Well team, thanks for all the prayers going into the past crazy week of our lives. Everything went smashingly! Of course, there was the one time when I got our flight time from IAH-JAX incorrect in my brain (which I use as my PDA). The Houston gate agent said there was no way we'd make our flight; but we sprinted/sweated (as quickly as one can sprint while carrying luggage anyway) across that gargantuan space and arrived at E-13 with moments to spare. Then we grossed some locals out by wiping away all our sweat (back sweat included) while trying to catch our breath. Whatever.
Other than that, the trip was great. I'm pretty sure I did decently on my exams. Then we had a good lunch with the Zentlers and dinner with the E-R's before we flew south. In Corpus Christi we connected with some people for lunch (from what may be our new church) and found a couple houses we love, that are fabulous and super affordable. We had great time with Kiesha and Dave in TX. We can't wait to spend 2 years with them down there. You should check out her blog, she's been writing some funny things about TX; I'm sure I'll have similar culture shock when we get there.
Once we made our flight to JAX, we relaxed in the company of great friends. I'll have to put pics up, but first we spent time with the Flynt family. They are inspirational to us as parents and as a couple. We played with their cute kids Gavin and Sophie and then enjoyed a good meal and wine as grown-ups. I got to read Sophie (and later the Moseley's daughter Elise) books before she went to bed; that was a definite highlight of the trip for me. I always cherished that time when I was a kid, and then in college as a nanny. It is fun to do it for our friends' kids now, and it is one of the things I know I'll love about being a parent some day.
From the Flynt's, we went to a couple beaches we love in Jax/Ponte Vedra, that was a happy few hours. Los went running and I built a fortress in the sand. Then we joined the lovely Pendleton Clan for dinner and wonderful conversation. Their baby Judah remains our fave little man, and he's just as cute as I remembered him from 6 months ago when they moved away from us. The next night we had steak dinner with the Pound's and Reifers' (the pastor who married us and my Jax host parents whom we love); we talked about religion and politics and all the good stuff.
Next we buzzed through Georgia en route to South Carolina. We stopped in Savannah to pick up Erika, who'd flown in from Denver to join us. We celebrated her 30th birthday (the first of my close friends to reach this milestone!) and had good conversations about seasons in life. I have now been in 10 states with her, I think more than any other friend? (p.s. I rank friends by how many states I've been in with you, though my ranking has no bearing on our friendship)
After getting massively lost on one of SC's many state route 17's, we finally made it to the Moseley's at about 3am. Good thing I was still kind of on west coast time! Besides, what would a road trip be, if you didn't get lost at least once:) We hadn't seen them since our wedding (they lived in Japan 2 years, good excuse!) and we had a fabulous weekend with them, meeting their sweet girls and hugging our beloved Gus, their chocolate Lab. We decided that if they won't give him to us, we're going to have to get a Lab ourselves, because he is the best dog on earth other than Burly. Friday we got to tour the amazing plantation I linked to below, photos of that to come will show how impressive it is. Saturday we walked all over historic Charleston, which was really special for me (to see where my fam came to the States) and Los (we went to the birthplace of his fraternity). It's a fascinating mix of gorgeous architecture, preppy college students, Confederate history, great Low Country food, and cute boutique shopping.
Sunday morning we went to explore Savannah some (Los and I have been multiple times, but E had not), and then trekked back to Jax to fly westward. We were grateful that we missed both Tropical Storm Faye and Hurricane Gustav en route. All in all, a wonderful trip, I'll post pics as soon as I can find our camera battery charger!
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