On the way down, Sissy called and we spontaneously decided to meet at USC. She, Marsha and my 6 week old great nephew met us at Ben's fraternity house. We had a wonderful visit and dinner together before they headed back to Pickens. Davis is precious and I'm so thankful I got to see him when he was till tiny.
After dinner, Ben took us on a walking tour of the University of South Carolina.
Saturday morning, Ed, Ben and I drove an hour and 1/2 to Charleston for a day of shopping and sightseeing. (I made them promise to be patient with the shopping piece!) Ben was familiar with the city and first took us the "the market". It became hot and crowded, but I did buy a few Christmas gifts. While Ed waited for us to be seated for lunch, Ben and I walked down along the water. These precious little girls were having such fun in the cool fountain, I just had to snap their picture! Notice the shower caps!
After a yummie lunch- (New Jersey boy, Ed, LOVED the shrimp and grits), we walked and walked and walked. Soft faded pastel homes with lazy porches and amazing landscaping captivated our attention for hours. Ben would notice something beautiful and say, "Mom, look at this!" I felt so satisfied that he noticed the details.
The day ended with a 20 min. drive to the beach and around 6pm the boys somehow changed into their bathing suits and dove into the ocean for a final summer swim.
After Sunday brunch and hugs and kisses, Ed and I said goodbye to Ben and were back on the road, heading to Raleigh NC for dinner with his brother's family.
LOTS of car time and time to reflect...
Lessons learned from a road trip with the boys~
- Being without the girls was OK after all
- Ed and Ben can be fun shoppers (Ed always needs to have a newspaper and a chair)
- Don't inquire about sticky fraternity hall floors...
- I need to work on my college football conversation skills
- I need to always take needlework for the car!
- Traveling without 4 children still feels odd
Loved this post! Such fun pictures, and Ben's fraternity house is beautiful! And I'd agree, it's best not to actually know what makes those hall way floors sticky....
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun trip ... time with your family and that sweet handsome boy of yours, Charleston, and an opportunity to learn valuable lessons. What more could you ask? Glad you had such a nice time. Hope tomorrow goes well for you!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful shots, would love to visit there sometime. I am pretty fascinated with the Greek system, we don't have that at the Universities in Canada.
ReplyDeleteWe had a great time visiting with you guys. Miss you and love you lots and lots.
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