Road Warrior Momma: 2012-07-29

Monday, July 30, 2012

Mini-Getaway Day 3 - July 29, 2012

July 29, 2012

Charleston, SC – Alpharetta, GA

Courtyard Alpharetta Windward

355 Miles/6 hours

As I mentioned yesterday, we all went to bed very early…because Rich insisted that we had to get UP and GET going…early! Well, the wake-up call came at 5:15a.m., and momma was up, packed and ready by about 5:40a.m. Do you think anyone else was out of bed by then? Absolutely NOT.

Somehow we did manage to get on the road by 6:05. It was a very easy drive (with the exception of some backseat drama) and we were at Houston’s for lunch a little after 11. Then we snuck up to Cumming to take a peek at the basement (which we’re finishing….half of it, we’ll finally have a guest room!). Then Audrey and I snuck off to get our nails done, before meeting the boys back at our new hotel.

Hotel is awesomeJ. Lots of bright light and we have two rooms connecting, with a view of a beautiful pool. Within minutes of check-in, we were torturing fellow pool guests. Audrey never stopped chatting, Barrett never stopped laughing (manically….it was weird, even for Barrett), Cammy never stopped whining and Hunter, well, he was pretty good. We met a couple of talkative, retired school teachers who matched Audrey word for word in the chatty department. They first latched onto me, but I quickly tagged myself out for someone better able to handle non-stop small talk. I think Audrey may even be friends with them on Goodreads by now.

We stayed with our trend of an early dinners (to get back in time for the Olympics), eating at Macaroni Grill. It was fantastic! After we got some frozen yogurt and sat in the balmy breeze….it was beautiful, we could actually breathe. The heat had finally broken.

Back at the hotel, I was once again the last woman standing…the Olympics are killing me. I wish they weren’t on so late, I need to figure out how to watch live.

Kind of sad that our summer adventures are overL. Planning on hanging at the hotel in the morning to catch up on some writing, and then head back and try to transition back into the school schedule. A week from tomorrow, my Hunter goes to 6^th grade Viper Camp, with school starting a few days later. Wow.

Back in GA

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Mini-Getaway Day 2 July 28, 2012

July 28, 2012

Charleston, SC

The Dungeon formally known as The Citadel

I had weird dreams all night and the smell of this place has awakened my long dormant olfactory system. I definitely don’t have any vampire blood in me.

Rich and Audrey got up early and hit the buffet. I took the boys down, around 8a.m. It was very crowded, perfect for people watching and let me tell you, I did some watching.

The plan was for me to take the kids for a walk, down to Market Street and back and then we were going to take the ferry over to Fort Sumter, for a tour. Rich was going to spend the day working. Well, at 9:45, after we’d made it precisely ONE block, all four mutinied on me (in all fairness, the bank sign indicated that it was 91 degrees)! I bailed on the Market Street plan and took a detour back to King.

In all the shoe confusion, during our departure from home yesterday, Rich and I forgot our hanging bag….and therefore neither of us had dress shirts/sun dresses, so I needed to pick something up for both of us. It was easy in Rich’s case, because I stumbled upon a Tommy Bahamas store, almost instantly. A dress for me, not so easy. I was surprised by how dressy all the woman’s shops were. The most casual was a Lilly Pulitzer shop…which just isn’t me. Very pretty, but not me. So we went into many, many stores. I’d line the boys up, along a wall and threatened them with their lives, while Audrey amused many a shop keeper (and drove me crazy). Eventfully, we found something. I tell you all this, because it leads up to the kids having a mini-melt-down when we came upon a park with break-dancers, complete with 80’s style boom box and a farmer’s market. They united and refused to go to Fort Sumter with me, since they’d already had to spend the morning doing stuff I wanted to do. They wanted to hang out at the “fair.’ Can you believe that? I was really bummed, but honest to God, it was so unbelievably hot, that I just gave in, without much of a fight.

We had an unmemorable lunch with daddy (unmemorable because on the place, NOT the company, just to be clear). Rich wanted to keep watching the woman’s basketball team, so I took Bear with me and we went to a bookstore I’d seen earlier in the day, while the other three stayed with daddy. Bear & I ended up back to the hotel, where I fell in to a deep slumber, until I heard a stampede of buffalos in hallway, which were of course my children. Rich had taken them to the Children’s Museum. Immediately feeling guilty about my nap, I took all four kids to the pool, so Rich could finally work.

The pool was very small, but we had a good time. I finished my book (Emily Giffin’s Where We Belong – excellent!), Hunter met a friend, and Audrey told everyone and anyone at the pool everything and anything she could about our family. Either because of Katie Couric, or Barrett’s rousing, repetitive rendition of “A Rubber-Dubbers” a woman approached me to ask about Bear and to tell me she had a son with autism. They were from Miami, her husband is in the coast Guard, and I have to tell you it is soooo unfair what kind of benefits their (government) insurance pays for her son’s treatment! They pay for everything! Wow. Anyway, very nice lady and we exchanged phone numbers. (Sadly) It’s like being in the world’s biggest sorority, mom of children with Autism.

We got dressed and took a Taxi to dinner (not my choice) on Market Street. Ironically, after taking the taxi to stay cool, we picked the one and only restaurant in the city, where the air-conditioning was broken. I. Kid. You. Not. It was so hot….Rich only ordered a shrimp cocktail, if that tells you something!

We ended up taking a Taxi back, because a big storm was moving in. The thunder was horrendous, and I can only assume it rained and rained hard, but I didn’t have a window to look out of, so I can’t confirm it.

I think the heat really got to everyone, we all fell asleep early. I woke up at 10:45p.m., and both TV’s were on, along with some lights, but no one was stirring. We’ve decided to leave tomorrow. Rich has to get an early start on Monday and I need daylight! So we are going to stay in Atlanta tomorrow night.

Old School Beeakdancing

Kids were enthralled

And so it begins:(

Bear & Daddy

Cammy's 1st Fish sandwich - bigger than he is!

Me & my girl

Mini Getaway - Day 1 July 27, 2012

July 27^th, 2012

Cumming- GA – Charleston, NC

375 miles, 6 ½ hours

Embassy Suites Historic Charleston

We got off to a rough stuff. Car was loaded and we couldn’t find Cammy’s sandals. After looking everywhere (including the backyard, with a flashlight), we gave up and told him to grab another pair – he found lots of shoes, but not one that both fit and/or had a match! I gave one more look in his room….and found them behind his toy chest! Not a good sign.

We hit the road, with Willie singing at 6:15. Once we made it out of the metro area, we planned to stop for breakfast (coffee!). Well, east of ATL, we were not lucky enough to have a Starbucks on every exit. God bless Rich (who does not drink coffee), he patiently participated in the Starbucks hunt. To add insult to his injury….the kids loudly and affirmatively rejected his suggestions of Waffle House, Burger King or McDonalds. They wanted Starbucks tooJ. It’s costly, but I have to admit, I was proud.

We stopped in North Charleston for lunch (quick one at Panera Bread) and to take pictures of the hotel that Big A managed when the Chamblins lived here. I was with them, in Charleston, when I found out I was going to be a momma for the first time! If I knew then, what I know now…ha,ha.

We made it to the hotel around 12:30 and they said they wouldn’t be ready for us, until 3p.m. So we crossed the bridge to Mount Pleasant …eventually landing on Sullivan’s Island, where we were lucky enough to find a parking space, rather quickly. We all awkwardly changed into our swimsuits, in the car and hit the beach. It was beautiful. It’s been decades since I’d been to a beach in the Carolina’s and it was perfect. The water was unbelievably warm. There was a huge sand bar too, not too far out. We managed to get all the kids out on it, so that was cool. The temperature was perfect. It was well into the 90’s, but with the ocean breeze, it was very tolerable. (Although, Rich begs to differ).

We got back to the hotel about 4….and the room is a bummer. This mini-getaway was a last minute decision and our destination was determined solely based on availability. Charleston was the closest we could get to a beach, in less than six hours (and the beach is 30 minutes away). Embassy Suites had suites available…but no windows. Have you ever? I called the hotel to ask what that meant – and they said exactly what it says…no windows. Apparently the hotel was the original Citadel, which I admit is cool…but those poor boys had to live in dorms, with no windows? I asked if it was creepy and they said no. The girl said if you’re going to be in the room the whole time, it might bother you….but they don’t get many complaints. Well, beggars can’t be choosers, so I booked it (after asking if I could be on wait list for windows). Besides, I’ve certainly worked in a few offices with no windows, right?

Cute room, but I could not shake the feeling that we were in a dungeon! I just couldn’t. And….the room smelled a little musty. No ventilation! We took quick showers and then hit the streets, looking for dinner. We were in a great location, one block off of King Street, which was lined with cool shops and restaurants. Of course, finding a restaurant that has a kid’s menus, a full bar, and caters to both my agrarian tastes and Riches carnivorous ones….plus fresh seafood…well that presents more of a challenge. And lest we forget….it was in the 90’s…hot, hot, hot. Whenever we walk more than one block, you can guarantee two things are going to happen: 1) Audrey is going to complain that her feet hurt & 2) Cammy is going to say, “Hold me.” Usually I can’t resist, but it was in the 90’s! so he was out of luck.

Eventually we ended up at a Coast, a seafood restaurant, with lots of options for the kids. We had a wonderful dinner and the kids were great. We made it back in time to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics! I loved it, but was the only one who made it to the endJ. Planning on going to Fort Sumter tomorrow.