Road Trip - part 4

The next part of our trip was our trip to Cashiers, NC. There is no quick way to really get to Cashiers from Augusta. We drove through small towns galore. As we got close to Cashiers, we were driving through the mountains. We got to Cashiers about 2pm. We made a quick stop at the grocery store and then headed to the house. We weren't sure if we were going to be able to stay at the house, but we decided to stop by for lunch and to figure out our next step. Luckily, we were able to get the water working again so we stayed. The kids were excited to be back at the mountain house. There's nothing like having hills to climb, run down, and run back up when you are used to the flat environment we call home. Zack really enjoys running down the sloped driveway at full speed. I went chasing after him at one point and he even turned around to stop me. Funny boy! We had a nice day trip to the Highlands area, saw a couple of waterfalls, took a scenic drive, cooked out and relaxed before continuing our journey.

Road Trip - part 3

The next day, we drove to Georgia. We drove through Savannah and then through every small town possible on the way to visit the Noble family in Augusta. We had a great time with Maria, Charlie, Andy, and Kayla. We arrived in time for a tasty country boil. Ben pigged out. He loved the shrimp and corn on the cob. He even tried crab legs and couldn't get enough. The dinner was great. Add a little watermelon to the mix and it was a wonderful summer evening. The kids played in the backyard and got to entertain the neighbor's dog. The dog managed to dig a small hole under the fence so it appeared that Maria and Charlie have a small dog head as a pet. All 5 kids couldn't wait to get out there the next morning to do it again. We ended up spending the night at their house and heading out the next morning after filling the kids up on Krispy Kreme doughnuts. I really enjoyed getting to visit with Maria. I haven't seen her since we lived in Tampa so she had never met Courtney and I had never met Kayla. We are hoping to catch up again around Thanksgiving.

Road Trip - part 2

After spending the afternoon at Kennedy Space Center, we headed to Cocoa Beach. After checking into a hotel, we hit the beach and pool. It was a great way to cool off or at least get wet considering this is summer in Florida. Zack is fearless jumping the waves in the Atlantic. Ben loves it too, but isn't as fearless as Zack. Courtney is happy digging in the sand and walking in ankle deep water. We didn't have all of our beach gear so Courtney had to make due with the one shovel I found in the beach bag.

Road Trip part 1

This summer, Andy and I decided to change our usual summer vacation plans. Instead of flying, we decided to drive. We decided that the kids should see more of the U.S. than just airports. The past couple of years, we have flown into Chicago and driven to Columbus. This year, we left on a Saturday morning and made a few planned stops along the way. I've decided to break the stops up into individual postings.

First stop - Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral.

Our first day of the long car trip was a short 2 1/2 hour drive. We got there around 11:30 a.m. I haven't been there in a long time and Andy had never been there so this was like the first visit for all of us. Andy and I had a great time. It was very interesting. The size of the shuttles, rockets, machines, etc. are amazing. It's amazing that they can send things that big up into space! Andy got a little more time to peruse some of it as I was chasing the kids.

The next morning, I had the 3 kids at breakfast. Zack mentions that he wants to be something different when he grows up. I expected him to say astronaut or something space related. Not on the same page. After hearing his future career plan (police officer), I tell the kids that I'm surprised that no one was inspired to do something space related. Ben's response was very funny. "Why? In a few years, it will be like getting on a bus."

Here are some pics from Kennedy Space Center: