Early on Saturday morning, I was out with my snow thrower, clearing my driveway from the fresh 5" layer of snow that had descended upon it over the previous 24 hours. Once the driveway was drivable, I could focus my attention on the strategic packing of our luggage into the trunk of the Buick. We were about to embark on our vacation to the South, where we would be reuniting with Liesel's sister, and parents. As most parent's with a child under 18 months know, that the luggage and "equipment" needed for that child is inversely proportional to their age! In other words, the younger they are, the more "stuff" they need. In Josh's case, some supplemental supplies included: his high chair, two bags of diapers, his stroller, his "pack 'n play" (camp cot), toys, etc etc. So the exercise of packing the car, is not merely physical, it is actually a very intricate mental puzzle that needs to be solved, as space is a premium.
By 9:30am, we were packed and ready to roll, and started our journey south. The trip was very enjoyable as Nathan and Josh played well together in the back. When Josh fell asleep, Nathan asked us to put the CD off, and made sure that we were quiet so his brother could get a good nap! And for a solid 2 hours, Josh napped soundly! Nathan enjoyed looking out for police cars, and was thrilled to see two policeman pull over a couple of cars for speeding. Our highlight though, was when Liesel spotted a runway on top of a ridge, as we were driving through a valley. A few minutes later, a huge military transporter plane took off from this runway above us, and flew majestically over our car, and then slowly disappeared over the horizon. Nathan, Liesel and myself were awestruck by this huge aircraft flying a few hundred feet above us. We traveled for a total of seven hours on Saturday. During the trip, we saw thick snow on the side of the roads, in the fields, on houses and trees for at least six hours and through three states. It was when we crossed the North Carolina state line, the snow started vanishing before our eyes! By the time we reached our hotel for the overnight stay, there was no snow to be seen anywhere!
On Sunday, the Holiday Inn provided us a great hot breakfast, and we were on the road just before 8am. We had to pick up Liesel's sister at the Charleston airport within the next four hours! When we arrived at Charleston Airport, the skies were cloudless, the temperature was around 55 (13C), something that Clevelanders haven't experienced for a number of months! The airport itself was one of the best that we have ever seen, and a great place to meet up with Rachel!
Fortunately Rachel packed lightly, so we could coerce her luggage into the trunk - and then headed to our vacation destination! Upon arrival, it was everything we had expected and more! Situated in a beautiful gated community, the house is situated on a golf fairway. Nathan calls it a tree house as you park under the house, and the living area is one level up! After everything was unpacked, we went exploring and found a beautiful beach on the Atlantic Ocean. Nathan and Josh just loved it, and both had their feet in the freezing waters!
On Monday, Liesel and Nathan are picking up her parents, which Nathan has been looking forward to for months! All signs are pointing to a wonderful vacation with Liesel's family.
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