Home from Paradise . . . and Back to Reality!!!
(a really LONG post, unless you're ready for some photos!)

Well, "reality" isn't really too awful, so it's not so bad being back home (in fact, it's always a little nice when you see those old familiar exits and then pull up into the driveway; something very soothing about being home) . . . but still, I sure am going to miss the balmy evenings on the beach, the late-night ice cream treats, and the joy of exploring somewhere brand new to me. Anyone who knows just a little bit about me knows that I LOVE traveling--I love staying in hotels, trying new restaurants, and the plain excitement of driving down an unfamiliar street onto a brand new corner of the world!

This past week, that "corner" of the world was Savannah and Tybee Island, Georgia. We had a very fun and relaxing time! Walking . . . exploring . . . playing on the beach . . . my favorite kind of vacation!

For my post this Monday morning, I primarily wanted to post some photos so you could get a real FEEL for my vacations. So, day-by-day, here are some 2006 Summer Vacation photos for you to enjoy (we took like 300 photos on our trip, so this is just a small sampling. LOL). . .

Day One-- Savannah

We arrived in Savannah on Thursday afternoon (our high school registration for McKenna that morning went much better than expected and we were able to leave town by 9:30; we made good time and were in Savannah by 5 p.m. Yay!) The event for the night was a dinner cruise. Some photos of that (mostly of we girls looking photogenic, but a fun one too of the crew dancing to the cheesy singer onboard. There's something about hearing "YMCA" that just makes everyone want to dance!):

Day Two-- Savannah, then to Tybee

The girls and I explored some of Savannah's historic districts (the town's design is very cool, with the historic district divided up into blocks with different garden parks on each of them), and then enjoyed some of our hotel's amenities (the roof-top pool and the incredibly bouncy beds!).
(John Wesley's only American congregation was in Savannah) (the Mercer House--one of the main "characters" in one of mine and Gary's fave books of all time, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Read it!!)

Day Three--Tybee

Most of this day was spent on the beach--riding the big waves, making sandcastles, playing in tidal pools, and getting nice and toasty sunburned. (And, earlier in the day before any of the girls had the energy to get out of bed, Gary got up before dawn and went and took these gorgeous sunrise pics down by the jetties.) The last pics show how the tide had those same rocks submerged by nightfall.
(is that photo not just GORGEOUS??!! I love it!!)



Day Four-- Tybee, then home

We spent the morning going back to the far end of the beach, where the jetties and rock formations are. They looked very different than the night before--the tide was low, so you could actually see all of the rocks. This part of the beach is also cool because it is calm and waveless and reaches out to a huge sandbar. (Pics are of me being "reflective" by the rocks, Sydney grabbing a ride on Delaney's back in the calm part of the ocean, and Gary walking toward the sandbar.)

Sydney's last words as we walked off the beach for the last time was, "I don't wanna go yet." You and me both, Sydney!! But we had to head out, and so we did!

Enjoyed the ride home, amazingly!! The girls fussed very little and Gary and I actually enjoyed some time "by ourselves" while the girls watched a DVD or two. We had a few funny moments (when Gary heard on the radio that Pamela Anderson had married Kid Rock and in his mind was thinking of LONI Anderson. We laughed quite a while on that one!!) and enjoyed "Name that Tune" with songs from his Sirius radio 80's show (sometimes I scare myself with how much useless music trivia I have stored in my brain).

We hated to see the trip to come to an end! It was a really nice vacation!

And finally--A Food Tour of our Vacation

One of our favorite things about vacations is the FOOD. Yep, we're really sad but we get very excited when we try a new restaurant and discover a really yummy, moan-able dish. We even take pics of the occasion (as you can see here! LOL). So, here are some of our food discoveries: (okay, these things called Potato Wedges at Spanky's on Tybee were to DIE for; instead of fries, you could buy these, which were big thick-cut potatoes with this delicious, crusted edge around the, I could have just eaten a basket of those!)
(at The Crab Shack, you simply threw your shrimp and crab peels--and the rest of your leftovers--into the trash can in the middle of your table! LOL It was really FUN!)
(when this pizza arrived at our table at Fat Boys Pizzeria--HA!! how bout that one??--we all looked at it with wide eyes and wondered how we'd ever eat it all? Like 15 minutes later, it was ALL gone!!)

(okay, one of the funniest things on our trip was Delaney's impersonations of Rachael Ray during each of our meals; at each of our meals, she'd take a chicken finger, or french fry, or whatever, and put it in her mouth, then kinda moan like Rachael does and say, "Mmm, that's so good!"; then, when we ate at The Crab Shack on our way out of town, lo-and-behold, we saw this picture of Rachael at the restaurant for her "$40 a Day" tv show. Delaney had to pose with it. It was TOO funny!!)

Well, that's about it . . . LOL! (If you really want to see some pics, stop by sometime and I'll show you the other 200!!) Thanks for indulging me with all of those!!! But, you know, that photos are so precious to me. They are my way of reliving the memories of my life!

Now it's back to the aforementioned Reality (with a capital R!). No one's here to provide me with clean towels and I can't get a pina colada on demand. But at least I have the memories . . .