Where we're heading next:
Home Sweet Home
Quote of the Day
Peanut, "Wow, mom, now we can say we've been to all 50 states! What are we gonna do next?"
I'm no stranger to the rain... and I'm good at finding shelter in a downpour...
Magnolia Plantation was a rice plantation owned by some Reverend Drayton and his wife, Julia. After the war it became a visiting plantation, which means these people had buckets of money long before they started the plantation. Geared toward the masses of tourists who visit each year,
we happened to pick a day with a big black rain cloud and few people. That should have been a clue.
South Carolina has an extensive marshland, more than any other coastal Atlantic state and it feels low and swampy, like Louisiana. Just as we were about to board our little train for a tour of the grounds and the surrounding swamp, the rain came. It came down in sheets accompanied by a Rachmaninoff symphony from the sky. The kids were NOT impressed by nature's display despite my enthusiasm.
Grandma and I taught them the expression It's Raining Cats & Dogs and showed them how to judge thunder distance by counting slowly once you see lightning. We even bought fried peanuts (you eat the shell and all) to keep us busy while we waited out the storm under a small roof, just like the resident Peacocks.
The storm never did clear, so the shoes came off and puddle jumping ensued. We took a tour of the house -- which was a complete yawn fest. There's always something to be learned, however...
A grandfather clock stood in the house which only displayed hours and tides, but no minutes. Before Greenwich Mean Time was up to speed in 1884, people had no need for minutes! They checked the tide and if it was high, they could get to town on the river in about 3 hours. Useful enough. Who cared if they were 5, 10 or 15 minutes early or late? Doesn't that sound wonderfully appealing? Think what would happen in your world if you dropped the specifics of minutes in your day!
A quick stop at the muddy petting zoo and we were off to Charleston where only 15 minutes away, they hadn't seen a drop of rain all day!
The ferry was 2 hours but it felt like 4. Things got really fun when we all heard a hissing sound in the car -- no, not a snake. We finally realized that Doodle was standing on a bottle of sunscreen, which sprayed goo all over the cds. It reminded me of the old desitin days...
Oh, how we longed for the slick ferries in Puget Sound with their comfy chairs and their full galley. Processed food from a vending machine for dinner was a first; they each chose some version of cracker, with their penny sticks for dessert. Grandma and I skipped.
The marshes on the North Carolina mainland were absolutely breathtaking at sunset, but I was so nervous about driving in the dark on these winding roads that I just stayed focused on getting to the main road, Hwy 17. Grandma was shaking her finger at me to slow down... so you all know what happened next.
The North Carolina cop was really nice and swift. I told him why I was hurrying and he told me that was no excuse (slap!) and to slow down. No ticket. I got gas, and some bottles of water and we were off again.
Still, it seemed next to impossible to only go 45mph on these roads. I guess the speed limit is so low because every now and then there's a little town with a stoplight. Consider this extreme torture for someone who learned to drive in Texas.
(We crossed the state line into South Carolina, skipping the picture since it was pitch black outside. We'll do a U-turn with Tomcat when we get to Georgia.)
About 10 minutes into South Carolina, those familiar flashing lights reappeared in my mirror again! I looked at this new cop, questioning, and he said, "The speed limit is still 45mph here." ARRRRRRRRRRRGH. Panic set in when I couldn't turn up my wallet to show him my license. Naturally, I wanted to avoid telling this cop, "Well, I just had it 20 minutes ago when the North Carolina cop pulled me over." And the thought of driving BACK to retrieve my wallet was simply unbearable. Suddenly, I had a thought and asked the cop if I could get out and check the back. Sure enough, my wallet was nestled right in the middle of the bottles of water. Whew.
No ticket again, and I can't explain it. Personally demoralized, I felt like I was crawling my way through traffic but apparently it was an illusion. Blue flashing lights one more time. I wanted to cry. The cop pulled up along side us, gave me a scowling face and the hand motion to slooooooow down. After that, I hid behind the slowest car I could find.
If the Las Vegas Strip had a beach, it'd be called Myrtle Beach. We were totally unprepared for the neon, smut and fancy resorts. Still, it was just nice to finally be here and out of the car. We were all asleep by midnight and I was dreaming of a day off.
A 45 minute ferry ride and we found ourselves in the very inviting village on Ocracoke Island. It hosts the oldest lighthouse in North Carolina, which is still fully operational by the Coast Guard -- that's code for "no climbing allowed".
Our destination, however, was specifically geared toward
Captain Blackbeard. Charming with the ladies, he was likely from a noble family, but a blood-thirsty pirate none the less. He desired a menacing look so he'd weave hemp into his braided beard, light the strands and then blow them out causing his head to "smoke". Imagine?
After 2 years of terror on the seas, he was finally captured here on the island, and it was such a
momentous occasion that they severed his head and tied it to the bow of the ship. The rest of his body was tossed overboard where legend says "the body continued to swim around the ship 3 times". Blackbeard's ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, was actually discoverd at the bottom of the sea several years ago and they're still bringing booty up today. Need I mention the gift shop thrill Little Man experienced here?
Yesterday Pilot had shown us the roof of his favorite place to eat on Ocracoke, the Jolly Roger. We found it easily enough and ate a leisurely lunch outside on the deck, watching pelicans fish. We chatted about how if Tomcat were with us, we'd probably choose to stay here -- the town was just so cute. I loved the feel of the place, but we had to get moving as we had a 2 hour ferry ride ahead of us and a 3-4 hour drive beyond that.
Meandering over to the ferry dock, we were stunned to find we'd missed the 2 o'clock ferry by 5 minutes and the next, final ferry was at 5 o'clock. The other ferry came every 20 minutes so we assumed this one would be the same. Bummer, bummer, bummer! Simply staring at the man in the ticket booth, I begged his forgiveness while I calculated the math: arrival time in Myrtle Beach is now 11pm and I'm already tired. What could we possibly do for 3 more hours -- the sun was hiding behind rain clouds again -- that we had't already done?
Well, we did visit the oldest lighthouse in North Carolina; we drove to some wild ponies; we ate ice-cream; we ate fudge; we lingered in the General Store; we bought souvenirs for Peanut's class; we wandered through a few art galleries; we picked up some penny sticks for the ferry ride; and then we waited... and waited... and waited... for what would turn out to be an e t e r n a l night on the road with more flashing blue lights in the rear-view window...
Rain is supposedly on the way so we're leaving the Outer Banks tomorrow morning (2 days early) and heading south to a hotel with an indoor pool! We had a very full day, however, so there are no regrets.
We made a quick stop at the Native American museum, a tiny scrap of a place, but chalk full of impressive artifacts and a staff with a bounty of knowledge. On our way out the door the woman inquired, "Do you kids like fossils?"
So, we found ourselves following a nature trail behind the museum, to a huge bin loaded with 20,000 year old bones, teeth, you name it. With our crew this could have turned into an all-day event, but CurlyTop wanted to move on and see the beach.
The sand was deep and thick, with no muck. Not a piece of driftwood or a crab -- just birds, very cool skate egg casings, and broken shells. Perfect for climbing dunes and rolling around. The kids kept saying it reminded them of White Sands (see New Mexico post) but all I could think of was the life-saving station (see Delaware post). Shipwrecks and pirates.
Grandma's goal was to keep Doodle from drowning, her boundary being set at "not getting your feet wet". You could actually watch the under currents zig-zagging in all directions as the tide worked its way out. Terrifying. And as Peanut said, "The only problem with Doodle is that she has no fear." Amen, girl.
The Wright Brothers flew their Kitty Hawk here in the Outer Banks, but we blazed past the monument and museum in one of our downpours. To pay tribute to them, however, we took a 45 minute flight in a small plane.
The gal who makes (delicious) breakfast at our amazing motel-turned B&B, said her step-dad operates small tours of the islands and to give him a call. As it turns out
he's a retired Coast Guard pilot and his plane was a 4-seater: pilot, Grandma, me and one other. Since the kids are so little and enjoy a good scramble, we just stuck Little Man in the back and the girls shared a seat next to me.
(I figured that if Pilot's flown in a category 5 hurricane and actually managed to save people, we'd be just fine.)
This must be one of the most interesting landscapes to see from the air. Grandma was in awe with all she learned! We could actually see the southern Gulf Stream warm water converging with the northern Labrador cold water; this is what causes Hatteras Island to be "elbow shaped" instead of linear, like most barrier islands. It's also the impetus for all of the violent storms.
Watching this in action solidified my decision that these babies would NOT be putting a toe into this current-mixing shipwrecked sea.
We flew over wild ponies, light houses and countless dolphins fishing in colossal schools of fish. Ferries navigate a slender, deep path between shores that might only be 6 inches deep at different points in the day. From above, these shallow areas looked like Navajo sand paintings.
Albemarle Sound is just a tad smaller than Puget Sound on the West Coast, but with an entirely different look and feel.
By the time we landed, I was so sick I could barely stand up. Why do I always forget to take Dramamine? The flight was smooth, it was me turning around to talk to Little Man, leaning over to hold Doodle while she stood up to see the ponies and spinning around to answer Peanut's questions that had my head and stomach in knots. It took it's toll, but I'm proud to say I avoided puking.
I've been asked many times what the kids do when we're stuck in the room due to rain. Creativity spawns from limitations and I'm constantly amazed what activities they can come up with on their own.
Here are some specific things we've done in the past couple of weeks during such times:
1. Games. We play "20 Questions" or "Remember the Road Trips" where we go around and each person says one thing they remember doing in any of the states. Peanut came up with a new idea the other day, "Let's make a list of all the reasons we like it to rain."
2. Books. Peanut and Little Man read to Doodle, and they draw endlessly.
3. Souvenirs. We buy a lot of souvenirs. Little Man will play for hours with his new loot (miner's hat, sticks he's found, whistles, dress-up) and Doodle tries on any new item of clothing repeatedly. She'll also brush anyone's hair at any moment.
4. Animal parties. At home the kids never play with stuffed animals, but for some reason, they're a favorite on the road. Stripe, Little Man's new raccoon, had an unexpected birthday. A full 3 hours in the car were spent making presents for him, writing sweet letters to him and basically planning the party. Once in the hotel room, there was a full-blown celebration. Fawn, Doodle's new animal, felt left out and had her own party the next night after similar preparations.
5. Animal Tragedy. Ailments are created for their animals: Priscilla the Panda broke her spine or Owen the Otter got his ear cut off and was bleeding to death. Then, the kids hide out in the bathroom mixing an elixir and making bandages to cure them.
6. Youtube. AuntNYC was shocked to hear the kids knew the Tom & Jerry cartoon. Yep, I've introduced them, and I allow one cartoon per rainy night. I also let them watch old country music videos when it's raining.
Packing our suitcase this morning, the kids made themselves at home while breakfast was being made. I understand why B&Bs often refuse kids, but it can be a truly wonderful experience when they're welcomed.
After 4 nights here, they were particularly comfortable, but Doodle was especially taken with our hotel. She did yoga with our host this morning and I walked in just in time to hear her casually ask, "Can I comb your hair now?"
Peanut didn't want to leave the new books, and Little Man didn't want to leave the little yellow bear he'd adopted. Helping me load the car, he grabbed all of Doodle's things for her, but he forgot his brand new green dragon which is a sad, sad loss that he's still lamenting.
Well, good-bye Virginia! After a 2 day reprieve from the rain, it joined us once again as we hit the road for North Carolina. Driving 6.5 hours in a downpour to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore (i.e. the BEACH) was most disappointing. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?
