Emmy's birthday

Em's birthday, including her special horsey blanket from Grandma, the presents and cake, and Ju, Cindy, Rich and Lael's feet through the glass table. Who's is who's?

Cockles and Mussels, a-dead, a-dead-oh!

Collecting shells on the beach by the Harbortown lighthouse, Hilton Head Island.

We call him the cuke

That's Johnny, Cuke to friends, singing for his supper

Hilton Head

Mon 10th: Played golf, Ju finally posted a win thanks to a 9-point Stableford lead after the first nine. Ridiculously narrow fairways with trees everywhere made the job a little hard. Johnny got his first tooth, shortly followed by his second.

Tues 11th: Went for a bike ride down the beach, adults in front, kids in back. Watched dolphins swimming up the beach, only maybe 50 yards out.

Wed 12th: Another game of golf, at definitely the hardest course I’ve ever played. Water in play on every hole, and four holes with long carries across the marshes. Rich managed to seal the series victory with a 3&2 win.

Thu 13th: Went down to the beach and enjoyed standing at the break-point and having the surf crash over. Bliz enjoyed it very much, as did her Dad.

Fri 14th: Final game of golf. Played a scramble, we managed to score a 71, one under par, thanks to some outrageous saves. Unfortunately we missed the most important save, which would have been to catch Jacob as he jumped out of the golf cart as we approached the 18th tee at close to full speed. A nice case of road rash, and he significantly contributed to us bogeying the hole – I was pumped to try for a 69…

Sat 15th: Went to a Fall Festival, and had fun collecting shells on the beach. Had Em’s 5th birthday party – she was thrilled to have a second birthday – she only remembers the one from last year, and thus this was her second! She got a lovely horsey blanket from Grandma and Grandpa, and Disney Princess stuff from her family.

Sun 16th: Tried to go to church and failed, after Emily woke with a fever, throwing up. Made leaving the apartment by 10am interesting. Drove up to New Bern, NC, for a meeting on Tuesday.

Busch Gardens

Elizabeth, seated alone in the very last row, upside-down on the loop-the-loop

Jake and Em enjoying a thrilling motorcycle ride

Teeth? Not necessary.

Johnny enjoying his cereal at Uncle Noel and Auntie Shirley's house

Why I buy Good Sam RV breakdown coverage

1. Wrecker
2. Our Excursion
3. The bushouse
4. (Not attached), State Highway Patrol vehicle

At right, I-85.

Total damage: About 2 hours, $45 for the new fuel filter, $79 annual breakdown coverage

Taking three showers in one day? Must be Florida.

Sat-Sun 24^th: Went down to Frank Baldwin’s house in Suffolk Virginia.

Mon 26^th: Went on down to Mitchell and Debbie’s house near Charlotte NC. Broke down on the way, had to get a tow off I-85. The kids got to ride in a Highway Patrol car, as the tow-truck didn’t have enough seats for all of us. Turned out in the end that the fuel filter had never been changed in 105,000 miles, and it was so dirty that it was coughing junk into the engine. At least, that seems the likely explanation.

Tue-Thu 27^th-29^th: Hung out at Mitchell and Debbie’s house, enjoyed watching the antics of their twin 2-year-old boys.

Thu 29^th: Drove down to Columbia, South Carolina, to stay at Lael’s Uncle Noel and Auntie Shirley’s house.

Sat 1^st: Packed up, loaded the truck, left the bushouse behind, and drove down to Orlando to meet Ju and Cindy.

Sun 2^nd: Picked up Ju and Cindy from the airport, and went out to the Country Club (yup, Country Club, and no, they didn’t just boot us out). They have about 10,000 guests at any one time. We got a 3-bedroom apartment overlooking the 10^th hole of the golf course, just beautiful, high quality appointments, just the ticket.

Tue 4^th: The first of the yet-to-be-determined-how-many golf matches. Ju vs. Rich on The Legends at Orange Lake. A somewhat scrappy affair, but the usual high drama. Ju was two up with three to play. Rich won the next two holes to bring it all square going up the last. Ju was looking good, safe just short of the green in two, with Rich having driven into a bunker off the tee, and faced with a 170 yard shot, needing to carry over a lake all the way to the green’s edge. Rich played a blinder to the right edge of the green, and eventually got down in one less than Ju to win the hole and the match.

Wed 5^th: Went to Busch Gardens. First, we worked out that for our family to go to Disney for two days would be $700 more than going to Busch Gardens for two days. After that, the choice was easy. Had a lot of fun on the water rides, Elizabeth did her first loop-the-loop rollercoaster, and all was lovely.

Thu 6^th: The second in the epic battle: Rich vs. Ju, again at The Legends. This time an unusually one-sided affair, Rich winning 5&4, thanks to a run of 5 pars on the back nine. In the evening, Ju went out and bought a new set of irons. The third installment may turn out differently.

Fri 7^th: Ju and Cindy went off to Universal Studios, we went back to Busch Gardens. Highlights included Elizabeth’s first rides on rollercoasters by herself (she loved it), and the kids getting to hold some birds (see photos).

Sat 8^th: Went to the pool in the afternoon, and Ju and Rich played golf in the dark in the evening, on a floodlit par-3 nine-hole course. Due to the vagaries of the game, Rich managed to win, despite going round in two more shots than Ju. The new irons were going well.

Sun 9^th: Drove up to Hilton Head for week 2 of the vacation.