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

Camping, again....seriously?

Well, not exactly. Our camping friends are going camping again for several days. And I thought we should give it another try, our way. The boys and I drove down to hang out during the day, and sleep in a hotel at night. And I still have to say, I hate camping. This time it was hot, and dirty, and the mosquitos were eating us up. We did manage to swim in the lake, until a kid about Tyler's age was running around yelling, "Look, they have leaches!" Well, that was enough swimming for Tyler, and he was only walking around in the water anyway. Heather and Brian made me a fabulous dinner of barbque chicken, potatoes, corn, and salad, but it still didn't make camping worth it. We had planned on going back out the next morning, but I just couldn't drive the 3 hours home that dirty. We stayed at the hotel and went swimming until we had to check out. Mason's lucky to have such good brothers to help him swim, because I couldn't bring myself to get in the cold water at 8:30 in the morning, after only a few hours off and on sleep. When Mason was asleep, Tyler was up, when Tyler was asleep, Mason was up.

We are all glad to be home. See more pics here http://picasaweb.google.com/ccarrabine5/Camping2?authkey=hjlgq2HhLRc

Canada Day

We went to the Canada Day celebration in a nearby park. It was a lot of fun, oh and free. We did have to pay for the rides and food, but not to get in. Fireworks didn't even start until 11 pm, so Mason and the daddies went home early. The big kids played ball until time to start. Now everyone is sleeping in but me.

See more pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/ccarrabine5/CanadaDay?authkey=ufDzARujBEI