Summer Road Trip - Day 7

Tybee Island, GA




Within the first 10 minutes of hitting the beach on Tybee Island the kids were back to their old selves again. These Midwestern born, summers-at-Lake Michigan boys were a bit turned off by the salty water, so we spent a good part of the morning looking for shells.



Lily would barely put a toe in the water, but she entertained herself for hours picking up shells and studying them!

There are miles of public beach on Tybee. We spent the morning and most of the afternoon at North Beach and then checked out South Beach in the evening. There is an amazing sand bar at the south beach that just seems to go on forever. Of course, if you stay there long enough, the tide will come in and you'll be in trouble!

By the end of the day, the kids were used to the salty water and they started to enjoy the ocean...

Summer Road Trip - Day 6

En route to Tybee Island, Georgia

So we were having a great time on this little road trip of ours--visiting family, playing outdoors, seeing new things--and then it was

time

to

get

back

in

the

car.

The kids were great on the way to Winston Salem. In fact, one Lego sticker book for each boy kept them virtually fight free and happy for 11 hours in the car. But when it was time to get back in the car for 6 more hours of driving after saying goodbye to cousins we love and miss and only get to see once a year...the kids just couldn't hold on any longer.

There were tears--lots of tears. There was whining--lots of whining. There were squabbles--lots of squabbles. And yet, despite 5 days of super late bed-times and pretty normal wake times, there was NO SLEEP IN THE CAR.

But we made it. We arrived on beautiful Tybee Island early in the evening. The kids were hungry, which only added to the "magic" of the evening!



First, we checked out our lovely little cottage just blocks away from the ocean. It was adorable!

It was our 13th wedding anniversary, so we thought we'd go to a seafood restaurant on the island that I had read about ahead of time. This was our final mistake of the evening. What do you get when you put a plate full of fresh crustaceans in front of 3 tired little kids who are sad to leave their cousins behind? Tears. Lots of tears. Tears from the 10 year old, tears from the 6 year old, tears from the 3 year old and finally, tears from the mommy who wishes we had stayed at the cute cottage and ordered a pizza.



I thought the live gators in the pen outside the restaurant would lighten things up a bit.

'Gators don't really lighten up any city dweller's mood, I think.

Summer Road Trip - Day 5

Winston Salem, NC

On our last full day in Winston Salem we pretty much just hung out with the cousins. Jake and Nick had a ball game, which they won. I believe it was the city (maybe regional?) championship. In any case, they won and they get a flag for their home ball field!



Sometimes, ball games can get a little boring for the younger ones (especially if you're not playing), so the kids entertained themselves by playing red light/green light...



trading silly bandz...



eating ice cream...



and hiding from the camera.



Tomorrow, it's off to Tybee Island Georgia!

Summer Road Trip - Day 4

Hanging Rock State Park
Stokes County, NC

After a lazy morning hanging out on Grandpa's deck...





...we headed out with the cousins to Hanging Rock State Park. We hiked to Window Falls and Hidden Falls--two little waterfalls not far from the Visitor's Center.



I don't have many pictures, because frankly, I was a bit nervous watching my children scale wet, slippery rocks that hovered over more wet, slippery rocks. At one point, I was quite sure I would watch Joey tumble 30 or 40 feet to the rocks below. Thank goodness his extremely agile cousin Bret was there to help him get out of a jam! Taking pictures was the last thing on my mind! But I did get a few at the "safer" waterfall.





By the way, North Carolina is incredibly beautiful even in the heat of August. We have always visited in the spring when the azaleas and rhododendrons are in full and amazing bloom. The crepe myrtles were in full bloom everywhere this time --making it look like spring all over again!

Summer Road Trip - Day 3

Sanders Ridge Vineyard and Winery
Boonville, NC



We went to Sanders Ridge Vineyard to "wine, dine and ride the line." We had a fabulous, locally grown meal, tasted wine made from locally harvested grapes and then the kids zip-lined through locally grown trees! We all had so much fun. Depsite the opressive heat, it was a fabulous outing!



Sam started out riding tandem with one of the guides, but later in the tour, he was zipping by himself.



Joey was a bit nervous at first, but he quickly loosened up (although that doesn't show in this photo!).





Even Rob got in on the action...



Good food, good wine and ziping with the cousins? Couldn't ask for a better day!

Summer Road Trip--Day 1

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Beautiful, bouncing baby boy beams with big brothers by his side.



Meeting cousin Patrick Thomas, 11 months, for the first time!