Too Late

Can I tell you what I hate? I hate timing. It is the worst! It never seems to be on my side. I'm not going to elaborate on what is bothering me at this moment because who knows if that bothersome will actually stumble onto this blog. All I will say is something I said would never happen has happened...to me. But the timing gods are against me! I am probably 1 1/2 years too late on this one. Curse the timing in my life. Arg! Oh well. I guess this is where patience and faith come into play.

Hiking

My family thinks I don't like hiking. It isn't that I don't like it but sweating like a dog and gasping for air has never been much of a thrill for me. I absolutely love long stretches of trail that wind through canyons (Calf Creek Falls, The Narrows, etc.) but actually have very little elevation change (unless it is going down). So I must have been crazy when I offered to carry my cousin's son on our annual family reunion hike. Surprisingly, my hiking abilities have increased. My stamina and endurance are so much better than when I was younger. The hike was great and Gavin even fell asleep. I like hiking. Hopefully I can find more hikes like this one.

Lake Powell

I love my family vacations. So often I hear people grumbling about family members or family reunions they have to go to. When my family gets together, we always have fun. This year we vacationed in Lake Powell. Four days on the lake. My family is one of the few crazy families who gets up at the crack of dawn to be the first ones on the lake. I am still amazed at how early Dad wakes us up. However, I love gliding across the water so it is all worth it. The days were full of more wakeboarding, more water skiing, riding Mable, swimming back in coves, playing in the sand, going down the slide from the houseboat, or just floating in the water. And when we were so exhausted that we could barely lift our pinky, we just kicked back and played some Rook. Finally at the end of each day, we slept on top of the houseboat under the stars, watching in awe and amazement at the multitude of stars that peak out when you're away from the city lights, and seeing the occasional shooting star. Needless to say, we had a fabulous time.

Charleston Day 8

Today was our last day in Charleston. We didn't finish the walking tour yesterday so my mom said she would finish it with me. Everyone else also decided to come with us. We finished up the tour stopping at the Old Exchange Building and the Old Slave Mart. These two museums are on my list the next time I come. Afterwards we brought Kathrine to the airport and then headed to Patriot's Point. Talk to Nettie about how quickly she explored the aircraft carrier in two hours. She was a speed demon. The USS Yorktown was amazing. I can't imagine living on it though. Incredible is the only word I can use to describe it. After our quick stint at Patriot's Point we headed to the airport and traveled home. Gratefully we did not have any flight problems this whole trip. I highly recommend Charleston to everyone. So where is my next trip? I think Prince Edward Island.

Charleston Day 7

Today was the day my family decided going on trips with Thamina is not a good idea. For me I love just being part of a city. I love walking around and seeing what is there. I have a photographic memory so I literally take the views of the city with me. We stopped at the Charleston Visitor's Center and got ready what everyone thought was the Museum Mile tour. This tour brings you through the major historical center via Meeting Street. However, when I went into the visitor's center I found a walking tour of Charleston which added x-amount of descriptions to the original tour. The path was similar but I knew that my family would get tired of me quickly. So we began the adventure. Honestly, it would have gone quickly if it had been myself but when you are a group of seven everyone has their own agenda, something I needed to be reminded of constantly because I was becoming a brat about it. So what I thought would only take a couple of hours took longer. People were tired and lunch did not happen until 2:30. We only took tours of two houses: The Calhoun Mansion and the Edmondston-Alston house. I wanted to go on a couple of more tours but did not feel right making others pay for more stuff. Every house had a $10 entrance fee so four houses adds up quickly. After lunch we called it a day. We stopped at Patriot's Point to check out their times and decided to stop there tomorrow before we flew home. The rest of the time we played at the beach. I love the beach! I would love to come and visit Charleston again. This has been a great vacation!

Charleston Day 6

Today was Sunday which meant less walking. My mom and dad had a great time at church meeting up with old friends. I think they enjoyed being remembered. Afterwards we went exploring trying to find the remnants of Fort Johnson where the first shots of the Civil War were fired. We had to walk a bit but found the ruins. I would love to excavate the site! Not much has been done except a placard placed to designate the spot. We walked a bit downtown but it was raining so we came back to the hotel and played cards and watched movies. It was nice to relax especially since I knew what I had planned for day seven.

Charleston Day 5

To anyone who actually reads this I am finishing up the Charleston trip. I haven't been in town the past few weeks and when I have been it has been repacking for the next adventure. To be honest day five paled in comparison to day four. I loved day four! Today we walked around Charles Towne Landing, the first official settlement in the area. They had animals in cages and alligators not in cages. The grounds were beautiful and I love the Spanish Moss on the trees. Overall though, it was more of a park that I would visit for a Sunday walk or bike ride with the family. Do understand though, that if you are going to travel to Charleston this is a must see. Just do it before the other cool stuff so it doesn't seem as anti-climatic. Afterwards we went to Middleton Place. The gardens were very nice but I loved Magnolia Gardens better. I also think the heat was getting to all of us which made walking around outside less than desirable. Once again, Middleton Place is a must see. Every night we have gone out for dinner at some little quaint place in Charleston. If anyone wants a list of places email and I'll give you my favorites. Most evenings after we walked around in the heat we would relax in the pool at the hotel. Nice way to cool off from the sweltering day.

Yes, I was a Trucker

I'm taking a break from the Charleston updates because I haven't been in town to go through pictures and organize them. I have only been in town one week of the past five. Week 1 and 2 I was in Charleston then at our family's cabin. The third week I was doing statistics. Yes it was as boring as it sounds but completing the class made my acceptance to MBA school official. And yes that is as scary as it sounds. Week 4 was Lake Powell which I will post when I get back to home. Where am I week 5? I have been driving. Yes folks driving. Monday we drove to Bryce Canyon and hiked down into the canyon. I have hiked this before, but Annette has no memory of it and she wanted (?) to do it before she moved. Tuesday we (Annette, my mom, Kathrine, and I in two different cars) drove for 12 hours to Sacramento. Wednesday we drove to Palo Alto and moved Nettie into her new place. I am actually a bit jealous of her. I have tried over and over again to move to that area. I love it there but my life doesn't seem to be moving in that direction. If you are reading this, you probably know that back story. After we moved Nettie into her house, we drove back to Sacramento. Today we actually get a break, but do you know what I am doing tomorrow? That's right folks, driving back to Utah. I drove all but two hours out to Sacramento. I drove to Palo Alto and back. And tomorrow I will do most of the driving. What can I say...I was a trucker in my former life.

Charleston Day 4

Today was my favorite day. It is best described as "how much can Thamina stuff into one day." We started at Fort Sumter. You take a ferry boat out to the fort. The ride is quite nice. They tell you cool historical things that happened in the area and point out significant landmarks. It is fun to see the Charleston peninsula from the harbor. Fort Sumter is quite amazing to see. The fort functioned up until World War 1. During the Spanish-American War the gunner holes were bricked up and filled with sand and dirt and other debrie to fortify the fort. Not until 1950 did they excavate and find all these Civil War cannons. The grassy knoll you see in the pictures is the non-excavated part. Sonar testing reveals large metal objects (canons) underneath but these will probably be left alone. After Fort Sumter we went to Boone Hall, the place where my fascination began. The grounds are incredible. I love the house and the line of oaks and the slave quarters and the cotton house and the river...basically everything! I just feel like I am in another time. I have decided that if I lived in another time period I would live as a merchants daughter in the deep south prior to the Civil War. It all just fascinates me. After we visited Boone Hall we stopped at a sweetgrass shop and bought some sweetgrass hot plates. My mom has had some of these for as long as I have been alive. I love them! I didn't buy anything else because I wasn't going to play $150+ for a basket. Next we went to Fort Moultrie. We actually didn't get to the fort until after it closed but I was okay with that. We were still able to walk around and view Fort Sumter from Fort Moultrie. Right before the Civil War, Major Anderson moved his troops from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter in the middle of the night. This act infuriated the people of Charleston which just added fuel to the fire. That night we ate at Poe's Tavern, named after Edgar Allen Poe. He was stationed at Fort Moultrie for 18 months and the people of Sullivan's Island are quite proud of this fact. We decided to walk along the beach after dinner so we drove to Isle of Palms and just walked along the sand. I love walking on the beach especially when the sun is about to set. Today really was a good day and I was so happy that everyone enjoyed what I planned.