Don't like that, water...

That's the phrase for the day. We headed out to Splashtown Waterpark today. Its outdoors, and a lot of fun. But, Mason doesn't really like water falling on his head, so we heard that many times today. I had my new pocket camera, but it seems it deleted every picture we took today. Not sure what that is about. We had fun being outside and in the water, and I believe we got away with no sunburns too!

Ok, its still about food....

We are still in the process of running errands and taking care of business. But soon I've promised the kids some more fun. This is a Schlotzsky's Sandwich....Funny name, serious sandwich (I didn't make that up, that is their slogan.) And one of the best sandwiches around. We had that for lunch yesterday. And we've had Popeye's chicken, with red beans and rice. Fabulous, fast food, for under $6 a person. Not something you find in Canada.

I bought a cheap pocket camera so I don't ever have to miss a shot, and somehow deleted the first two pics on it when trying to download them. One was this sanwich, and included the Schlotzsky's chips and pizza, and the other was the Mexican aisle in the grocery story. Took up the entire aisle, and not a single taco or picante sauce jar. Real Mexican food. And I bought cook at home tortilla's. I can't wait to eat those.

And I'm soaking in the heat....Ranges from a low of 76 to a high of 98 or higher (that's 23 and 37 for the Canadian's.)

Grandpa's Workshop

Grandpa built a new workbench for his workshop. This is where the kids worked with Grandpa this week and made a magazine rack. We'll add pics of that later. But Grandpa wanted everyone to see his workshop.

See more pics here http://picasaweb.google.com/ccarrabine5/GrandpaSWorkshop?authkey=EwtCJdYFkqs

Chuck E Cheese

We managed to take 5 kids to Chuck E Cheese today. I think the kids all had a great time. Afterwards we drove around while the kids slept. Dropped Tyler and Grant off at a friends house, and then took the 3 kids to Chick-fil-A for ice cream and playing. They really liked playing there, but Mason didn't have his brothers so he wouldn't go down the slide.

Taking care of business

We've spent most of the week going to different doctor appts. Getting a years worth of errands run all at one time does not make for a lot of fun. But we did manage to stop at the mall play ground after getting our eyes checked, and new glasses.

And these two pics are for Heather in Canada. We discussed flags once, and this is one of the car dealers I was talking about. You can see the standard flags at the bottom left, and a billboard to the right. And it has a light on it so it can stay out at night and in the rain. Oh, and by the way, I'm really enjoying the fact that the sun knows when to come up and when to go down around here!

Grandpa's lake

Today we headed out to "grandpa's lake." Grandpa has a lot on the lake with a boat house, but no real house, yet.

Tyler caught the first fish. A catfish.
And Tyler caught the second fish, a blue gill.
Grant's sure trying to catch a fish.

Grant finally caught his very own blue gill.

And Daddy rented a jet ski for everyone to try out.

See more pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/ccarrabine5/GrandpaSLake?authkey=F0we-4hFC30

We cleaned the fish and brought them home to cook. No one really liked them all that well. We usually catch bass, and I usually don't do the cooking, so it might not have been the fish.

There are a few sunburns around, but overall we had a great day.

Dolly

Gulf of Mexico hurricane-tropical storm satellite

Well, we are back in Houston, and just in time to miss the tropical storm that hit South Carolina. However, we are here in time for Hurricane Dolly. Well, she's not a hurricane yet, but she will be. Right now the track is set for south Texas, but anyone from the gulf area knows that they aren't very good at predicting hurricane tracks. We aren't too worried though, having done this many times before. We have been taking it easy today, but still with some good food, and tomorrow we plan to go to the lake with my parents. I should have some pics.

If you want to see more about Dolly go to http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/feature?section=weather/hurricane&id=6139670

The Beach

Today we went out to Folly Beach. There is some tropical moisture in the area, so the day started off very wet. By the time we were done swimming it started to get pretty nice outside. Afterwards we went to eat at a crab shack, and I completely forgot to take a picture when they brought out the crab and shrimp in a bucket with corn and potatoes....just like our crab boil. When we were done we went shopping along the way back to the car. Look at how dark the clouds were.
My camera fogged up with all the rain and humidity.
Mason preferred the sand to the water. He only went in when we made him, and then he cried.

This is the pier at Waterfront park in Charleston where we started our ghost tour.

This is the original customs house and eventually a post office. Now its a postal museum.
These are the law buildings. The only corner in America where you can get married, get divorced, and pick up your mail all in the same place.

Aquarium

Today we rode the trolley around town, had lunch at the pier, and went to the SC Aquarium. Tonight we are going on a ghost walking tour. That should be fun. Tomorrow is the beach.

Patriot's Point and Fort Sumter

Today we went to Patriot's Point and saw the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier and some other ships. We took a short boat ride to Fort Sumter where the Civil War began. It was a long day out in the heat. Luckily it was cloudy often, and there was always a breeze.

Here are the unedited pics, including some of good ice! I ate a huge cup of good ice. It was so good, because we were so hot. There are also pics of the Citadel and Marion Square. http://picasaweb.google.com/ccarrabine5/PatriotSPoint?authkey=5UdGvd73v1Q

Charleston

We drove 3 hours to Charleston today. We have visited the beach and checked into our hotel. We are staying in the Citadel Military School which has been turned into an Embassy Suites hotel. We haven't done much exploring yet, but it looks pretty neat so far.

Mason and Mary Ann watching the waves.
Folly Beach
The view out our window in the hotel. This is Marion Square.
I've also added pics to yesterday's post if you want to take a look.

Y'all havin' a good time!

So, I love being somewhere where everyone understands what I am saying, and everyone talks like me too. Well, they have more of a Southern twang here in South Carolina, but it definitely feels more like home. When you are getting called "sweetheart" and "honey" 3 times a day by strangers you know you are in the south, and I love it!

We found out we are only an hour away from Biltmore House in N. Carolina, so we went up there yesterday. Its the largest family home in all of America, and its bigger than most hotels. I'll post pics as soon as I can, but I'm not spending the $10 a day for internet access in the hotel.

Today we had the funeral, and we will have a birthday part this evening. The funeral was good. They had a 21 gun salute, bagpipes, Taps, and two F16s flew over. Frank's grandfather had been a POW in WWII, and had two Bronze Stars. The flag was presented to his mother. (A flag that has never, and will never, touch the ground, to my Canadian friends who don't understand flag etiquette.)

Thanks for all of the ice comments!

Biltmore pics http://picasaweb.google.com/ccarrabine5/Biltmore?authkey=jUIsV9vJZcI . Pics weren't allowed inside.

Funeral Pics http://picasaweb.google.com/ccarrabine5/Funeral?authkey=hi7Kgdtj7JU

Party Pics - Grandma's 60th http://picasaweb.google.com/ccarrabine5/60thBirthday?authkey=Ve8LinaXCs8

In the Beginning....

Well, we have been on our trip for about 3 or 4 days...I've lost count. And of course its been all about the food we have gotten to eat! We spent the first 2 nights in Houston, and now we are in Atlanta.
This is where we had breakfast one day. Breakfast Tacos. My favorite are the Potatoe, egg and cheese, but they have lots of others. And great tortilla's. Its a fast food Mexican Restaurant, but not like Taco Bell.
Something you wouldn't see in Canada.
We visited out house. Its lonely without me.

Here is the infamous Sonic. (Thanks for the comment on the ice Marsha!) And part of the menu. Its a drive-in restaraunt. Not a restaraunt with a drive-thru, but a place where you drive up, park your car in a stall, and order at the menu, and someone brings you your order. And sometimes they even do it on roller skates. No pics of ice because we got slushies. They crush up the ice for that.


And here is another place we love for fast food. And they have almost good ice. Not as good as Sonic, but still good to crunch.
We've also had Texas barbeque and Mexican food. They were both fabulous! And I know it sounds like it, but that's not every meal we've had.

All the kids have had a great time visiting with family. And so far the plane rides, bus rides, train rides, and car rides have all gone well. Lets hope it stays that way. Another 4 hour car ride tomorrow.

Homeward Bound

We are headed home tomorrow. Everyone is excited to be going home for a while. We will also be travelling to Atlanta and South Carolina. Many of the next posts will be for our Canadian friends. Apparently they don't understand the concept of "good ice", or even that eating ice is something people do, so there will definitely be some pictures of ice. And just so my friends believe me, can everyone comment about where one would get good ice.....you know, which fast food restaurant has the best ice. I also have to remember to get a picture of the cake aisle, showing that it takes up nearly the whole length of the aisle, and I'll have to remember what other things they don't believe.

Street Performers Festival

Today we went to the Street Performers Festival in Churchill Square. They had lots of different performances and attractions. Plus different booths with items to buy and food and snacks. We rode the LRT to the area, and Mason loved riding the train. He also got to spend a bit of time in the wading pool, but the water was freezing! Mason wouldn't even go all the way in. Heather and her kids took us down so they showed us how to work the LRT and do things we wouldn't normally do.

See more pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/ccarrabine5/StreetPerformersFestival?authkey=ffcuv3mrmxE