ROAD TRIP

Last week we packed up our bags and headed out to beautiful South Carolina. Stephen's grandpa and his wife Georgia live in Myrtle Beach, SC and hosted a family reunion for my in laws and their kids for a week.  Driving through the south was such a cool experience. We drove through Arkansas during daylight and it was like driving through a maze of vines. It felt so much like Washington except with more tropical type of trees.   Then right when the sun went down we hit Memphis. After being in West Plains for 7 months it was a sight for sour eyes. As we drove through this huge bridge you could see all the city lights and buildings. Isabella was awake and she was oohiing and ahhing at all the car lights and trucks and buildings. Isa and I are definitely city girls. We drove till 3 in the morning and then spent the night at a hotel. The next morning we hit Alabama and Georgia and we fell in love. Birmingham is so green and beautiful but Georgia took the cake. It is so green but still open and the city/civilization life just makes me feel alive. We stopped in Augusta right out of Atlanta and felt like we could totally live there. I loved seeing all those tall southern homes with the big columns that reminded me so much of Gone with the Wind. We got to stop at our old time favorite Olive Garden and ordered the same thing we have for five years: Five Cheese Ziti al forno and Zuppa Toscana. Never disappoints.
 We have definitely had our share of nightmare traveling trips so I was amazed at how easy this trip was. After those 20 hour trips to Honduras with her screaming on planes and our awful drive from Utah to Missouri this was a piece of cake. We could actually talk, listen to music and enjoy the sights. I wanted to give Isabella an award as we drove into Myrtle Beach. I said so many silent prayers of thanks.
On our last stop in Georgia we took Isabella to a little park so she could stretch her legs and get some energy out. A lot of churches in Georgia have parks that are open to the public for kids to play in. It was so good to take our time this trip and stop whenever we wanted to and just enjoy the ride instead of just rushing through it.