Weatherholtz Family: July 2013

It was May and we had yet to plan a summer vacation. James wanted white beaches and water. I wanted easy and relaxing. The girls wanted anywhere with a beach and a pool. After researching vacation destinations, including the gulf coast and the Caribbean, for endless hours, I remembered Fripp Island. As soon as I began looking into it, I knew this was the place for us. Fripp is a small resort island near Beaufort, SC. It is beautifully maintained yet relaxing and comfortable. The beaches were vast with white sand and crystal clear water. We were pleasantly surprised with the sandbars that emerged every low tide offering endless exploration.
We arrived Saturday afternoon, grabbed something to eat and let the good times begin. James and the girls hit the pool while I went back into Beaufort to stock up on groceries. Since this was vacation, I allowed all our healthy eating habits to fly out the window for the week. I had a cart full of highly processed foods full of artificial dyes and high fructose corn syrup.

Sunday

The girls both slept in until 8:30. Now that is what I call starting a vacation out right! We ate breakfast of all sugar cereal and then hopped in the golf cart for a cruise around the island. We were amazed by the amount of deer we saw. We had heard that the island had a lot of deer, but I never expected them to be so tame. Many of the them would eat right out of your hands. They were in people’s yard, parking lots, near the beach, basically everywhere.
We packed a lunch and headed to the beach. We explored a few tide pools, but didn’t have much luck with the cast net. Lily and I went shell hunting and James and SE enjoyed the seemingly endless expanse of one foot water. As the tide went out, massive sand bars began to appear. We set out for one and probably walked ½ mile through knee deep water. Lily was rather nervous along the way, but hung in there with us. The water was crystal clear and beautiful. We found many conchs along the way and Lily even found a sand dollar. All in all, we probably walked a total of 3 miles that day.
After the beach, we de-sanded in one of the five pools around the island. The girls must have “cannonballed” fifty times each.
We ended this day with a meal at the Bonita boathouse near the marina.

Monday

The girls were signed up for Camp Fripp which they had really been looking forward to. As we pulled up, however, Lily wasn’t so sure anymore. As we left, they were a bit nervous ~~screaming their heads off~~, but Mommy and Daddy knew they would have fun.
James and I rented bikes and toured the entire island. We rode for 2 ½ hours and had a wonderful time together exploring this beautiful oasis.
The girls did indeed have a blast at camp. After camp, we hung out for a bit then packed a dinner and headed to the “froggy pool.” This area consisted of three pools, one of which was a kiddie pool with a slide. The girls had so much fun going up and down this slide. The froggy pool is located to the south end of the island and afforded an amazing view of the sunset. Just another day in paradise

Tuesday

Another late morning for the girls and another sugar filled breakfast. We hung around the house most of this morning mainly because we were trying to rescue a kitten that had fallen down a pipe. Thankfully operation save the kitty was successful. We swam for a bit in the pool and then headed off to tie die T-shirts. While picking out our shirts to die, we were able to pet many of the animals they keep in the activity center. The girls fell in love with the mink and were begging to get one.

After tie dying, we went to watch a magic show that impressed us all. For dinner, we traveled off the island for a good meal. It was very strange to be riding in a car again! We ended up at the Foolish Frog and had some of the best fried okra I have ever eaten.

Wednesday

Tuesday night was a bit of a rough night for Lily Bean, so both of the girls were up some in the middle of the night. We actually had to wake them to get them ready for kids camp in time. They weren’t quite as nervous this go around and only required three hugs each before we left.
Daddy and Mommy packed up two beach chairs, our books, and the paddle board and spent the morning at the beach sans kids. We finished our books, we paddled, we planned our future, and we truly relaxed.
When we picked the girls up at camp, all the kids were hugging them goodbye. They especially made friends with a sweet girl who was a little bit older. I could tell that she looked out for the girls and Lily could not stop talking about her. I am thankful that this child was there to befriend my girls and be a good role model to them.
After picking up the girls, we headed into Beaufort to get James the next book in the series he is reading. We then ate dinner at the Olive Garden. Once back on the island, we enjoyed another sunset at the froggy pool. The girls made friends with a little boy and they all had a great time playing together.

Thursday

We lounged around during the morning, then headed back to the beach for the afternoon. We trekked once again out to the sandbar. Getting back wasn’t as easy this time. Neither of us wanted to carry the girls back across knee deep water for 1/2 a mile. Our other options was crossing over a narrow slip of water but it was pretty deep. James swam both girls over then looked across the shore at me. Although I swore to Lily she would be fine from jelly fish and sharks, I wasn’t about to get in it myself. James ran down the beach, fought against the wind and brought me the paddle board to cross over. I knew he was probably cussing me the whole way, but I think I was quickly forgiven when he stepped on a sting ray on his final crossing. Once again, I prefer to view living creatures from behind a glass.

Friday

Our very last day was overcast with off and on showers. We couldn’t complain, though, because we had a week of perfect weather. In the afternoon, we headed over to the activity center for arts and crafts. The girls made sand art. We also met up with their friends they had made at kids camp.