Day 3

Sunday – June 29, 2008

We were up late last night, so we slept in a little later this morning. We have reservations for the Jasmine Porch for 1:00. They have a brunch that was out of this world. Again, things have changed since we were here before. The Jasmine Porch was within walking distance of the Shipwatch Condo’s. Now it is part of the Sanctuary Hotel, which is a little further away down the beach.
Bill had breakfast food (omelet, French toast, bacon), while I ate lunch food (potato salad, shrimp, crab, fruit, mmmmmm oh so good)! Both were absolutely delicious! We stopped at another little grocery store on the island and grabbed a few more things for us to snack on – cereal, turkey, Fritos, pretzels, etc!
After we got back from eating and the general store, another storm was brewing. Hence, we didn’t get to go to the beach! Bill, having his belly full, decided it was a good time to take a nap! I, however, decided I would work on this journal and a calendar to keep our sugar levels and what we have eaten on so we could take back to the doctor in August!
The storm finally went away; Bill woke up from his nap, and we got to walk on the beach! Yeah!!!!!!!! The wind was still blowing hard. When we started our walk, the wind was blowing at our back. We walked ¾ of a mile and decided we better turn back – didn’t want to go too far the first trip out! Boy, that trip back was a treat – facing the wind was like carrying 50 pounds of supplies on your back up a mountain (at least that I think it might have felt like)! We actually walked a mile and a half – which should help the sugar levels.
It has been a very relaxing day for both of us!
7:00 ***************

Day 2

Saturday - June 28, 2008

Today is the long awaited day I’ve been anxious for – the day we are to reach Kiawah Island, SC. It has been ten years since we have been here. This is one of the most relaxing places to be – listen and watch the ocean! Not a care in the world unless you think too much – as I have a tendency to do! There are many things a person may do while here – some of which I will probably write about during the next two weeks.
Since we can not check into our condo until 4:00, there was no need for us to get up and leave at the crack of dawn for the five – six hour trip to Kiawah. We got on the road after getting gas in the car ($3.99/gal) around 10:45. Bill had the route emblazoned into his mind, so there was no need for me to worry! We were supposed to head to Charlotte, NC before we reached the SC border. However, after about an hour into today’s trip, we were crossing the border into SC. Something was wrong! Bill pulled off the side of the road; got the map out; and discovered we had been going in the wrong direction (for an hour). Not to worry – we only had to travel a couple of miles to reach Route 26 which would take us straight to Charleston, SC. This was the route we were to get on when we went through Charlotte! We just took the scenic route!
We must have been in the “beach” traffic. Again we were moving at a snail’s pace! This time there was not a sign for merging traffic, so we figured it was just heavy traffic! We traveled at this pace for a good hour and a half! State troopers couldn’t earn their keep today because no one could exceed the speed limit even if they wanted to!
We finally arrived at the Resort Quest where we were to check in; get our car pass; literature about the island; and keys to the condo. They had changed the check-in location from where we use to go in the past. The young lady who checked us in made a comment that this was the first time we had been here in ten years! They must keep great records! The line was longer than we had been accustomed to, and we discovered why – this was the check-in for not only Kiawah Island, but for Seabrook Island as well!
After getting all the material we needed, we went to the grocery store – which was also new to us! We had decided to buy just a few things here – because we figured they would be more expensive (and we were right). They had a deli that would be to die for!!!! We ended up buying crab cakes, crab port-o- bello, honey glazed carrots, coleslaw, and marble bread. This was a lot tastier than Mrs. Stouffer’s.
Finally, we arrived at condo #2370 at 6:30. We brought in the groceries first, and found a beautiful basket of cut flowers and a champagne basket which included cheese, crackers, and cookies – they knew it was our anniversary – and Bill had asked them to do this to surprise me! I got flowers and a basket on our honeymoon as well – he can been thoughtful!!!!
We have an absolutely beautiful condo – one bedroom overlooking the ocean with an ocean view from the bedroom, living room, and dining room. It is a corner condo which is what Bill really wanted! We have a deck that faces the ocean with two separate views – absolutely beautiful!
I am so grateful that we have this opportunity to celebrate 20 years of marriage. Hopefully, we will be able to come back before another 10 years passes by!!!!!
11:30 **********

Day 1 Our 20th Anniversary Trip

The Start of a Two Week Anniversary Celebration
Summarized by Sue; Proofread by Bill; Inserts by Bill; Proofread by Sue!

Friday - June 27, 2008

One week ago Bill and I celebrated our 20th anniversary by going to a George Jones Concert in Charleston, WV. Yes, it’s true – we have been married 20 years! It has been an adventure with no regrets. We have had many happy times and many sad times. Bill has helped me through several surgeries, the death of close relatives, especially Dad’s; and I hope I have helped him through the deaths of those special to him – his Granny, Mom, Dad, and Uncle Mack as well as his great aunts Daisy Roach, Mary Pearl McCoy and great uncle Kenna Roach. We have had many things to celebrate which included David's – high school, college, and seminary graduations. We saw him through his first “real” job as a youth minister in Muleshoe, TX to an ordained pastor in Hillsdale, MI. In between TX and MI he found the love of his life – Jeni - and they were married on January 28, 2006. Hopefully when they have been married 20 years they will be able to go away as we have.
It has been over ten years since we have been on a vacation! The last time was on our tenth anniversary for a few days here at Kiawah. That was when David started college and also went to seminary. See why we’ve not had a vacation in 10 years! Mom and Dad kept our beloved Toby – who ran away from them twice – that was not good! It was still a nice and relaxing trip, and we had a great time! Toby had a great time as well, but I’m not sure whether Mom did or not!
We left Wayne today in good hands – Toby will be on guard until our return on July 13. Cousin Billy will be there as a back-up just in case he needs the help. We didn’t leave as early as planned, but that was no problem – we have no real schedule as when we were working! We went by Mom’s before leaving Huntington around 10:30. She was busy at the sink and did not say anything until I was right up on her! She will be fine in my absence because the boys and grandchildren will keep an eye on her! I know she will miss me as I will her, but how many chances do we have to celebrate 20 years of marriage!
We cheated on our diabetic diet and stopped by Tudor’s Biscuit World and got breakfast which we ate while on the road! Traffic wasn’t too bad until we hit NC; we ran into a snails pace flow of traffic due to merging lanes. Luckily we were in the correct lane, however, there were those who would edge their way in which caused some tense moments!
We stopped in Hickory, NC for the night. We were going to watch a Minor League baseball game – The Hickory Crawdads! Now this was an adventure in itself. We had not eaten since leaving Huntington, so we were planning on getting something at the ballpark. We pulled into the parking lot – which was starting to fill up quickly – stood in line; got our tickets, and then entered the park. We looked around and found a place to get something to eat – we chose pork barbeques, fries, coleslaw, and a large diet Pepsi – don’t ask how much this meal was!!!! After getting our food, we started to look around for a place to sit and eat. But low and behold, a thunderstorm approached and lasted about 15 minutes. All the places with coverings were so crowded; there was no place to go. When the rain finally stopped, we found a bench; placed our food on it; and ate while standing. By this time the field crew started putting the tarp on the field – this is not a good sign to baseball fans! We then decided to browse around; found a gift shop; looked around and then went back outside. Then as Bill says “the mother of all storms” approached the ballpark. Lightning that was so close you could reach out and touch it; wind blowing so hard there was no where to go without getting wet; and people hold up umbrellas that was more of a hindrance than help – poking you in the head, back, etc! After about 45 minutes of this, they came on the loud speakers and said “Ladies and gentlemen” – yep, you guessed it, the game was cancelled!
It was disappointing to not be able to watch the game, but it hasn’t ruined our trip! We found our way back to the motel for a much needed night of rest!