Wet, Cold Weather Doesn’t Dampen this Family’s Beach Vacation

Like many who make Orlando their home, my husband and I grew up in other states. Because our families don’t live here, most of our vacations involve going “home” to see parents and extended family. Now that our twin daughters, Genevieve and Elyse, are seven, scheduling vacations has become increasingly complicated. We find ourselves working around their school breaks and both of our work schedules. This year the planets aligned over spring break. We realized that, until now, the girls’ vacations had only been to Louisiana (my home), Philadelphia (husband Andy’s home), and Longboat Key. It was high time for our little family to have a vacation of our own.

After much consideration (and after finding lots of places already booked), we settled on the Isle of Palms, South Carolina. We wanted to drive somewhere we could reach in a day.  We love the beach.  The girls had never been to the Atlantic coast. I’d never visited Charleston, which is 20 minutes from the Isle of Palms. We spent a few hours on line and selected a Vacation Rental condo that seemed ideal.

The girls were thrilled with the idea of going somewhere new. They talked about South Carolina as if we were going to Paris. The owners of the condo sent us a package of great information about the area, and we excitedly selected tours to take and things to do. I had my heart set on a horse drawn carriage tour of Charleston.

The girls packed DVDs for the car ride. I threw some turtlenecks and sweatshirts into our suitcases, because the forecast wasn’t looking great. I optimistically packed bathing suits, cover-ups, swim goggles, and sunscreen. I was sure I wasn’t packing enough, but as we pulled away from the house, I knew I had once again over-packed.

We left on a Saturday. Our drive was easy, and the day was beautiful. The condo was perfect, with beach access and a gorgeous view of the Atlantic.  Sunday morning we awoke to a gray, cold, rainy day. That pretty much set the tone for the vacation. Sandcastles, sunny days on the beach, and carriage rides in Charleston fell by the wayside. Interestingly, that turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We relaxed. We had no agenda. We played cards. We played games. The girls wrote in their journals and read books. We did nothing, together. We walked on the beach all bundled up. The girls hunted for shells and gave them names like “shelly” and “clammy”. We reconnected.

As if the weather gods were rewarding us for our perseverance, on the last day of our trip we finally awoke to sunny, blue skies. We had breakfast on the balcony overlooking the Atlantic.  Genevieve’s wish to rent bikes and ride on the beach came true. We saw two alligators and 18 turtles in a pond.

This relaxing vacation with our immediate small family reminded me that my beautiful daughters were very interesting little people. I enjoyed being selfish with our time by not sharing it with the extended family. I loved creating our own memories.

We brought about twenty DVDs for the trip, and I was surprised and delighted that the girls quickly grew tired of watching them, preferring to talk and play games. We spent a good hour playing “I spy with my little eye” on the trip home. Andy taught them the license plate game. They were obsessed with every car, writing down the state and arguing about whether we had passed that car before and already counted it.

This vacation reminded me that the best memories aren’t those we carefully plan, but the ones that we don’t plan. Not that I am hoping for another vacation of inclement weather, but I surely do appreciate the one we had.