Lowcountry Escape - Mini Vacay

Having a newborn doesn't mean a family cannot still travel. I used to think it did many years ago. On the contrary, you can do so much traveling, but it may look a little different and you have to have a lot of gear! Haha! 

We currently vacation annually for two weeks at the beach at Ocean Lakes every summer. This year, we have pushed our trip back to the end of summer because of baby Elias. We wanted him to be a little older versus 1.5 month when we went. We will only do one week this time. The second week is mine and Eric's alone week together and my parents take Ellie usually. But this year, a week away from a newborn is not desirable for us. We will do our alone week again next year. Anyway, I had seen that Brook Green Gardens near Murrells Inlet was having a wonderful beautiful event, "Summer Light: Art by Night." I really wanted to go. However, this display ends just before our trip to Ocean Lakes at the end of summer. So I told Eric, and he booked us a Vrbo in Georgetown, SC for a mini vacay so I could see the gorgeous gardens all lit up at night! He is AMAZING!

Our first day of our trip we stopped first at Hampton Plantation State Historic Site to enhance our Ultimate Outsider challenge with our stamps. We toured the plantation then went into Historic Georgetown to walk around the harbor and see what we could see.

We saw an alligator and turtle, lots of boats, cute shops and dining. If we had more time, I'd love to do a boat ride 4 hour tour to Shell Island, an undisturbed barrier island on the coast where you can collect shells and enjoy the evening sea breeze on the boat. There were two companies I noticed that ran these tours. I think Ellie would have loved this. Next time for sure now that I know. 

We checked into our Vrbo, "Corner of Broad," which was walking distance, like one block, from the downtown scene. It was perfect. The Vrbo was an entire living space attached to a historic Georgetown home. It had been remodeled and renovated and it was so very elegant and relaxing to stay in. A great find by Eric. 

After getting settled in, we walked downtown again to go have dinner at "River Room" on the water. We got crawfish dip, crab balls, shrimp and scallop pasta, and crab cakes. The crab balls as an appetizer were our favorite item! Then, Eric had promised Ellie a "special treat" which she knows to translate into "ice cream." So we walked on downtown to a local ice cream shop to top off with a sweet treat. 

Once the babes were in bed for the night, dreaming of milk and ice cream, Eric and I sat outside on the patio to unwind. It is such a peaceful area! 

Our second day was a beach day at Pawley's Island! I've never been there or to Georgetown for that matter. My local SC peeps will appreciate that we went by THE home of the staple, "Palmetto Cheese." The birthplace of this most delicious and perfect southern staple. I fan girled over pimento cheese, y'all. I must be southern to my core! Haha! We parked and made our spot on the beach which by the way, was such a beautiful, lovely, and family oriented beach! Lawd have mercy it was so nice to see other sweet young families and none of these thong type bikinis running up and down the beach. Like, when did that even become ok? Ok - let me get back on track - so the beach was quiet, clean, and precious. It was Elias's first beach day! He mostly slept through it or drank a bottle, however, he did have a moment in the sand and waves. He seemed pretty chill about it all. I can't wait to take him for our week long trip coming up to see how a little more than a month can change him and his experiencing the beach! Ellie, meanwhile knew just what to do and wasted no time in getting straight to digging a sand castle, chasing waves before they chased her, making friends, and playing with me by chasing me with wet sand and having a sand battle! We built a sand castle together. I took Elias on a walk to get him down for a nap and I found a beautiful large starfish! 

We left the beach mid afternoon, grabbed a rotisserie chicken from Wal-Mart for our dinner accompanied by some roasted potatoes I'd made at home and packed to bring to reheat and we gathered around the table and enjoyed our supper together before heading out to the event at Brook Green Gardens. I am so thrilled we went! It was magnificent, magical, and such a really fun night with our kids and as a couple. We walked the gardens with a pina colada and beer in hand keeping ourselves cool in the shade of the spanish moss swaying from the boughs of the live oaks as we listened to rasta being performed live by a local band. Ellie enjoyed having her camera and photographing everything! She had us pose for a good five minutes for a photo shoot with her camera. She posed us from our heads to our toes and she actually got some good photos! Her doing this put us into side splintering laughs and it gave her such joy and confidence and self importance to be doing something so grand. We love to see all the things her brain cooks up and how she implements her ideas! We walked, talked, bonded, held hands, laughed, flirted, and made fun of one another like good true lovers do. Elias was cool as a cucumber with his little fan and his dinosaur stroller. He just chilled and took it all in. He loves the outdoors. I played chase with Ellie beneath the trees while we waited for it to get darker so we could really absorb the full effect of the magical lights. Eric and I had a sweet moment together resting in the grass discussing all these new and big changes over the last 7 months together and how much it has made us even closer in our relationship - a thing I didn't think was even possible because we are truly in love with one another - we are truly best friends. But this challenge of packing up and leaving all I've ever known to go where God called us to go and to support my husband and the way he has tended to me and cared for my heart tenderly in this emotional experience, no matter how difficult for me, has made he and I wildly closer and I'm thankful for that. I never imagined a challenge like this in my life and I'm thankful for it even when it hurts my soul because through it, God gave me Eric to draw me near and close and to love me and care for me and to hear my heart and to know it well. All that really matters in life is first to glorify God and to seek Him and His glory, and then, to love your people. And I love my people fiercely. Being in the garden with two precious children was really special and he and I had sort of a date there even with a wild brown eyed blonde girl running around us in circles laughing her head off in exhausted rapturous joy. The lights were fantastic and incredibly well done. I'm so glad for the entire experience we had there. If you can go while they are still running the show for the next month, I highly recommend it! 

Our last day of our mini vacay I had initially thought to hit up a couple more state parks on the way home for stamps for our Ultimate Outsider challenge, but Charleston was calling me and I had to go! And Eric was happy to take me! We enjoyed walking the market and waterfront park and battery. We had lunch at Fleet Landing where I got lobster, crab, and corn stuffed giant hush puppies as an appetizer! Yum! But, with the temperature rising up to 100F, Ellie was DONE. I mean done done. And while heat doesn't bother me really at all, I decided to call it a day and head home for the sake of my little who was exhausted and hot. She napped nearly all the way home to Georgia as did Elias. 

It was a great mini escape! I'm so thankful for Eric who is up for an adventure when I hear one calling my name! He always makes them fun, functional, and happy! I can't wait for the next one!