We’re Easin’ Along toward the West Coast this week and, unfortunately, we had little time for an update. We’re going to miss our weekly chat, but we promise to catch you up as soon as we return. Please come back.
Easin’ Along is Westbound
Author: Easin' Along
Easin’ Along Goes Back to School
As far as I’m concerned, there is no love any greater than the love one feels for grandchildren. The four beautiful, smart, and healthy, and very active grandchildren that bless the lives of Helen (adorable wife) and me give us more joy than we can describe. The difficult part of this joy is that our treasured little ones live on each coast and that makes it a challenge to spend time with them. Nevertheless, we try as often as possible.
Our recent trip to Edisto Beach gave us an opportunity to share some fun with two of our East Coast granddaughters when their dad brought them to the beach for their first real camp out. Readers may remember that these two spent the night in Gracey back in May during our first trip to Edisto Beach State Park. We say that nights spent in Gracey are “glamping,” and the girls took to it very well. With Apple TV games, good TV reception, warm beds, and a bathroom, what young child wouldn’t. The October trip would be a bit different…Dad brought the tent and sleeping bags. Helen and I made bets that tent camping wouldn’t last more than thirty minutes before the girls came knocking on Gracey’s door.
Dad and the girls arrived late in the afternoon after both played in morning soccer games. If they were tired, they didn’t show it, and both asked to go to the beach as soon as they came from the car. Helen walked them to the beach to run off some energy while Dad put up the tent.
After the beach walk and dinner that included their favorite Mac and Cheese, we lit the campfire and passed out the makings for S’mores. Their grandmother led the charge and kept up with them as the marshmallows and graham crackers disappeared. By this time, I was ready to hit the sack and felt certain that they would be as well, but the girls seemed full of steam. Dad had a remedy for that, however, and, after tucking them into their sleeping bags and reading Harry Potter to them by lantern light, both fell asleep after two paragraphs. The knock on Gracey’s door never came. The next morning I could hear both of them in the tent chanting “We love camping” over and over in an attempt to get their Dad up and out. Dad had achieved a win in the quest for more tent camping in the future.
It was early in the day, and the campground was still full of sleeping campers, so Helen and I gathered the girls and walked to the beach.
The sun was about to rise over the ocean, and we have pledged that every beach sunrise is a “must see.” The girls were all in, and the sun cooperated splendidly. As a bonus, one of the girls found a whole sand dollar on the beach, a rarity these days. After breakfast and a little more beach time, Dad and the girls waved us goodbye and returned home to prepare for school the next morning.
Sad at being left behind, Helen and I secured permission to visit the school around lunch the next day to meet the teachers and see their classrooms. We made the one-hour drive in time to catch one them marching into the lunchroom with her classmates. She greeted us with a huge smile made us both feel welcome. The other granddaughter was not far behind.
Lunch is a highlight of the day. Laughter and loud chatter filled the room. Once the children had their food, a teacher announced that quiet time was underway. A teacher came by to let us know that the children were not allowed to talk for ten minutes to make sure that they ate lunch and not talk the entire period. After ten minutes, talking was allowed for the remainder of the period. She told Helen and me that it was ok for the four of us to chat quietly. Good move, otherwise Helen would have exploded long before her ten minutes expired.
After lunch, the girl’s teachers invited us to their classrooms. Both teachers made us feel welcome and had nice things to say about each granddaughter. After only a few minutes of conversation, Helen and I both agreed that the girls were in good hands. The teachers seemed to love their work, and both girls said that they liked the teachers very much. Helen sat with them while they read some of their class material to us. One of the teachers took our picture with both girls (above) before one of them had to scurry back to join her classmates. Sadly, it was time for us to go as well, so we waved goodbye once again, then ventured into town for a lunch of our own.
We chose Blossom, one of Charleston’s best for lunch, and asked to be seated outside. The day was gorgeous. Helen ordered the crispy oysters served over Brussel Sprout Slaw and a bowl of She-Crab Soup. I ordered White Seafood Chowder and the Fried Fish Roll. Both meals were exquisite and accompanied by Bloody Mary’s.
We’re still on vacation remember…and Easin’ Along!
Easin’ Along Gets Another Bite of Edisto Beach
We returned from our journey along the Blue Ridge long enough to catch up with a few home projects, touch base with family and friends, do the laundry, then repack for a return trip to Edisto Beach in one of the south’s great State Parks. Readers may recall that we spent some time there in May of this year. We fell in love with the area, but Helen was in recovery from her second knee replacement, and I was nursing an ailing hip, so our activities were somewhat limited. We vowed to return after everything was repaired…good move. We even loaded up the bicycles this time.
Our trip south included a one-night stay at the campground on Fort Jackson, SC so that we could enjoy another evening at Julia’s German restaurant in Columbia, SC. We enjoyed a delightful evening there with the parents of our daughter-in-law, and Julia’s jagerschnitzel was as good as I remembered. The trip was getting off to a great start.
Our plans for the week included some quality time with our granddaughters, getting reacquainted with our bicycles after a year in storage, and plenty of beach time spent in cool fall beach weather. Edisto, however, greeted us with weather that was a muggy and buggy 88 degrees. On top of that, I forgot to close the windows on Bert (truck) the first night and a very inconsiderate, sand-encrusted raccoon invaded and helped himself to two packs of snack crackers in the back seat. He left quite a mess.
Everything changed for the better on day two. The sky cleared and the heat lifted. From then on, temperatures hovered in the mid-70’s and the nights dipped into the 50’s and comfortable enough for a campfire. We did experience some windy conditions, but with Gracey (travel trailer) parked just beyond the beach and behind a large dune, the wind was not a factor. The marsh provided a stunning view to the rear of Gracey, and the birds offered some entertainment. I love the Roseate Spoonbills that walk through the marsh in search of food.
On Saturday, we learned that the Edisto Beach Fall Festival kicked off at 11:00 am. We had no idea what we would find there, but we’ve learned that Festivals are a great way to experience the local culture, so we mounted the bicycles and rode the short distance to see what was up. The weather was perfect and sizable crowd had gathered by the time we arrived. The smell of good food filled the air. We walked both sides of the row of tents offering crafts, jewelry, yard art, and food—both packaged and on plates. In the end, we settled for food.
Helen (adorable wife) bought some Chow-Chow and some Carrot Cake jam made by a local vendor. I bought a couple of irresistible brownies for me and a bag of boiled peanuts for my son who would arrive later that afternoon. As we were about to leave, Helen stopped at a booth offering a variety of coffee beans for fresh grinding. She sampled a few of the coffees and, after a long learning process, decided on two varieties of South American coffee. During the conversation, we learned that the owner purchased some of his coffee beans from the son-in-law of our minister who owns Pisgah Coffee Roasters in North Carolina. Helen left very delightedly with her find…and three pounds of coffee.
Later that afternoon, our son and two granddaughters arrived for their first tent camping experience together. The girls camped in Gracey during our May trip, but Dad wanted them to try something other than “glamping” so he dug out the tent and hoped for the best. After a long afternoon on the beach to release some energy and an evening of S’More roasting beside the campfire, he only had to read two paragraphs of Harry Potter under lantern light before they fell sound asleep. The girls awoke the next morning to declare camping a new-found love. This declaration warmed the heart of two grandparents.
The remainder of the week consisted of not much more than beach walking, bike riding, reading, and Helen laboring over her puzzles. We made one trip into Charleston to visit the girl’s school during lunch, and we will cover more of that trip in another post. Suffice it to say that the experience was a lot of fun.
By the end of the week, we decided that Edisto Beach is worthy of an annual visit. Helen, the picky one, walked the entire campground (twice) to find her preferred site, then we searched through the reservation system for dates available until we found a week that worked perfectly. We now have that trip on the books for next October. If it turns out half as much fun and relaxing as this week, we’ll call it a resounding success.
We hope you enjoy the pictures. We’re Easin’ Along.