Day 20 – Home!

All has gone extremely well today.  We got through all checkpoints and to our gate C1 with 30 minutes to spare and boarded in the A-group.  All of us slept at different times and the flight is one-third full!  The stewardess is the most accommodating we have ever seen and Sariah didn’t complain or even get up to go to the bathroom once in 4 hours! 

We got off the plane at 7:30 in Las Vegas and then made our way to baggage claim.  Amazingly, the first 6 pieces of luggage off the plane were ours and we went out to wait for the shuttle for 15 minutes.  Easy trip back to the La Quinta Inn Airport South and our van fired up right on cue.  We got some water and other snacks for the trip home, gassed up and then hit quick breakfast at Burger King (cash) and McDonald's (credit) all on our way down Eastern Avenue on our way to the 215.

Our trip home went smoothly and we arrived at our house at 10 after noon and so glad to be home.  Our new bathrooms, laundry room, hall ceilings and lights greeted us warmly and so did our mailman Casey who told us the smoke rolled into 29 Palms yesterday (just in time for us!)

We are so grateful for the safety, memories with each other and friends and family, and all of the fun times together!  We are now ready to tackle another school year!

Day 19 – Hiddenite back down to Atlanta.

We made sure to get everyone to bed by 9:30 the night before and got up at 6.  We loaded and some had a bowl of cereal for breakfast (Tim did not because he was playing video games).  We were planning to leave by 7:00, but Sariah had a fight with Tim about seating and she was so emotional that she had a meltdown.  This delay cost us around 20 minutes and Amber, Weston and Kelly were there for every minute of the ordeal.  This information is being added to keep the day real…she was able to finally get in her seat and buckled after Dad put his foot down.

The entire western portion of North Carolina was rainy and in the low 70s, which made everything more picturesque.  We made our way on country roads for 30 minutes and then got Interstate-40 for less than 10 miles before heading south again on a state highway to reach I-85.  We were on this only a few miles in North Carolina before reaching South Carolina.  Rolling hills and lighter traffic made all of western Carolinas our favorite part of the driving trip.

We made a nice 15-minute stop at Abbott’s Farm Outlet Peaches for Solinda.  She absolutely loved their peach cider and we purchased some.  She also purchased a jar of peach jelly for her father, Gary, and some strawberry licorice.  Back in the Dodge Caravan and onto a 3-hour stop some outlet stores in Georgia.

We got lots of good deals on backpacks, clothing, shoes and socks and then headed over to the Country Pride restaurant for breakfast during lunch – of course it had some southern style to it.  The waitress was a wonderful southern grandma and really doted on us as it wasn’t very busy and she like our family.  We ended with a stop at Wal-Mart for fruits and breakfast foods for the evening and early morning without a car.

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Atlanta traffic was very heavy going into the city and our toll pass covered us and saved at least 45 minutes!  We got into downtown and we were so happy to pick up Sariah and Solinda’s dresses at the downtown Quality Inn from a full two weeks earlier (Solinda had called ahead several days earlier to verify and they had located them still in that room).  We checked into a much nicer Quality Inn at the convention center and got a room on the sixth floor overlooking the airport and runways.  Sariah really loved the view.  We drove around the airport for not even five minutes to turn the van in, and then caught our shuttle back to the hotel.  Laundry, organizing luggage and dinner rounded out the evening with lights out around 7:45 for an early morning.  A big thunderstorm rolled across all of Atlanta and the airport and we had a romantic, relaxing view of it all with our kids in the background.

Day 18 - Hiddenite Sites and fun with the Pratt family

Everyone got to sleep in until 8 am and then got up for breakfast and everyone headed over to Rocky Face for a fun hike together.  We hiked about 3 miles on the blue, then red, then green trails.  Rocky Face is the furthest east Appalachian - as we learned.  The view was incredible and we got lots of talk time and sweating in.  Sariah whined for about half of it and Tim ran off ahead and scared his mom, but we still had a great time.  We hiked a little over two hours and had a great time looking at all the homes and farmland to, from and during the hike.

Amber fixed deer meat tacos and we all (including Sariah) devoured them.  Most of the party cleaned up as well.  Eric went to work and we went to the Hiddenite Mansion House and Museum, built around 1900.  Impressively, the home has had visitors from all 50 states and 30 foreign countries!

Weston and Kelly really wanted to take our kids mining, so we drove north and east to a precious gems mine where all 5 enjoyed sluicing for many different minerals.  Highlights were emeralds and amethyst.  Lots of fun for all - it rained on us as we were leaving.  The rain continued off and on throughout the evening.

By the time we got back, Eric was done with work for the day and we all piled in both cars at different times to go down to Weston's football practice.  Nathan, Tim and Sam played soccer for about 30 minutes, Solinda and Amber talked and Sariah played with Kelly.  We all snacked and Nathan went over to the practice and watched and talked sports with Eric. Weston really likes football and is the center as he was 2 years ago for the Packers in 29 Palms.

We all drove about 10 miles over to Scott's Restaurant in Taylorsville for some great cooking and a wonderful local feel.  A great and memorable meal together.  The kids sat in a corner booth and the adults got some great talk time.  We then went over to Alexander High School and got to see Eric's worksite and the stadium and other facilities.  He is very happy and loves his job.  We are happy for that.

We loved the rain as we drove back through the rain on windy back roads and followed closely behind them until we reached their home on Goble Road.  What a wonderful day.  We really got to learn lots about their family with all of the quality time in a short day and a half!  Our friendship was strengthened and all of us loved this last stop so much!  We are planning on continuing our friendship in the future!

Day 17 - West Columbia Ward to the Pratts in Hiddenite, North Carolina

We had a nice hot breakfast and then drove about 7 minutes (according to the navigator) to the West Columbia ward house for 9 am sacrament service.  We had a nice time and then headed back to the Sleep Inn to change and check out by 11, which was a nice change from the previous 2 Sundays.

We visited the South Carolina State House and then walked around it as a family and took different pictures on all 4 sides.  After that, we drove almost 30 minutes to the Columbia South Carolina Temple, located in the southeastern Columbia suburb of Hopkins.

Our drive north on the Interstate 77 was nice and short with nice views of a major North Carolina lake and Charlotte.  We ate and gassed up in South Carolina at Bojangles for some unique southern fast food.  Our drive was relaxing and uneventful.  We arrived at the Pratts at 3:00.  Weston was standing outside waiting and smiling for us, which Sam immensely enjoyed seeing.  We ate a wonderful meal and talked outside on the porch while the kids played until 11:00, which came up extremely quickly.

We are grateful for the Pratts' friendship and are so happy to be here. They are so very happy with their new community and life and we are enjoying seeing their new life. This is a wonderful area and one of our favorite stops of the trip.

Day16 - Parris Island, Beaufort and on to Columbia, South Carolina

After a big breakfast with the Clemente family and then cleanup, we split cars and Solinda and Sariah went with Maria in her car while Maelo came with the boys and Nathan in the trailing car.  We went up through the meandering roads and across the Royal Sound to Parris Island.

At the Parris Island Museum, we waited about 5 minutes for one of the training platoons to enter ahead of us.  Our boys learned a lot from watching the interactions between commanding officers and the soldiers.  We headed in and spent almost 2 hours learning about early Civil War battles, Native Americans in the area, the World Wars, Vietnam and Iraq.  Solinda mailed off 5 postcards at the post office, and we then headed outside the base and off the island to the town of Beaufort.

Maria took us on a driving tour of the old homes before we arrived at an authentic Thai restaurant.  We arrived at 2:51 and they let us eat even though they closed at 3 until 4:30.  Highlights of the meal were pad thai, flounder, chicken sautee, beef and fried rice, and more.

Ice cream at Brewsters was delicious and we then made a quick Walmart stop for souvenirs and the bathrooms were last.  We said difficult goodbyes and hugs in the parking lot before heading partway up toward North Carolina.  We tried stopping in Orangeburg, but the acccomodations were either too small, too pricy or too smoky.  After 45 minutes of trying, we headed north to Columbia, the capital city of South Carolina.

We found a nice room in the Sleep Inn there and got pizza and fruit nearby while the kids relaxed in the room.  We all enjoyed the movies Up and Brave together before an average bedtime.

Day 15 - Airport run and then north to South Carolina...

Well, an early morning start as Nathan got up with Brad and Jennifer at 5:00 so they could get to Orlando's southern airport at 6:00 for their flight to Salt Lake City and then Boise.  Everything went well for them as we heard from them at various points along the way.  They did, however, arrive home to smoke-filled skies from a wildfire burning nearby.  We were so glad to have them with us for 12 days and it feels so different not having them with us now.

Nathan went back to bed at 6:45 and all then slept until after 8:00.  We ended up leaving the resort a little after 10 and then had to fight through lights and then heavy traffic for over one hour before leaving the Orlando metropolitan area.  We realized at about Daytona Beach that we forgot to visit the Orlando Temple :(

Lunch was in Palm Coast and back on the I-95.  Traffic moved very quickly and we got into Savannah about 3:45.  On the way, the number of full rivers and estuaries we crossed over along the Georgia coast were a great testament to the amount of rainfall still being received in the region - even in August!  We took a walking tour with the kids along Bull Street and enjoyed the 200-year old architecture and history lessons.  The home which General Sherman used for almost a 2-month period as his base of operations after his famous march to the sea had already been used by General Lee for the Confederacy earlier in the Civil War.

We then made our way down to the southern edge of the Savannah River along River Street, which we looked at for about 30 minutes.  Sam and Sariah wanted to get to the Clementes so much that we headed north to be with them even though we could easily have spent several hours there.  There was a nice park, a free ferry ride, a five-and-dime store, candy and historical things to look at - along with free parking after 5, which we managed to get one free spot.  It is definitely a city we want to visit again!

The bridge over the Savannah River is very similar to the Tampa Bay bridge and the kids were awake to see it this time.  Only a 20-minute drive was needed to get over the river, into South Carolina and into the community of Pritchardville in the city limits of Bluffton to the home of Abi, Maria, Maelo, and Zuly Clemente.  We love thier home and got to tour it with them.  Unfortunately, Abi is gone for 3 weeks for training and will not be back until Saturday.  We ate Puerto Rican rice, chicken and salad with them and had lots of fun looking at destinations for sightseeing, church and accomodations for points north of us in South Carolina.  The kids played together for about 4 hours, too, and loved it!  Bed was about 10:30 for all.

Day 14 - Day #4 at Universal Orlando Resort

After sleeping in and getting free breakfast, we did 2 loads of laundry, ate a lunch of leftovers and then napped before departing for the theme park yet again.  We got in during the 3 o'clock hour and headed straight for the Mummy Returns.  The crowds were low and the rain kept the temperatures cool (80 degrees).  Sariah didn't want to go, so the boys went twice due to a child swap.

Twister was next.  It was educational but the ride was quite old.  Men in Black was next and Tim and Sam enjoyed getting a higher score than their first time.  We then went on Escape from Gringotts and all enjoyed it yet again.  The wait was only 45 minutes, too.  Jennifer had informed us the day before that Diagon Alley (the part of the park where Harry Potter world is) is less than a year old, so that was a nice short wait.

We ate a nice and relaxing dinner at Dino Digs with no crowds and a nice view of the Harbor and plants in Jurassic World.  Jurassic Park River Adventure was next for everyone but Nathan, Sam and Sariah.   All 7 of us went in Jurassic Playland and had a blast.  Lots of climbing and nets, water fights and caves.  Darkness set in and we were done for our very last time.  The last day was the best due to the small crowds and great weather.  Glad we split it into 4 days, but definitely ready to move forward on the next leg of the vacation...