Ten Days in July

This year I had so much planned for my vacation that I wasn’t able to do everything. Number one was hang out on the beach as much as possible, and reading Grisham paperbacks as much as possible. Did OK on that. Could’ve entered more Coke Rewards points. Spent a decent amount of time on my laptop, but didn’t write much. Posted to the blog most every day. Not enough in room time to read or work on EBay, but you can’t do everything. Ate much more than I needed, as usual.

FRI Aug 11: C & A picked me up at work shortly after five. Stopped at Chickfila and we received two free items for Cow Appreciation Day. Later we stopped at Starbucks for Ceil. Made it to SC in good time.

SAT Aug 12: Drove the Civic and CRV to Pageland for gas. Wearing my new orange Nikes, I packed three cars for the beach. Made our usual lunch stop at Wendys. Anna rode with cousins and Ceil drove her parents, so I rode alone. Got to listen to my book on CD. After unloading at the condo I drove down to the MB Pelicans game. Got there early, so I ate me some Burger King. My crowd ate Dominos Pizza.

SUN Aug 13: All day at the beach. Over the course of the week I counted 45 people. Many came and went. Some stayed the whole week. Breakfast every day was the usual bacon egg & cheese sandwich. Lunch every day was chicken salad sandwiches. Sunday supper was pasta with chicken or shrimp. After eating I read some of my Zimmer book.

MON Aug 14: After breakfast I drove Ceil to WalMart and Bi-Lo. More beach. Larry and Susan had to head back to Jefferson. Dinner at Stevens Restaurant across the intracoastal waterway in Little River. Got back in time for the final episode of 24, and a little of the Home Run Derby.

TUE Aug 15: Went for an AM walk on the beach with Ceil. Walked for over an hour. Didn’t find many shells. After breakfast I drove down to the baseball stadium to pick up my prize winnings. Around noon we saw Will & MC off. Beach. Supper was a low country boil. Passed on the shrimp and potatoes and ate sausage and corn on the cob. Watched the All-Star Game and played on the new Samsung Galaxy Tablet.

WED Aug 16: After breakfast I mailed an EBay package at the Post Office. Beach, then a late supper at Bonefish. Nephew Zane volunteered to ask the blessing. Ate my usual angus burger, which came with a huge onion slice. I like a little onion, but this was huge. Didn’t realize there was a tomato slice underneath. There were sixteen in our party.

THU Aug 17: Breakfast watching the British Open, then a full day at the beach. Managed to finish only 350 pages of John Grisham’s 500 page “A Time to Kill.” Will finish it at home after finishing the Zimmer library book. At seven we left for the hour’s drive to Holden NC, where Rusty’s sister in law runs the Provision Company seafood restaurant. Had 18 in our party, including newcomers Billy Hogge and Jack Heda. The burger was better this year, but the bun and onion rings were nothing to write about.

FRI Aug 18: Breakfast, then I gassed up the CRV. Packed. Rusty headed out with his parents at noon, followed by Catherine and Jordan. Took us an hour to finish packing and hit the road. Packed myself sandwiches for lunch. Stopped in Florence for Chickfila for C and Anna. A little ten year old boy got all excited when he saw my shoes. Made good time, except for gridlock on I-20 in Lithonia. Arrived home at 7:45 and unpacked. Ceil went to the grocery store. Will had set up the new 40” TV, so I watched the Braves and went to bed.

SAT Aug 19: Spent the morning unpacking and cleaning upstairs. Got the oil changed in Anna’s Jeep, then quickly waxed it. The roof needs work. Drove Will and MC to get his Jeep, then went to the Gwinnett Braves game. Got a few more comments on my new Nikes. Befriended a couple of bobblehead freaks.

SUN Aug 20: Worked on the computer. Washed and folded all the laundry while watching the Braves. Unpacked all the extra bags from the beach and Matthew’s trip. Cleaned out Will’s Jeep. Took Anna to Roswell to meet her ride to her week-long mission trip. Finished folding clothes while watching The Blind Side. C, M, and W ate with the families of Matthew’s friends at Cheeseburger Bobbys.