Monday, December 30th

Today Sue took us to the alligator place.  They were in the wild and it was awesome!  They were all over the place.  Mostly laying around the edge of the water sunning themselves.  We hardly saw any of them move at all.  They looked fake!!!   Later that night we had a great bonfire with hotdog roast and s'mores. Sue's two sisters, husbands and daughters all came too. It was a fun night.  

Sunday, December 29th

We finally made it to FLORIDA!!!  We are all excited but especially Garrett!  He's been talking about Florida for weeks and weeks!  We are at Sue Gorham's house who used to live in Kremmling.  She lives in northern Florida, so we're here for a few nights.  We are having fun catching up with old times!  We went and picked oranges as soon as we got here.  YUMMMMMMMMY!  We're going to see alligators tomorrow-----in the wild!!  Not caged up!!  Yikes!!!!!!                **Sara

Saturday, December 28th

Today we went to Savannah, Georgia.  It is an old little town.  We mostly walked around and had lunch.  We love the old cobble stone streets-really hard to walk on though!!  There are 24 "squares" in this town.  Named after someone famous.  Most of them have a statue.  It takes up the whole square block.  They were pretty with all the green and even flowers!!  We walked through the one where they filmed Forrest Gump.  I told Garrett we could watch the movie sometime. It's been a long time since I've watched it!!  Pretty mellow day.  On to FLORIDA tomorrow!  

           **Sara

Thursday, December 26th

We woke up and took a walk on the beach to look for shells. We wanted to stay another night but we had to switch spots and it would be a pain so we left. On are way through we stopped at a Nature Center and they had a snake, fish, and turtle. Then we went to Hardeeville, South Carolina.
Audree <>

Friday, December 27th

We didn't do anything real exciting today. Dad helped a friend move into his house. We did school. Not much. Florida soon. THE END
                                                                       -Garrett%

Merry Christmas 2013

     Well the past two days have been nothing like a normal Christmas!  One of us is always saying, "I can't believe it's Christmas!"  We are still at Hunting Island State Park in SC.  Here are some pictures of what we've been doing.  Riding our bikes, walking the ocean, riding our bikes on the beach, looking for shells, making 'sand' trees, having campfires, eating s'mores, chasing the raccoon away and out of the camper and cooler. Yes out of the camper --- he got into one of the outside compartments because it wasn't locked (just closed) and ate a pizza crust and some trail mix.  So he was back for more last night!  Anyway, a picture below that is missing is Jeff and the kids fishing in the ocean off the huge pier.  No, they didn't catch anything.  

      Today we made a more typical Christmas dinner rather than having hotdogs in the fire.  That just wouldn't cut it for Chirstmas dinner!  

     We would like to say Merry Christmas to all our friends and family that are out there.  Thank you for taking the time to read our blog and for your comments; we love reading them!  We know you are all busy!  We're even busier on this trip than we want to be!  So until the next post............

     **Sara               ^ Jeff                -Garrett%               Audree <>

          

Monday, December 23rd

Christmas Eve Eve! It does not feel like it will be Christmas in two days. Today was pretty nice until 2 o'clock. We rode up the beach on our bikes until the sand was too soft. We threw the bikes into the truck and went to a trailhead to ride on. One trail went along a lagoon. Before we went back to the camper we went to a lighthouse. It was built in 1873. Fourteen years later they had to move it because the island was and is slowly washing away. Ten to fifteen feet every year. We all went up it, even Dad!  Audree and I went up a second time. When we got to the camper we went back to the beach. I built a big sand castle. We were on the beach until it started to rain. Audree and Mom made Butter Cookies tonight. They are the best cookies in the world. They are in the oven now.

                                                         -Garrett%

Sunday December 22

We drove to Hunting Island State Park, near Beaufort, South Carolina.  They have a really nice beach and I found some really cool shells.  We had a campfire and some of our neighbors came over to sit with us and they were really nice.  For Christmas I found a pinecone and decorated it and that is our tree.     Audree<>

Saturday, December 21st

First day of winter!  Doesn't feel like it here!  75 today--finally out of our winter coats for the rest of our trip I hope!   Kind of a slow day.  We finally headed to the beach in the afternoon.  And that's about it!  Audree has gotten us in the Christmas spirit around here.  She decorated a pine cone with paper towel pieces she colored and glued them on.  It's the PERFECT size tree for a camper!  The kids and I have gone Christmas shopping two different times.  We had fun trying to avoid each other in the same store the whole time.    **Sara

Friday, December 20th

Today took us to Charleston, SC.  Pronounced, "CHalston" with a large emphasis on CH and no R!  So after crossing yet again another awesome bridge, we missed our exit.  Somebody tells us one thing and the signs say something else!  So turned around and there wasn't the same exit coming the other way, so back across the bridge we went.  Luckily the 2nd time worked.  Then parking.....well not always the easiest with the long bed truck.  Finally after driving around decided on a meter on the street.  Guess what - no quarters.  Really, do you haul $5 of quarters in your purse!  So I set off on foot for change.  First place, sorry!  2nd and 3rd places very helpful in giving me $5 each.  Ok, so now we're finally set.  We start out and a few blocks down, I ask if anyone locked my door.  You see it has to be done manually and since I wasn't sitting in the truck, only leaning over the seat figuring out the quarters/meter and such, I didn't do the normal: get out, lock door, and close!  So after Jeff so happily went back to lock the truck, it was at least noon!  Has anyone else had days like this in your travels!?!?

Our first real stop was The Old Slave Mart Museum.  Wow, what a horrible thing!  This museum was in the same exact building where they used to buy and sell human beings in the mid-1800s.  They didn't care about tearing families apart, it was all about the dollar figure and how much that slave could earn for them.  We learned that not every single black person was a slave; some of them escaped of course, but some were able to buy their freedom if they were lucky enough to have an owner with a little bit of a conscience.  

Next was a ferry ride to Fort Sumter that is located on an island.  Fort Sumter is where the Civil War began.  Another big history day:  153 years ago TODAY, December 20th, South Carolina was the first state to secede from the United States.  Fort Sumter was held by the Union.  When they refused to give up the fort to the Confederates, the first shot of the Civil War began on April 12, 1861.  34 hours later, the Union surrendered.  

Enough history for today?  Tomorrow we're going back for a carriage ride and a nice lunch.  (Oh, and we'll probably have some more history too!)  We're told 'CHalston' has 37 out of the top 100 restaurants in the country.  Guess we need to try one out!                 **Sara

Thursday, December 19th

Today we did school and then headed to the beach again this afternoon.  Jeff and the kids found a jellyfish. Yikes!  Tonight we went to a former rice plantation turned tourist trap.  It's a garden, art sculptures, zoo, and more all in one.  They have nights called Nights of a Thousand Candles.  Over 4000 candles lit every night they do this!  Also thousands of lights!  There was Christmas entertainment going on different locations.  It was pretty and got us more in the Christmas spirit.  It's a little unusual this year without winter coats, boots and snow!!  Not complaining though!  **Sara

Wednesday, December 18th

Today was another great day in Georgetown.  We went to the Hopsewee Plantation for a tour.  The house was built in 1740.  The original owner was Thomas Lynch Sr.  He and his son, Thomas Lynch Jr.  were both members of congress and the son was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. (Oh and did you know, that they signed it in order geographically from North to South.) The house over looked the North Santee River with the former rice fields across the river. The old house had hand carved molding all over.  Quite the structure!  The weird part is that it is lived in, so there were just a few rooms roped off we couldn't go in, but otherwise, we saw the entire house from attic to cellar.  There was a servant door (very short too!) in the cellar.  The servants would bring the cooked food from the kitchen which was usually a separate building in those days, through that door and all the way there, they had to whistle.  One, to announce themselves and two, to make sure they weren't eating the food!!  :)  There was a joggling board in front of the house.  It was used for sore joints as well as for fun.  In front of the house is a block made of brick.  It's called a Carriage Block.  It was for the ladies to get out of the carriages without falling in their big huge dresses and without showing their ankles!!  We have Audree demonstrating her step!!  We also saw inside slave cabins.   Two families per cabin with a fire place separating them.  Very small!  

After the tour, we had lunch in their tea room.  We tried 4 different entrées just for a variety and 2 different teas with the little tea pots and cups.  Audree was in heaven!  It was a lot of fun.  We had the same lady as a tour guide and waitress!  She was great!  Very fun day there.

Before heading back to the campground, we took a little drive out to the river.  Here in a picture, you can see Jeff looking over some boats, missing Wolford terribly!!  lol   Found some HUGE OLD  trees.  One was over 1000 years old!  Also found some with vines the kids could swing on.  Just like Tarzan!   **Sara

Tuesday, December 17th

Hello from Georgetown, South Carolina. Decided to see what a small coastal town had to offer. We had a pleasant surprise. A lot of history, more learning for the kids I tend to say.  Found out Georgetown is the third oldest city in South Carolina. Toured a rice museum. What? Yes rice. Back in the 1800's this little town exported more rice than any place in the world. Thanks to the slaves from Africa. They turned this swamp land into valuable rice paddys using the 5 fresh water rivers for irrigation. They had quite the operation, during the Civil War, South Carolina was the richest state next to Massachusetts because of the rice.  The rice was called "Carolina Gold" since it was so profitable. That's why this state was an important player in the war. Around 1911, the rice production ceased. Other states began producing rice using machinery. The soils were too soft to support equipment to farm. A couple other things we learned today about this little town is that the first African American was elected to Congress in 1869. His name was Joseph Rainey and he served for 9 years. He was even a Republican. Another significant person was Tom Lynch Jr.  He was the son of the Hopsewee Plantation owner that signed the Declaration of Independence instead of his father, because he had become critically ill. Man that's enough school for one day, I'm worn out from using this old brain. What am I doing learning the stuff, let's go to the beach. So off we went to Huntington beach on Pawsleys Island. Nicest beach so far. Water still isn't warm enough, but starting to get close. Guess we need to keep going south.    ^ Jeff