We have a big anniversary coming up next month (10!). We spent our third anniversary in the hospital welcoming our oldest into the world and since then, our anniversary celebrations have been a bit lackluster. We decided to take an early anniversary trip this year and visited North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia for a few days. No kids. Not a frequent event at our house. Floyd has spent a lot of time in this part of the country, but it was my first time visiting the Carolinas. We started out in Charlotte and apparently there were some serious tornadoes the day we got there, but we missed them. From there, we drove to Myrtle Beach, which is a ghost town this time of year. There was nobody on the beach and pretty much all the stores were closed. It was still pretty though.
Our next stop was Charleston. I loved all the old architecture in the city and wanted to read the signs on all the buildings to find out how old they were - mostly to know if they were pre-civil-war (or antebellum if I'm acting smart). Meanwhile, Floyd read all the menus that were posted in the restaurant windows. Not sure what that says about us.While in Charleston, we took a boat ride out to Fort Sumter (where the Civil War began in case you haven't had U.S. History for a bit - Floyd and I had a teensy disagreement about just how common of knowledge that particular tidbit is).
It was pretty cool to go there. The fort takes us pretty much the whole island. It wasn't really even an island before they hauled in loads of rocks to build it up and build the fort over a century ago. What really amazed me was how far from land Fort Sumter was and trying to imagine that 150 years ago there were cannons and guns capable of firing that far. I can't even hit a pop can 25 yards away with today's weapons. Sniper I am not. 
Did you know I have a great-grandfather that fought in the Civil War? Yep, I do. William Blaylock. He was from Mississippi, fought for the Confederacy, and was killed in battle.
That's part of a bomb that got stuck in the wall. There were lots of them. The bricks were made by slaves, and after the Confederates took Fort Sumter, they had slaves there continually working to rebuild it and reinforce it. Later in the war, Fort Sumter was home of the longest siege in U.S. Military history when the Union forces tried for over two years to retake the fort. They didn't succeed until the very end of the war. 
We also toured the U.S.S. Yorktown, a retired aircraft carrier harbored in Charleston. That wasn't really part of our trip plan, but it was at the same dock as our Fort Sumter boat, and Floyd was like a little boy looking at that big ship with all the cool airplanes on top. It was a pretty cool tour.
We learned that the Air Force recruitment officers were correct in informing Floyd that he is too tall to be a pilot. Unless he doesn't mind ducking all the time. While aboard the ship, I kept trying to identify a military job I would be brave enough for, since I know I would never cut it in combat duty. I decided I could be either the runway flagman or work in the radio control room. Then Floyd kindly pointed out that in reality, my job would have been in the kitchen cooking pastries and "entertaining" the troops. Meanwhile, Floyd is convinced that his military role would have been that of sniper.
We toured a submarine too. Turns out we are both a little too large for life in the submarine. Or maybe I'm just too claustrophobic. Hard to say...
Before we left Charleston, we walked around the old part of the city some more and it made me want to watch Gone with the Wind. Also made me want a porch.
That evening, we drove to Hilton Head and ate some good seafood. Up to Floyd's high standards even. Then we took a nice walk on another deserted beach. I woke up the next morning and went for a run on the beach at sunrise. I could get addicted to that. Hilton Head was really beautiful and we wished that we had more time to spend there.
We drove into Savannah, which I think is Floyd's favorite city. I think he was mostly excited for me to taste the pralines right when they are warm. He was right. They were delicious.
We found Floyd street! Yeah!
This is the spot where Forrest Gump is sitting on the bench in the movie. Only the bench isn't still there. I don't know why. Nor do I know why Floyd was wearing his flip-flops whilst walking around Savannah. They were not quiet - quite flippy, actually.
We drove from Savannah to Tybee Island (super close). While there, we rented some bikes and went for a ride on the beach. I think this was my favorite part of the trip. It was gorgeous and loads of fun. 
And that's a wrap! Happy Anniversary, Floyd. I had a great trip.
2 comments:
That looks like so much fun! My brother-in-law lives in NC and it is on my bucket list of places to visit. It was fun seeing your kids at church with your family. They are darling!
Looks like a great trip--I'm really jealous. Now if only my kids would be as well-behaved as yours were while you were gone, I might get brave and leave them! And after my experience grading intro American History courses, I would definitely vote that a VERY SMALL minority of Americans could have correctly answered the question about Ft. Sumter. I can't tell you how many essays I graded explaining that the Civil War was fought because the mean Brits were too bossy.
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