After some shopping we headed onto the island to meet up with the fam. We stayed at a quaint little condo just a hop, skip and a jump from the beach. However, this quaint little condo surprisingly did not have any spoons, which made for eventful dining experiences. Also, 3 of the 4 burners on the stove were not working so we almost had to cook everything on the grill. Oh and there was no toaster. Needless to say, dining preparations took on a whole new level of calculation/preparation! So after dinner the first night, a Saturday, we just talked and hung out catching up on each other’s lives. The next morning, we had a little family Sunday time and I had the privilege to give a little devotional. We talked about the story of Zaccheus, which the youngest sister quite seriously referred to as Ikea in her description of the story. Then the kids decided to sing a bunch of songs they sing in their kids church at home…which (shaking head in shame) I knew. You can never be to young right? That afternoon we all headed out to the beach to catch some waves, tan our hides, and cover our skin with sand. That’s the one thing I don’t like about the beach. The fact that sand just gets everywhere. Anyway, we had a blast, or should I say…a whale of a time;)

The rest of the week consisted of much the same routine. We would have breakfast, do some random things or decide what to do in the afternoon, and then do that activity. So throughout the course of the week we went to the beach, lounged and read our books by the pool. I was currently reading a book called “Preach and Heal” which has really impacted my life. If you are a healthcare professional who loves Jesus, I would highly recommend it. We all went on several bike rides together all over the island too. That is always fun, especially when we cross a street because it’s like a mini parade. I’m sure it’s quite a site to see 7 bikers all in a row from tallest to shortest. And of course the little ones are hilarious because the have to pedal around so much because their legs are small. Always a good time…except for the time that my sister-in-law lost control of her bike trying to protect a recently purchased starfish from the gift shop and crashed into a tree causing mild abrasions on the hand. Also, her recently purchased novelty dolphin ring to bent into her finger preventing it from coming off easily. Soap and water and a little brute force enabled the disfigured ring to be removed. But that was the only incident all trip! And I don’t know if I mentioned it, but the whole week we were there, it was blazing. So after every activity, we were drenched in sweat and ready for the pool. The strenuous activities, even more so. For instance, one night we decided to play tennis. It was super fun, but I could barely hold onto the racket even with grippy tape and sweat would get in my eyes on every serve it seemed. But it’s good to stay active even if you’re on vacation right?

At Coligny Plaza

Intrepid Bikers

We did have one night of thunderstorms which was exciting. I always enjoy a good thunderstorm at the beach. I guess it’s kind of cathartic to me except when your spouse has a super intense craving for ice cream. Yep, Laura, myself and Eric braved the harsh elements to reach Publix and purchase the ever precious and most important commodity of ice cream. Needless to say it was miserable. Lightning everywhere, sheets of rain, and loud thunder. Not to mention that we didn’t have an umbrella so we got drenched on the way in to the store. And of course where did we have to go? The freezer aisle. Soaking wet. Brrr. And as we pulled in to the condo parking space, of course, the storm ended. It was an adventure though.

The clan by the Savannah River

After a week of vacationing, it was time to go home. We packed up the car. And we barely fit everything in because their was an extra person on the return trip…me. Fortunately, I didn’t have too many things because we tried to pack most of our stuff in our car when Laura left for the airport. We squeezed it all in though and headed home. It was an eventful trip home with one incisor tooth being lost by the littlest sister around mile marker 137 (aka the middle of nowhere on I-16), one flat tire about 30 minutes from home, and one very excited dog named Roxy that was picked up from the kennel after the flat tire was fixed. We got back to Atlanta and Laura came home the next day, Sunday. That evening Kristen and Ben came over and we all had a tasty dinner of kabobs grilled by yours truly before heading back to Augusta to begin our normal routine of work and clinical. It was a good week. And Hilton Head is a fun place.