Bevan and I had a different idea for
our October mud-season trip this year: go south… literally.
Trisha and Jacob have lived in South Carolina for about 4 or 5 years
and we’ve always wanted to visit! The perfect opportunity came up
for the perfect extended weekend adventure. We left the older 3 kids
at Auntie Nora’s house and brought baby Tommy with
us. He’s a very good traveler. We thought we were so smart flying
into Atlanta and just driving to Clemson. But then we realized why
air fair was so cheap. It is impossible to get OUT of Atlanta. They
trap you! Trisha said they have the worst traffic in the entire
southeast. And we thought getting out of the airport was bad. Oh
well, we made it to Clemson eventually. I just loved their yard with
all the trees and chickens and vegetables and exotic shrubs. Jane
was in heaven playing with baby Tommy, and she KEPT playing with him
all weekend. It was wonderful.
Saturday morning was the twin’s,
Maren and Eliza, cross country state qualifier. They did awesome and
they like, won it! Well their team won it. Poor Eliza was just one
week out of a boot for a stress fracture, but she still qualified for
state, and Maren came in 2nd overall. I just loved all
the energy and athleticism and bright, patterned jerseys. This was
definitely not cool when I went to high school! Bevan and I ran the
course beforehand and, even though it was sea-level, it was hard! I
know I’ve gotten a little soft lately, but the rolling hills were
killing me. I knew I had to work off some calories before lunch
time. Trisha, Jacob, and Jane took us to the “Smokin’ Pig”
which is just as it sounds! The twins resisted the barbecue to stay
on their strict training /dietary regime, preparatory to state
championships the next Saturday. Such discipline! Later that
evening, the girls all went to see the broadway play, Anastasia, over
in Greenville. Jacob willingly gave up his ticket so I could go too!
It was amazing! They had all my favorite songs, including some new
ones. And they tweaked the story so it made a little more sense,
historically.
On Sunday, we were able to go to their
church for Jane’s primary program. It was very good! Such cute
kids! After sacrament meeting, we headed out to the wilderness for a
waterfall stroll. Oconee Station seems like not far off the beaten
path, but back in the day, it was the edge of the frontier. The
waterfall was beautiful and the stroll was pleasant. Trisha informed
me that there are oodles and oodles of waterfalls in South Carolina
to hike to and swim in on a hot day. Who needs Maui?! That evening
we feasted on fresh salmon and walked with Jane to the park. Even
the neighborhood park seemed like it was in the middle of a forest.
There were so many trees!
We were sad to leave on Monday. We
stopped by the Botanical Gardens in Clemson on our way to the
airport. We ended up taking the belt route AROUND Atlanta and found
a special TSA security line that was only for strollers.
Brilliant! With so much extra time in the airport, we let baby Tommy
crawl all over the gate area, burning off some energy. He was very
entertaining. The flight was very pleasant and we even got a window
seat. It was fun to see snow in the Rocky Mountains already! It
reminded me that we live in a land of drastic seasons, unlike South
Carolina. Winter is coming. I’m so thankful we were able to take
a trip before Bevan is strapped down for the next 5 months. We’ll
have plenty of time to start planning out next getaway, that’s for
sure!
