You Drove HOW Many Miles?!

Destination: Maryland
Total Miles: >2,000
Total Cost: maybe $150?



So...this trip occurred almost a month ago, and I apologize for the delay in posting. Life post-graduation has yet to slow down. But with two more trips around the bend, I figure it's time to update you on this trip.

And besides that, it was a fun trip!

So...how did I spend so little going to Maryland and Washington D.C.?

Hitchhiking.

Just kidding. Well...sort of.

Having quit my job (and loving unemployment more than is probably normal), I have a little more time on my hands to help out with the LPs. And when Mom mentioned going to a homeschool convention (Teach Them Diligently), I volunteered to go along to "help with the driving."

We had a blast! We took Chenie and Charles (which always makes everything more interesting) and we brought along some Frozen music for them to sing-along with...and like the majority of people who have to listen to that soundtrack on endless repeat, I now have the words memorized and could probably do a music video.

Our first stop was in Virginia with my friends, Laurie and Matt. I've mentioned them before on my trips and love visiting with them! We had a great time catching up, and I loved meeting the newest addition to their family! Nate is as adorable as ever, and I couldn't be prouder of him.

That night, we stayed near Jamestown, and the next morning, we spent the first half of the day exploring Jamestown. The kids were enthralled with the Indian village, colonial settlement, and ships. And I was happy that everything was just as I remembered it from 16 years ago (6th grade class trip).

The history is amazing and well-preserved, and I highly recommend the tours to anyone who loves history.


After grabbing a bite to eat, we headed north to stay at my aunt and uncle's. I enjoyed visiting with them and their church people!

Thursday, we toured a couple monuments in DC and spent some time at exhibits in the Air and Space Smithsonian. I may or may not have mentioned it before, but my childhood dream was to become an astronaut...and I love any chance I get to see various aspects of space.

That evening, we headed to the conference at the National Harbor (which was a beautiful setting). I enjoyed hearing Ken Ham from Answers in Genesis speak about the importance of teaching that the Bible is not 'stories' but literal, factual history. If you did not get the chance to watch his debate with Bill Nye (the Science Guy), please take some time to watch it here. Having formally debated in my teens, I appreciated the various aspects of the debate. Even if you are not inclined to disagree with evolution, I encourage you to watch the debate as I did, with an open mind and taking notes (literally).

I was also able to hear Mark Hamby from Lamplighter's Books speak on the importance of well-rounded education. He referenced the Renaissance period and was overall very fascinating.

The next day, I dropped Mom and the kids off at my cousin's (she was going to the convention)...and I went off in search of some early morning Starbucks. Which meant going to Delaware. Which was fun and relaxing. After spending the morning writing Thank You notes (which I'm incredibly behind on!!), I decided to hit the road around 1 p.m. in search of lunch.

Two hours later...I arrived fifteen minutes before lunch ended at the Mount Vernon Inn restaurant. It was adorable and antiquated! The staff were dressed in period costumes, the food was delicious, and I enjoyed being pampered (since I was one of the only patrons).

That evening, I met up with my friends-who had just landed in Baltimore-for a delicious supper and fun time at Bus Boys and Poets. Josh and Meredith are those classic friends that I may not see as often as I'd like, but when we get together, we spend hours catching up and planning some of the most random schemes.

On Saturday, I met up with my friend, Abi, for a fun afternoon in Georgetown. She and I met on the Dominican Republic trip in March. Since I was coming up, we decided to get together and catch up. The plan was for her to ride the metro into DC, and I would pick her up...except that I got there 20 minutes early. Which in the South isn't a problem...but in DC, it makes for some great adventures. I drove (not even lying!) around the Washington Circle at least 10 times and got in some great laughs at the craziness of the other drivers.

After picking Abi up, we made our way to downtown Georgetown. It was beautiful and fun! We walked along the canal towpaths, enjoyed a delicious lunch at a pizzeria, snacked on yummy milkshakes, and found some extremely random fish in a flooded canal (random because the fish were at least 18 inches long and rather scary looking). We spent a lot of time talking and chatting about life. Sometimes I meet someone who becomes what Anne of Green Gables would call 'a kindred spirit.' And Abi is definitely one of those people!

That evening, I picked up mom and the kids, and we traipsed over to my mom's brother's house for a cookout and campfire. I love my family...especially the extended family that I don't see that often!!

Sunday was spent enjoyed the fellowship at Eastern Shore Bible Baptist Church. In between services, Chenie and I set out in search of ice cream...and, you guessed it, we ended up in Delaware! We found a Rita's and filled our craving for ice cream. It was a beautiful day for a drive, and I love the countryside!

Monday was head-home day. We had a grand time of listening to a Lamplighter audio book (I cried), and overall, enjoyed the successfulness of the trip.

But when we got home and Mom added up the miles...well...she's not used to someone putting around 800 miles on her vehicle without her and wanted to know just how in the world did I put so many extra miles on her vehicle...

I'm sure I have no idea. It was a pretty average road trip for me.

:)

Strawberries

Destination: Strawberry Hill and Cowpens Battlefield
Total Miles: 100 miles
Total Cost: $30ish




Before I begin my tale of adventures in the Up Country, let me quickly update you on my adventure to the Low Country.

I am currently a member of the Rivertree Singers, a choral group composed of around 30 members. We are professionals who work and live in the Greenville area of South Carolina...there's everything from account managers, web designers, composers, and stay-at-home parents, to nurses, cosmetologists, and bakers/cooks. And we all have at least one thing in common: a love for singing.

This spring, we have been rehearsing for our summer concerts. One was in Greenville, and the other was in Charleston at the Piccolo Spoleto festival.

Now, if you have been following my blog since its beginnings, you know that I love Charleston. And like most of my trips to Charleston, this one was a bit of a whirlwind. Having worked the night before we had to be at St. Phillip's for rehearsal, I was thankful to catch a ride down...which, unfortunately, I failed to take advantage of and sleep. By the time I got to bed that night, I had gone for well over 36 hours with only an hour or so of sleeping on the drive down.

My friend and former piano-duo partner, John, was also visiting Charleston with his choir from Westminster during the festival. We sang a song he composed (which you should be able to hear here), and he graciously came to our rehearsal and conducted us (giving us some helpful tips on both interpretation and musicality). Following the rehearsal, John and I spent some time meandering around the Market...stopping for some Haagen-Dazs ice cream. It was great to catch up with him and worth the extreme lack of sleep!

Supper was at a delicious Italian place near St. Phillip's, and
subsequently called for a stop near the waterfront at a gelato venue. Those of us who had eaten supper together finished our gelato and gave a spontaneous mini concert (aka: we sang one song that we all had memorized). Then, I rode to the hotel where I don't really remember anything until the next morning. (YES! I realize I look half dead in the pictures...trust me, I look better with sleep than without). :)

We sang in the morning at a church in downtown Charleston, then after a quick lunch, we walked over to St. Phillip's for our concert.

Which, if I do say so myself, was quite a success.

Anyway...

I got back late that night (mainly because I had gotten locked out of the house and went to Panera to study), and trust me, I thoroughly enjoyed sleeping.

Having promised the LPs a road trip to get some ice cream, (and having that day off from my two jobs), I piled them into Mr. Darcy. We stopped for some glass-bottled-cokes and lunch at an awesome cafe in downtown Travelers Rest, William's Hardware Cafe.

Instead of taking the somewhat shorter route to Strawberry Hill, I drove them the back way...up Scenic Highway 11. We enjoyed singing crazy songs, drinking our glass-bottled cokes, and telling stories as we drove the almost 50 miles to Strawberry Hill.

Upon arrival, we delved into the homemade ice cream (eating WAY more than we should have!), and then we piled back into Darcy to finish the drive to Cowpen's Battlefield.

After walking around for a bit, the kids were able to take part in learning how to fire one of the grasshopper cannons. They were so cute!!

Then we headed out to walk around some more...and ended up splashing through puddles during a deluge rainstorm. Soaking wet, we laughed and ran around the battlefield...much to the dismay of certain park rangers (who probably think I had lost my mind). But hey, we had fun and there was no thunder!

I had them race about once the sun came back out, effectively drying them off, then it was time to take Charles to his baseball practice.

All in all...an awesome 60 hours.

And just a window into the wonderfully non-normal and non-boring life I am privileged to lead.

Are We There Yet

Destination: Washington DC/Philadelphia/Surfside Beach
Total Miles: 2,150 miles
Total Cost: approx. $700

People have called me crazy, insane, obsessed, a travel-freak, adventurous, etc.

And perhaps, if their definition of those words is "Taking three children (not yours) on a road trip for a week," then I am most definitely (in their books) and correctly labeled as crazy.

In my book, I am your typical 26 year-old, single RN, who has 3 siblings ages 11, 9, and 7, who loves to take them to places they might not otherwise see. (not that you nor I know of anyone else who is a single, 26-year-old, with young siblings). But I am normal. Most of the time.

This post is mainly to wrap up the remainder of my trip with the LPs (and Christy, who is NOT an LP but still one of the 4 youngest members of our family).

So...to tie up any loose ends...let me see...

Friday, August 3rd, 2012:

We had approximately 1.6 days to drive down to Surfside Beach (south of North Myrtle Beach?). The plan was to visit either Jamestown or Yorktown, and at some point, visit my friends, Laurie, Matt, and baby Nate.

Being the flexible person I am, I opted to leave Friday closer to lunch time (negating the opportunity to go to Jamestown or Yorktown). This gave everyone (aka Christy and Chenie) the chance to sleep in. Which was going to be needed more than even I planned.

But I digress.

We drove down the Eastern Shore of Maryland, stopping in the middle of the Bay Bridge Tunnel to get pictures and get everyone out of the car for a few minutes.

Supper was a most excellent affair! We met at Laurie and Matt's, then drove over to a family-friendly pizzeria. The pizza was amazing, and the cannoli was even better!

I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them, and the kids loved Nate! After completely wearing everyone out, we headed to a gas station and hit the road.

Laurie and Matt had offered for us to stay with them, but since there were 5 of us, I decided against it.

Mistake Number One.

Thinking it would be easy as pie to stop along I-95 for a hotel...well, that was Mistake Number Two.

Five stops later, and literally everything was booked out for the night. The one place I found had only one room left-a smoking, king-sized bed only, room was all they could offer. And the little elderly lady who had arrived before me but had left her ID in the car with her husband...well...they looked like they could use the room better than all of us. And, she was kind enough to inform me that they had been to every hotel between a certain number of exits and had been unable to find a hotel room.

Enter McDonald's Large Coke.

I was set to go for several more hours, and at that point decided to just drive until I absolutely could not drive any more. Which mom and dad found out about, and began their quest to find us place. I am not even sure how many places mom called before finding a room about 20 minutes from where I was.

We came very close to having to drive through a town labeled as "Tar Heel" (I kid you not! I was so scared for Mr. Darcy, who was proudly displaying his Duke license plate, Duke Girl bumper sticker, and Duke Basketball license plate holder). Thankfully, we bypassed that town!

The short of the rest of the trip was that we got to the hotel at 2:50 am. Everyone fell asleep rather quickly, and we were able to journey on the next morning.
The beach was relaxing, enjoyable, and of course, we all received varying degrees of sunburn. 

So, my tips when traveling with kids (particularly long distance):
1. Get a hotel room in advance, especially Friday nights.
2. Brace yourself for the "Are we there yet?" question.
3. Come up with clever answers to aforementioned question:
     -"Does it look like we have stopped?"
     -"Did you count to a million yet?"
     -"In your own opinion and in 10 words or less, tell me what you think."
4. Never refuse offers of free rooms. Ever.
5. Do NOT be stressed. They can sense it and will feed off it.
6. Have plenty (and I mean PLENTY) of options of things they can do with the travel time.
     -videos
     -fun music
     -quiet time
     -books
     -memorization stuff
     -games
     -something new (music/DVD, etc)
     -brochures about places your going or have been
7. Make sure they have good shoes. Kids with blisters=occasional episode of whining.

This was one of the most amazing things I have done. Period.

Do I regret the money spent, the things not seen, the millions of questions, the tired feet, the tired Charise?

No way. And I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Pita.