, every morning it all had to go back in.  Then there was a small period where I could pack all their stuff in with mine, one, maybe two suitcases.  Now, we are back to lots of stuff.  Everyone needs their own suitcase with lots of clothes, curling irons, makeup, special facial products, dog beds, dog bags, dog toys, not to mention a cello.  Every night we have to unload the entire car and bring it all in; every morning it all gets repacked into the car.  Some things change but they always stay the same!

Buckets of shells, scenes from Edisto State Beach

Packing up

It is a sad morning.  The sun is shining, it's going to be 80 degrees, and we have to pack up and leave.  When I look at the room, it doesn't look possible that we can possibly get out of here by checkout time.  There is stuff everywhere!

Yesterday was beautiful.  Warm and sunny.  We had lunch with our friend Broxanne, who lives on Folly Island, then drove to Edisto State Park, about an hour away.  The girls and I walked for miles on the beach, collecting shells in our Dollar Store buckets.  Flocks of pelicans were flying overhead.  Sophie got a cut on her foot from a shell, and declared she was walking back to meet Hugh, for a consult.  She left us with all the buckets of shells and two dogs.  By the time we got to the car, our arms were burning.  Who knew shells were made of cement.  Then, of course, there is always the perfect shell you see on the way back. 

On the drive back, we stopped along the road so Hugh could pull some spanish moss off the trees.  He filled up four bags.  He assures me there are no bugs in it.  Then we stopped at a local farm stand and picked up a fresh homemade keylime pie.  Before we went back to the hotel we took a detour to Folly Island for a little shopping.  Millie got a cute dress, and Sophi a shirt.  We were planning on looking for a place to eat dinner but someone's annoying dogs were barking incessantly.  Oh, guess what, they were our dogs!  We quickly got in the car and skedatled before people started throwing fish at our car.

 Today we drove all day.  Hugh decided to treat the girls to an audio story about the Mayflower.  They were really thrilled, and soon the ipods came out with a request for ear phones. We passed a terrible car/truck accident in North Carolina... my thoughts are with them still.

We had to deal with the rock slide detour through the mountains again.  By the time we came out, we were in Tennessee.  We saw an ad for a hotel and took a chance.  We followed all these winding, rolling roads for about 45 minutes before we finally found it.  Sophi was freaking out about the isolation and worried we were heading for another Bates Morel.  But, it was really beautiful scenery.  Lots of fields with horses, goats and cows.

Now we are waiting for our supper to be delivered from a biker bar across the street.  Sophi has all the doors locked and double locked.  Hugh just serenaded us with a pre-dinner cello concerto. The pups are relaxing on the beds, and Millie is scrolling through pictures of Adam Lambert.

That's today's scoop.   We'll see how far we get tomorrow.  Hopefully we will be home before Easter!

Sullivan's Island

Yesterday we spent the day at Sullivan's Island.  It was a beautiful sunny day in the 70's.  We're all excited about our sun burns!  The beach was pretty empty, I suspect because of all the "Deadly Current:  No Swimming, No Wading" signs.  We ran the dogs, climbed the rocks and explored the critters.  We picked up a conch shell, and inside was a huge hermit crab!  They were all over, crawling around, dragging their big shells.  Huge tankers were going into the harbor and sailboats were flying in the wind.
Today we are going to Edisto State Park.  That was the beach we loved last year.  Dogs are allowed, and that's where the best shelling is.  We went to the dollar store and got buckets, we're all set.  Hugh got to play his cello a couple of times yesterday, and we even stopped at a jaguar dealer for browsing.  It was a good day!

Day 3, Charleston, SC

Hi y'all.   Today we awoke in Charleston (well, at least I have).  On our way out of Ashville we wanted to see the Biltmore estate (George Vanderbilt's mansion).  We drove downtown and onto the grounds up to the ticket gate.  $55.00 per person to get in.  I asked,  "May we just drive up and look at it from the car?"  "No".  So, we did a u-turn, stopped at the gift shop and bought a postcard to view.  George outdid himself and all the other Vanderbilts.  It has something like 250 rooms, indoor pool, 65 fireplaces, 195 acres, etc.

We drove about six hours until we finally got to Charleston.  Hugh and Sophi were tired, so Millie and I drove off to Isle de Palms where we shopped and took in the beach.  Surf was up and the boys were in their wet suits!

Today I'm hoping to get everyone up and out and go to Edisto beach.  It's a beautiful state park with wide open beach and it welcomes dogs.

Day 2, Ashville, NC

Hi all.  We drove all day yesterday, mostly in the rain.  We had an unanticipated detour that took us through mountains and over an hour out of our way.  Apparently there was a huge rock slide on I-40 that has had the road blocked since October.  The drive was beautiful.  The mist was floating over the mountain tops giving glimpses of the gorges below.  Every so often we would see a small farm way down, all by itself,  sitting in a valley.  We finally made it to Ashville after 10 plus hours of driving.

Today is sunny and supposedly we are only four hours away from Charleston.  It's about 11 a.m. and we're still in our room.  Millie's in the shower, I finally pulled Sophi out of bed.  I've walked the dogs, had my coffee and oatmeal and I'm ready to go.....  The room is a mess, Hugh is up and dressed, but now his eyes are closed again.  Hmmm.

We stopped in Lexington, KY to see the horse farms again.  We took a different part of the loop this time and saw dozens of horses out grazing.  What I love about Kentuck is the elbow room, acres of space between farms, and everything so green and lush.  We haven't heard much of Lady Gaga, but we did listen to some of Stephen King's short stories on CD.  The girls agreed it was better than listening to "dad's NPR"!

Sophi spends most of the trip staring at her Ipod and Millie spends it staring out the window, looking for boys.  Every once in a while she will say, "Mom, follow that car, there are cute boys in it."   So, I do.

Well, that's the news of the morning.  Hopefully we will get checked out soon and be on our way.

On the road again... this time with a male....and of course 2 dogs!

Hi all.  Well, we're on the road again.  Another spring break, another year later.  Hard to believe that time can go by so fast.  This year when we talked about taking another road trip, Hugh said he'd come along!  Wow....silence followed by excitation!  He's never been on one of our road trips.  The girls and I started to wonder how he would fit in.  He's usually up at 4 am every morning and in bed by 7 pm.  How can this possibly work?  How will he fit in with Lady Gaga, and of course, what will he contribute to girl talk?  What else will be different?  Well, for one thing, we find ourselves traveling with a large cello in the trunk.  Yes, you read it right.  Everyone needs their creature comforts when leaving the nest, even Hugh.  But, as usual, this morning I am in the breakfast room by myself, and everyone else is still sleeping, including Hugh!  He might fit in after all...

Yesterday was my birthday.  I wasn't sure how I'd feel waking up in my 30's, but so far, it feels okay!!  Our friends, Sandy and Sophia; stopped by yesterday morning and dropped off delicious treats for our trip, including a blueberry coffee birthday cake.  It was really, really, good. 

So, anyway, this year we are heading South again.  Maybe to Charleston, we'll see.  Today we are in Louisville.  We check Craigslist through each state to see if there are any 1994 V12 Jaguar XJS' available.  Another kudo for Hugh!  Who knows where this could take us.

Stay tuned...

Pelican Bay

Last spring, there was a strange sighting on our bay. A pack of pelicans stayed overnight. If you look closely, you will see they are mingling with a few of the loons that were passing through. Pelicans, eagles, what's next?

Winter Wonderland

Today we woke up to find all of the trees outlined in a beautiful white fuzz. The cause? frozen fog.

An Eagle in our Tree

This eagle has been visiting us for the last two days. He most likely travels about 30-40 miles to get here. He sits in the tree across the street from our house and buzzes the people ice fishing. He is a bit lazy and picks up the dead fish they leave on the ice. But, none the less, we are awe struck by him and happy he has picked our tree to land in.