Visting South Carolina

A day after we finished Disney Cruise and touring around Disney World Parks, we all took an Amtrak train from Orlando, Florida to Charleston, South Carolina. It took us eight hours riding on a train. This was the first for the boys-- they LOVED IT!

While riding on a train, there was some rain on the way. This did not bother us because we had some relaxing over watching the DVD movies, taking short naps, and eating our dinner. The boys chose over pizza than eating adult food! As soon we arrived South Carolina, it was LATE at night: 10 P.M. From there, it took my mother an hour and a half to drive back to her home. By the time, we got there, the boys definitely were pooped out!

The next day, my mother took us to her favorite beach site: Huntington Beach, South Carolina. We were amazed the water was literally warm-- a lot more warmer than in California water. Not only staying in the warm water, the waves was PERFECT! There was no need to worry about the high waves at all. Dylan learned to do a boogie board that my mother and Bruce brought to the beach. Ryan played both in the water and busy making a mud birthday cake. After the beach, she even stopped by where the alligators usually hung around. It was not far from where we swam. Not only finding the alligators swimming near the beach, we also discovered them in the marsh nearby my mother's home. I could not image if they would dare to walk up to the front door. Fortunately, my mother's home live farther away from the marsh. It would be impossible to have them walk on the the street, unless one of them dared to scare any of the neighbors.

We also visited the places where my mother worked: a cozy Sea Shell stores. Both boys were fantasized how much they like to collect shells. Ryan started to collect more shells after we llanded in Castaway island. It was a good feeling for me to him having at least a hobby. While I was there, I admitted that I dreamed about collecting some shells for my teaching: Ocean Theme.

While we were squeezing our tours, my mom was kind enough to take us to Charleston where there were lots of old and beautiful buildings. We even stopped by seeing more beaches and Shrimp Boats. At both times, we stopped for an ice cream especially during the hot weather. With the hot weather, we had a chance to see many lightening. The cutest statement was Ryan thought the lightening was chasing us.

On the last day of spending the time with my mother, she took us to McClellanville town. It was neat to see our last name being in a small town. David's eyes lit it up when he saw the signs before we left for an airport. After we spent the last couple of hours before leaving for an airport, it was nice feeling seeing my mother and understanding what her new home is like.