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kimana517+ My trip to Jekyll Island was great. Very relaxing. Sunday afternoon we drove up and arrived just as they finished cleaning our room. Our hotel, a very nice Days Inn, was right on the beach. We were on the first floor so the dunes blocked our actual beach view, but we had sand-and-sun-and-palm-tree view and a minute's walk onto the beach, so I was not complaining. Plus, the breakfast area was on the second floor so each morning we had a gorgeous view as we ate. Sunday we put on our swimsuits, grabbed our towels and boogie boards, and walked the few hundred feet there... only to discover that there were absolutely no waves, except for normal little tiny ones... that appeared rather brown. We put our stuff down and went to investigate. The water was so gross-looking! We found out via Googling that that area of GA has a lot of seaweed, or dead seaweed, actually, I think, and it makes the water so not good for swimming. LOL. But we went for a walk on the beach and found some very cool shells and a TON of sand dollars, including live ones which we examined but did not take, of course. I had never seen a live one before. We also saw lots of snails and numerous horseshoe crabs. (Yet another reason not to swim, if you ask me. Those things look like aliens mixed with armadillos.) Since we couldn't swim in the ocean without getting brown stuff all over us, we went to the pool for a while. After that we drove around the island to see what all was there, and had dinner at this great locals' favorite-type place at the marina. I had crab chowder. Yum. After that we found a beach on the west side of the island to watch the gorgeous sunset, and then Isaac left because he had to work on Monday.
Monday morning and early afternoon, Mom and I drove to the north part of the island and saw the driftwood beach and all the historical stuff. It was really interesting. When people say Jekyll Island has a rich history, they mean it; it was the winter home for the richest of the rich back in the '20s - Rockefellers, Pulitzers, etc. But of course its history goes back farther than that. They know its origins quite a bit before the founding of our nation. Anyway, we had lunch at the Jekyll Island Club, where the rich people stayed back then, and where they filmed part of the Will Smith movie The Legend of Bagger Vance. After lunch we went to some more of the historical sites, and then back to the hotel where we both fell asleep! Hehe. We woke up in time to get ready for our horseback ride! Mom really wanted to go horseback riding on the beach. (I did too, of course, but it was expensive. Thankfully she paid!) So we did! At sunset! We went on a wooded trail to get there and then rode the horses on the beach. So awesome. We were not technically allowed to trot because the island, which is a state park, prohibits it, but Mom and I got to anyway because she was behind me and my horse would not stop eating some grass no matter how much I pulled the reins and kicked, as instructed. So we got a bit behind and the guide yelled that we could trot to catch up, since Mom and I had both been on horses a few times before. So fun! That was definitely the highlight of the trip. It was so gorgeous. I love horses. I've always wished for a ranch out west with a ton of land to have horses on and take them wherever you want to go. Alas. Anyway, after the ride we went to dinner and shared some super-cheesy crab dip and some stuffed flounder, which was humongous and amazing.
Tuesday I woke up early to see the sunrise. I should've just slept in though because both sunsets we saw while there were far prettier. Oh well. I was able to go back to sleep for an hour after breakfast while Mom went swimming again. Then it was time to leave, so we drove up to Brunswick. We spotted a Goodwill so of course we had to go. How fitting that the first place we went after a vacation on this island that used to be the exclusive getaway of the rich was Goodwill. Ha! I'm so glad we did, too, 'cause I found some perfect-fitting jeans and a blazer with sleeves that are actually long enough. Shocking! Then we had lunch at Applebee's. I hadn't been there in ages, but dude, their Tomato Basil soup is fantastic! I want to go there again soon! And then we came home. It was a great little mini-vacation. I doubt we'll ever go back though because a beach with brown water is not so wonderful. Oh well. Now we know. And we still got to ride horses on the beach. =o) Pics are here.
+ Last week I went to a Goodwill that, the only time I went there before, I didn't find anything. This time I found a few things, but the best was this absolutely gorgeous burgundy Ann Taylor dress. It was too big for me so I bought it for my mom, hoping a) that it would fit and b) that she would like it. Well, I gave it to her and it fits perfectly and she loves it! That makes me so happy.
+ Oh! Our home study visit went great! Thanks so much for praying. Now could you switch your prayers to finances? You can see my most recent entry on the adoption blog for why. Now we just have to finish gathering everything and getting it apostilled (my new word for the week). I got an email from Holt that every family that was finished with their home studies in June or before has received a referral already! They also said they are now doing referrals upon completion of the home study, not just the dossier. *wide-eyed* That means if we can get this all finished up we could get a referral within a few months. Whoa. Tonight we went out to dinner for Aaron's birthday and I saw a white mom with the cutest black little girl and thought, "Wow. Next year that could be ME." And instead of feeling strange like it used to, this time it just made me smile.
+ Over the week I kept thinking, "I ought to write about this and that," but I didn't, and now I've forgotten all that stuff! Oh well. If I think of it tomorrow I'll write it.
Monday morning and early afternoon, Mom and I drove to the north part of the island and saw the driftwood beach and all the historical stuff. It was really interesting. When people say Jekyll Island has a rich history, they mean it; it was the winter home for the richest of the rich back in the '20s - Rockefellers, Pulitzers, etc. But of course its history goes back farther than that. They know its origins quite a bit before the founding of our nation. Anyway, we had lunch at the Jekyll Island Club, where the rich people stayed back then, and where they filmed part of the Will Smith movie The Legend of Bagger Vance. After lunch we went to some more of the historical sites, and then back to the hotel where we both fell asleep! Hehe. We woke up in time to get ready for our horseback ride! Mom really wanted to go horseback riding on the beach. (I did too, of course, but it was expensive. Thankfully she paid!) So we did! At sunset! We went on a wooded trail to get there and then rode the horses on the beach. So awesome. We were not technically allowed to trot because the island, which is a state park, prohibits it, but Mom and I got to anyway because she was behind me and my horse would not stop eating some grass no matter how much I pulled the reins and kicked, as instructed. So we got a bit behind and the guide yelled that we could trot to catch up, since Mom and I had both been on horses a few times before. So fun! That was definitely the highlight of the trip. It was so gorgeous. I love horses. I've always wished for a ranch out west with a ton of land to have horses on and take them wherever you want to go. Alas. Anyway, after the ride we went to dinner and shared some super-cheesy crab dip and some stuffed flounder, which was humongous and amazing.
Tuesday I woke up early to see the sunrise. I should've just slept in though because both sunsets we saw while there were far prettier. Oh well. I was able to go back to sleep for an hour after breakfast while Mom went swimming again. Then it was time to leave, so we drove up to Brunswick. We spotted a Goodwill so of course we had to go. How fitting that the first place we went after a vacation on this island that used to be the exclusive getaway of the rich was Goodwill. Ha! I'm so glad we did, too, 'cause I found some perfect-fitting jeans and a blazer with sleeves that are actually long enough. Shocking! Then we had lunch at Applebee's. I hadn't been there in ages, but dude, their Tomato Basil soup is fantastic! I want to go there again soon! And then we came home. It was a great little mini-vacation. I doubt we'll ever go back though because a beach with brown water is not so wonderful. Oh well. Now we know. And we still got to ride horses on the beach. =o) Pics are here.
+ Last week I went to a Goodwill that, the only time I went there before, I didn't find anything. This time I found a few things, but the best was this absolutely gorgeous burgundy Ann Taylor dress. It was too big for me so I bought it for my mom, hoping a) that it would fit and b) that she would like it. Well, I gave it to her and it fits perfectly and she loves it! That makes me so happy.
+ Oh! Our home study visit went great! Thanks so much for praying. Now could you switch your prayers to finances? You can see my most recent entry on the adoption blog for why. Now we just have to finish gathering everything and getting it apostilled (my new word for the week). I got an email from Holt that every family that was finished with their home studies in June or before has received a referral already! They also said they are now doing referrals upon completion of the home study, not just the dossier. *wide-eyed* That means if we can get this all finished up we could get a referral within a few months. Whoa. Tonight we went out to dinner for Aaron's birthday and I saw a white mom with the cutest black little girl and thought, "Wow. Next year that could be ME." And instead of feeling strange like it used to, this time it just made me smile.
+ Over the week I kept thinking, "I ought to write about this and that," but I didn't, and now I've forgotten all that stuff! Oh well. If I think of it tomorrow I'll write it.
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