South Carolina Reunion Part 2

...And The Trip Continues  

The next part of our trip was filled with even more wild adventure, memories, and emotion as we breathed in the ocean air and spent time together!

8/5/19: Monday- Family Walks, Beach Time, & Art

We all woke up early for our final full day with the family, taking another morning walk on the beach. We took in the beautiful bright sky and calm ocean before heading up for breakfast and a quick trip back to Eagles to return some things and buy more clothes.

Dolphins, Chaos In The Waves, & Sacrificed Sunglasses

After Eagles, we got ready for the beach and headed down to meet up with the family. While swimming, we spotted dolphins in the distance and watched for a bit; little Harper even swam out with us to watch. However, in the midst of dolphin watching, a huge wave came crashing for us. My mom and I ended up grabbing Harper as we were all knocked underwater and pushed down, keeping her safe as we were thrown around. Luckily, everyone was okay, but unfortunately, my favorite pair of sunglasses were lost in the chaos and sacrificed to the sea.

CVS, Meltdowns, & Shirley Temples

Mom and I left the water, grabbed Zooey, and jumped in the car to go find me a new pair of sunnies. We went to CVS, bought some candy and sunglasses, and then cried in the car about how sad we were that it was our last day while everyone else got to stay the full week because they didn't have school.

After our brief meltdown, we went back to the house, changed again for the beach, and then went over to the Litchfield Inn to meet up with those cousins for swimming and boogieboarding. We got Shirley Temples with extra cherries and just relaxed for a few hours.

Ketchup Crisis, Frozen On The Beach, & Stormy Polaroids 

After, we started making a hot dog dinner with lots of chips and treats available, but no ketchup! Mom had to go ask the next door neighbors from New York for some who, in the process, jokingly told us we better not be using it for hot dogs...we were. After dinner with the whole family, including some more cousins from South Carolina, Zooey and the kids put on another, now Frozen-themed, show.

After their performance, mom, Rob, and I took a walk on the stormy beach. The beach was gray and wild as a storm was a brewing and lighting flashed in the distance. We took some funny Polaroid pictures together before having to quickly head back as rain started coming our way.

Old Family Film, Imaginary Friends, & Chocolate Cashews

Once home, we showed everyone our pictures and then sat together in the living room to watch old family videos of past reunions and celebrations. Some videos of our family were so old that they were in black and white with no audio.

Once some family had left and everything calmed down a bit, I came up with the idea to randomly draw funny abstract pictures of everybody's "imaginary friend." We hung up my art on the pillar in the kitchen and everyone took their Friend By Madi home with them.

When the rain was really coming down hard, mom and I sat in the screened-in porch, listening to the storm and eating dark chocolate covered cashews. We were sad about the trip coming to an end and reminisced about our adventures (I mean, we did save a cousin that afternoon).

8/6/19: Tuesday- Goodbyes & Family History

For our last morning at the beach, we went on a final ocean walk before leaving. We searched for seashells and let the water run over our feet, our toes sinking in the sand. Mom went swimming and played with Riker and Mia as I watched with Harper, Kiana, and Lauren. We then said goodbye to the stunning ocean, saying we'll see you again very soon.

After packing up the car, we sat at the breakfast table for a bit, talking about life and planning to see each other again. During that talk, we got to hear about some of cousin Lauren's life and how, after graduating high school, she went on a moped style cross-country trip with her friend to go see St. Helens after its 1980 eruption. That trip, she met her husband, Bob, during a stop in Minnesota, left to finish her adventure, went back to Minnesota, ran into Bob again at the store, and then never left.

I love hearing about my family's history and getting to know my roots. Family is incredibly important to me, and I can't imagine a life where I don't know where I come from.

My First Senior Trip Of The Year 

Leaving was very hard as we hugged everyone and said our goodbyes to the house, sand, and sea, but eventually, we started our trip back to Georgia and school, crying and missing everyone already. I'll always remember our 2019 family reunion with such amazing people as my first senior trip of the year and can't wait to see them all and Litchfield again.