Getaway

The winter BLAHS got the best of me last week, so I decided to take a spur of the moment trip to meet a friend in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Sunshine, sand, sea, seafood, and '70's tunes.

Spectacular!

The weather was cool and breezy, but warm enough for jeans and flip flops. 

It seems that I never remember just how wonderful the sand feels under my feet

until I'm walking in it once again. 

Pity those times are so infrequent.

The sound of the ocean and the feel of the sand seem to sooth the soul. 

Well, mine anyway.

     There wasn't much competition from other

        shell-seekers,          

so I was able to bring home some beauties.

Shells and memories 

make the best souvenirs.

As with all good things, the weekend getaway ended much too quickly.
Or, perhaps, right on time...

  

Road Trip - Savannah

The last stop on the Griswold Family Vacation trip was Savannah, Georgia. What a beautiful city! We spent what little time we had there in a wine shop chatting with the owner admiring the charm and beauty around us.

From the waterfront...

To the City Market...

To downtown...

We enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere...

The exercise...

And the laughter...

We also enjoyed the Dominos pizza we had delivered the first night.

Yeah.

Just keeping it real!

Road Trip - New Orleans

WHO DAT? DAT's WHO!

N'awlins was the next stop on our little 3,400 mile road trip. There's magic in the air, I tell ya! Or, perhaps, it's voodoo?! Little shops and museums like this were tucked all over the French Quarter.

The trolley gave us a much needed break from two days of walking, and it was a lot of fun! AND it only cost a buck twenty five...BONUS!!

Hitching posts lined the sidewalks, but I never saw a horse tied to one. A couple of drunks, maybe, but never a horse!

Bourbon Street was fun. For about two hours. After that, I was more than ready to explore the less populated areas!




This terrace was too beautiful to leave unphotographed...

It looked as if these folks were expecting to see many, many breasts later that evening. I picked beads up off of the ground and didn't have to show a thing. I'm sure the revelers on the balcony were as pleased as I was about THAT!

We saw the Saints' number one fan!

And signs, signs, everywhere there were signs...

I cannot wait to return to this fabulous city! Their stories are sad, and many, but their hearts are open and their food is over the top!

Boudin, anyone?

Road Trip - Texas

Welcome to Texas!

Home of the elusive, yet ever-lovely, bucket-stealing Grandma J!

Where husbands wither in the ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEEN degree heat!

Where sad parents drop their daughter off to pursue her dreams.

Where blog friends meet for the very first time!!

Hi, Krissa!! SQUEEEEEEE!!!

Where couples enjoy ferry rides.

Only in the beautiful state of Texas;)

GO COWBOYS!

Road Trip - Pensacola Beach

It's been almost three weeks since I have posted, and WHAT a three weeks it's been! We had a little family beach vacation, dropped our daughter off at college, visited blog friends, and ate our way across the country and back trekked through nine states! WHEW! As much as I enjoyed that 3400 mile trip, it sure is nice to be home:)

Today's post is dedicated to our beach trip. Our family has enjoyed vacationing at the beach since SW was a baby. It seemed only fitting that we hit the beach one last time before she headed off to school!

The beach was WONDERFUL, but, judging by the pictures I took, the food must have been our main focus!!!

Anybody hungry??!!

The beautiful white sand beach was a real treat! My dad told me that it would look like sugar, and it certainly did!

A BP cleanup crew was working a ways down the beach. I'm not sure exactly what they were cleaning up, but goggles and handwipes were available at every boardwalk. The water was clear, dolphins were swimming AND schools of little fish were jumping all around the area where CB and SW were wading in the water.

The day got a bit stormy, but we were not deterred from enjoying our time outdoors!

This photo was taken our last evening before departing for Texas. I LOVE this pic of my two faves;)

Look for the Texas post coming later in the week. Missed you guys!

Packing

Well, we've hit mid-week, and packing is progressing slowly. We have, however, successfully purchased a laptop and a net book, and have crossed numerous other items off of our collective to-do lists. Now, if we could JUST find out about Snow White's room assignment! GAH!

SW has been extremely organized, and there are only a dozen items remaining on her "needs" list. One more trip to Target, and we should be done spending so much freakin' money shopping for school.

The family room is a disaster. I'm confident it will get worse before it gets better!!

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock...

One Week

This photo was taken at Bud's Beach back in April. Snow White was on Spring Break, and we had a wonderful day relaxing together!

One week from now my family will be on a sunny beach soaking up a few rays. The car will be in the parking lot, packed from top to bottom with all things college. I'm sure the conversation will also be about all things college. And childhood memories. There will be laughter, and perhaps a few tears. A brief time of familiarity before transitioning into the unknown.

Over the weekend, SW had about forty of her friends over for one last hoorah before they prepare to head off to college. And hoorah they did! Many were overcome with the reality that they weren't going to be seeing each other until Thanksgiving or Christmas...no more chatting in the halls, or at the Friday night football games. (I was overcome with the amount of filth that forty kids can generate in a relatively short period of time!) They said their tearful goodbyes and promised to keep in touch.

This week I am going to attempt to document the preparation that will go into our pending road trip. The good. The bad. The ugly. Stay tuned...