Vacation Recap

FRIDAY JULY 15: Chinese buffet lunch with Ogre and his boss. Left Norcross at 4:30 and missed most of the afternoon traffic. Chickfila in Anderson SC (I ate my leftover burger). The kids watched the Disney movie “Tangled” on the way. Made it to Jefferson around 9:30 pm.

SATURDAY JULY 16: Drove to Pageland to have van checked out (it needs new spark plugs). Lunch at Wendys in Hartsville SC (chicken sandwich). Unpacked. The waves were biggest Saturday afternoon…red flags on the lifeguard towers. Lost my cap in the ocean, but I’d brought plenty of backups. Picked up PaPa Johns pizza for supper. Anna and the girls had ice cream at the Sugar Shack. Ceil and I watched “The Source Code” movie.

Each night I took Matthew and Josiah down to the hot tub and lazy river, where they enjoyed hanging out. I relaxed in a lounge chair and read my book.

SUNDAY JULY 17: Every morning Ceil’s dad cooked eggs, grits, bacon, and toast for breakfast. Sandwiches for lunch: cold-cuts, homemade chicken salad, homemade pimento cheese, fresh cut tomatoes. Every day I rode the waves for at least an hour with Matthew and Josiah, most days both before and after lunch. I’d hang out at the beach with the Miller crowd (At least sixty relatives, friends, and neighbors came and went throughout the week).

Monday night we had KFC for dinner, then we walked a block to “downtown” North Myrtle Beach for ice cream at the Sugar Shack.

MONDAY JULY 18: Hardly any waves. For supper I took Matthew and Josiah to Zaxbys (fried chicken salad), after we drove downtown and past the Pelicans game. The rest of the crowd drove an hour north to eat Shrimp Burgers in Holden Beach NC.

TUESDAY JULY 19: Ceil took Matthew and Josiah to the noon showing of the latest Harry Potter movie, then lunch at Chickfila. For dinner we had pork tenderloin in the room with the Millers, along with Lennie and Corrine. Also salad, and vegetables baked in olive oil, and homemade peach ice cream for dessert.

WEDNESDAY JULY 20: Dinner at Stephens Seafood Restaurant (burger, baked potato, and slaw). Then we drove down Highway 17 to the new MB Boardwalk, then cruised back north on Ocean Blvd as Ceil’s parents remembered all the old places they stayed and ate. Anna went with the girls to see Harry Potter, and Chickfila.

THURSDAY JULY 21: Around 6 pm I took Matthew and Josiah to play putt putt, then to Zaxbys. I just had a soft drink. Then 19 grownups ate at Bonefish: me, Ceil, the Millers, Rusty, Kelly, Dic, Deb, Chase, Kylie, Phil, Teresa, Teresa’s parents, Chuck, Jackie, Whitney, Thomas, Darlene. Service bad (due to 8:30 reservation) but food good (grilled chicken salad).

FRIDAY JULY 22: After taking Josiah and Matthew for one last long swim in the ocean, we packed up and pulled out of the condo at 3 pm. Ten minutes later it started raining. Dinner at Chickfila in Augusta (chicken salad sandwich). The kids watched “The Dark Knight” on the way home. Traffic jams in Columbia SC and the 285/PIB interchange. Arrived back at work to pick up my car at 9:30, and had Josiah home by 10 pm.

SATURDAY JULY 23: Took old dishwasher that had been sitting in the garage to Cobb County’s appliance recycling day. Stopped by the library in downtown Marietta, and found some books Anna wanted. Napped and watched the Braves and the movie “The Adjustment Bureau.” Ceil, Anna, and Matthew drove to Carterville to see Thomas Gilbert’s play.

SUNDAY JULY 24: After the NP 9 am service we lunched at the Ellijay Zaxby’s with Will, Joel, and Kara (another fried chicken salad). After rock-climbing, riding zip lines, and traversing the high ropes course all afternoon at Camp Highland Family Day, we ate sandwiches with the summer staff. Hung out at the Normans for a while with Becky (and DJ & Ben Hoffer), then finally got home at 10 pm.