I’m off work this week, and normally that would be going out of town for at least a few days. This year, with money tight, we are doing our first full-week “staycation” in the lowcountry.
My wife is in pharmacy school at MUSC. We still have 2 more years before she completes the program. She is finished with her summer internship (actually did it in May,) and the girls are out of school. I have the week off, so we’re just relaxing close to home.
On Saturday, we spent the day at the beach. It looked like rain when we left our Goose Creek home, but by the time we made it to the Isle of Palms, it was sunny skies, and stayed that way for the day. We had a blast. I think we spent at least 4-5 hours out in the sun. I grew up here in the lowcountry, so I’m used to getting too much sun. I’ve learned the lesson that no sunburn is better than a tan. We use the baby suntan lotion on all of us, and it keeps the tan to a minimum. We still get some sun, just not to the point of burning us.
Sunday after church, the girls went with their mom to a friend’s birthday party (Cee-Cee’s pizza, followed by a trip to Claires with a dozen 10 year olds.) As much as I wanted to be part of all that fun, I spent the greater part of the day helping a friend out with a video shoot of a cooking show. That was actually fun, because 2 stars from “Army Wives” were the guest cooks. We had a blast. When it was over, I spent the rest of the night in bed with a migraine:(...
Monday, was waterpark day. We spent the day at the waterpark at Wannamaker County Park in North Charleston. The kids have to have a season pass at that park at the daycare they attend (the daycare takes them to the park several times per day throughout the summer,) so we purchased tickets for all 4 of us several weeks ago. We had another great day there from about 11:30AM until about 4:15PM. That was another fun day in the lowcountry sun. Frankly, I think I enjoy the waterpark as much or more than the beach. For one thing, the park is closer to our home. You also don’t feel as sticky and nasty as you do after sitting in salt water/sand all day. Finally, it is cheaper (since we have the passes,) so it costs us nothing but food/snacks since there is no parking fee. We had a blast there as well.
Today is Tuesday. My oldest daughter had a tour of downtown Charleston scheduled at daycare, so we let her do that. We dropped her off this morning. Then my wife and our youngest daughter went to Ryan’s in North Charleston for lunch. We went to Northwoods mall so my wife could use a coupon she had for clothes while I read magazines at Books-A-Million. She ended up getting 4 shirts (for her and the girls) for only $15. Even I have to admit, that is a good deal. After the mall, we picked up my older daughter and spent time at the library.
Right now, we are waiting for the girls first night of summer gymnastics classes. They are excited.
Here’s the tenative plan for the rest of the week…
Wednesday: Another BEACH day during the day. At night, the girls have their Wednesday night kids program at church.
Thursday: Veronica and the girls will spend the day at the waterpark, while I get a day to do whatever I want (Veronica’s friend and her kids and meeting them at the park.) I’m still not sure what I will do. I RARELY get a day alone without work or anything else planned.
Friday/Saturday/Sunday: These days are kind of up in the air. We MAY go to Charlotte and spend one night to attend Sonfest at Carowinds. We might stay home. Who knows?
I’ll keep you updated here on the blog. Thanks for reading!
Raymond
