Vacation 2009: Part I - Aiken, SC

Bear with me, this and the next post will probably be long. We had such a wonderful time on both legs of our SC trip and did so much that I had a really hard time picking which pictures to post.

On Thursday, July 23rd I headed to work extra early (4:30am early) to get some hours in while Geoffrey and Isabel stayed at home. While at work Geoffrey packed up the car and fed Isabel lunch. I arrived home, packed that last minute cold items in the cooler and we all jumped in the car, pulling out of the driveway a few minutes before noon. We took longer than usual stops at snack time and dinne to give Isabel time to run around and expend some energy. So we were pretty pleased when we made it to Aiken a little before 10.

On Friday, I think Isabel had what was probably the highlight of our trip. We knew Isabel was a fan of ducks after seeing 2 at G&G Bueschers, but this took things to a whole new level. Friday afternoon we went to a man made pond in my parents neighborhood complete with ducks. The pictures probably speak for themselves, but she was so excited. She was "quacking" like a duck, shrieking with delight, pointing in all directions, chanting "duck, duck, duck" and had such a grin on her face. She wasn't the least bit scared, even after one grabbed a piece of bread from her hand.

After breakfast Saturday morning, Isabel, Geoffrey, Grandma Schaeffer and I headed to a blueberry farm about 20 minutes away. Blueberries are probably Isabel's favorite fruit, if not food, so we knew she'd enjoy the tasting part at least.

Things started off well, and she actually picked a few.

Hmm, this container looks awfully empty.

Grandma helping fill her container

Isabel and Grandma. Isabel had just discovered the blueberries in her container and was now more interested in eating than picture taking.

I asked the guy if we should weigh Isabel before and after our picking session, and he just laughed. Guess kids eat free at the blueberry farm.

After eating her weight in blueberries, Isabel decided to help pick some from the comfort of Dad's shoulders. I really enjoyed the farm as well and hope to find a similar place around here. Well until we grow our own blueberry bushes.

We didn't slow down after berry picking and made a quick stop to change before heading to the pool. Isabel really seemed to enjoy the water and started getting a little too confident at the end and would try to walk away on her own in the baby pool.

Dad teaching Isabel how to blow bubbles.

And a shot of Isabel and Dad in the big pool.

We had ice cream for snack a few days, and on Saturday I decided to save the bottom part of my waffle cone and let Isabel have her own small-sized waffle cone. Although she doesn't seem to be a huge fan of sweets (she turned down a cupcake at school this week and instead ate fruit) but ice cream is apparently ok.

You stay away from my ice cream!
Ice cream is definitely finger lickin' good.

You mean this is all I get?

Our adventures continued Sunday with another trip to the duck pond, followed by a visit to the horses that live at the main gate entrance to Woodside. I couldn't resist taking a picture of the warning sign posted on the fence.

The horses came right up to Grandpa, which probably had to do with the bag of carrots and apples in his hand.

Isabel wasn't too impressed with the horses. She didn't dislike them, but definitely didn't have the reaction that ducks, dogs or cats do.

We went to brunch at the club on Sunday and then took a few pictures at the house with the timer. Only bad thing about using a timer is that you lose the person on the other end who can make funny faces and noises to get the kid to look in the direction of the camera.

And now some personal favorites of mine, as they bring back memories of when I was a kid. The boys and I had this grill when we were younger and would spend hours "grilling" hamburgers, hotdogs and steak. I was impressed that mom had saved it as it was perfect for Isabel to play in the driveway while we cooled off from our walk. We had walked the back 9 of the golf course (which was closed) and Isabel picked up a paper cup and ball along the way, which I guess also taste good grilled.


Phew. That might take the record for longest post ever. Hopefully I'll get the Hilton Head pictures up in the next few days!