Road Trip

What is a family vacation without a road trip to your destination?

We set off for the beach with a little trepidation since Sarah does not generally enjoy car rides over 7 minutes. She has improved considerably with age and we waited all summer to test her stamina. All summer, while every man, woman and child we knew headed to the beach. All summer, while we viewed everyone's sand castle pictures with jealousy. All summer, while we roasted in Greenville and had to stay inside to feel the cool breeze of air conditioning. Finally, it was our time, and we were off to the ocean with Mimi, Babba, and Aunt Stephanie!

And look who was ready to drive!

Max was anxiously awaiting the trip not only because he wanted to see the ocean and play on the beach, but also because it was his first opportunity to use the DVD player in our new car. We told him from the beginning that it was only for long car trips, such as going to Louisville or the beach. Honestly he quickly lost interest in the movie and was happy to read and play games like he has always done in the car before.

Although it is difficult to see, this is a picture of the giant half of a tree that fell in front of our car approximately 1 second before we reached that spot in the road. I think the limbs brushed the bumper of the car in front of us. We are so, so fortunate that it did not land on us. However, a falling tree almost smashing your car is not the best incident for a 3 year old to witness, especially one who has been traumatized by storms, falling trees, and fires over the summer. We held our breath to see how Max would respond since he has been waking up fearful of storms. Surprisingly, he took it in stride and was more interested in the efforts to get past it.

Unfortunately, the tree blocked the road onto Kiawah Island, which according to the car behind us, was the only route to the island. Traffic immediately began to back up and Jason and some other stranded motorists attempted to push the tree out of the way. No luck. Finally, everyone began to detour around it through some poor guy's front yard. And the trip continued...

Loving on animal blankets must be a family trait.

Hah! Fooled you.

The Max is definitely not sleeping.

We began to smell the marsh and the ocean, and we knew we had arrived!