With that being said, it's time to plan the next adventure!
We were invited by good friends to travel with them this summer. One of them is a native of South Carolina and wanted to show off some of his favorite haunts. We had been talking about traveling together for a while, so we decided to take them up on the offer, and rent a place in Pawleys Island, SC.
It's a beach community just south of the Myrtle Beach area. We've vacationed in Myrtle Beach before and know it fairly well. We'll do a little of this:
Some of this (PASTY WHITE GUY ALERT!):
A little of this:
And who knows? Maybe even see this:
I'm hoping to catch dinner at my favorite local place:
TBonz Gill & Grill
We get a little restless just sitting in one place for very long, so we're hoping to do a day trip to Charleston, SC. We'd like to visit
Fort Sumter, where the first shots were fired in the U.S. Civil War.
And
Patriots Point would give us the chance to tour an actual aircraft carrier, the USS Yorktown. Hopefully we'll also get a chance to wander the city itself. Any tips on what else we should see?
We may also get to squeeze in a couple of DIS-meets, if all goes well--Marv (marvali) and Rob (GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes)?
There is a secret second portion of the trip as well. I'll let you in on it if you don't tell anyone. As you know, we want to get to all 50 states with the kids. If you remember our map, you'll know that they haven't been in Georgia yet (we flew to WDW). So Julie and I thought about this...
...and figured, well, if we're going to be in SC, it's not much further to cross into Georgia. Then we thought...
...if we're going to drive into Georgia, it's not that much further to Florida. We could even take the kids to the oldest settlement in the U.S., St. Augustine. There they could tour the
Castillo de San Marcos.
Then we thought some more. If we're going to be in Florida...
Wouldn't it be cool to completely surprise the kids with a few days at Disney World?
We can't afford a whole week there after a week in SC. But the idea of a surprise WDW trip was too fun to pass up. We'll be heading down in July, so we know the crowds will be huge. Our plan is to spend maybe 2 days in the parks, concentrating on things we haven't seen yet (like the new Star Tours ride). With judicious use of FastPasses, anything else will be a bonus. We're also hoping to do a day at Typhoon Lagoon, since we haven't tried the water parks yet. Maybe Monday, early in the week.
We had a little pixie dust spread on our plans as well. I was talking to a friend about our plans and mentioned we didn't know where we'd stay yet. I said that our dream was to spend a couple of days at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, but that wouldn't happen because Disney refuses to build hotel rooms that can hold more than 4 people and don't require a 2nd mortgage.
This is when our friend decided to become our Mysterious Benefactor.
Our Mysterious Benefactor is a member of DVC...and it just so happens that he has some points he can't use next year. Maybe, just maybe we could help each other out...
First, he checked with his
Budget Committee to get approval. Then, after some phone calls on the 7-months-out date, it became official.
We're staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge in Kidani Village!
(I know, that photo is from Jambo House. Sue me.)
I cannot thank our Mysterious Benefactor and Budget Committee enough for making this happen for us. We never thought we'd be able to stay there, and these friends are making it possible. You have saved our lives! We are eternally grateful!
Our plan is not to say anything to the kids. We'll simply leave Pawleys Island and turn left instead of right. We think they'll figure something out along the way, but how cool would it be for them to first realize it when we pass under the WDW gates?
So, that's the plan. We'll come back, as always, with a full report.
Thanks for taking the time to read my drivel. There's a lot of other drivel out there, and the fact that you chose to indulge in mine means a great deal to me. As I said in the previous post, I'm honored to have you as friends.
Coming Up Next: If she has time, Julie will do an add-on mini-TR here about her trip to California with Sarah to see the Rose Bowl Parade. So you'll get to hear from an intelligent writer for a change!