End of the year beach fun.

To celebrate the end of school three friends and I went to the beach in South Carolina for three days. It was pretty great. It only took seven and a half hours to get there, what with the crazy rain that made us pull over on the side of the interstate twice, and the scary lighting right above our heads that spurred us to stop at the Cracker Barrel for dinner. We also sat in the rain on the interstate for forty-five minutes without moving due to an accident up ahead. Finally we reached our condo on Isle of Palms around midnight, and the minute I got out of the car to start unpacking I was attacked by mosquitoes and got four bites around my ankles. I never scratched them once but they were huge and red and forced me to make crazy faces while dancing around in agony.

Sunday Elizabeth and I made a trip to Piggly Wiggly for breakfast food and snacks, and then around noon we headed over to Charleston. We walked around and did some shopping, and then on our way to the park what seemed like a hurricane sprung up, so we ran to the Noisy Oyster to seek shelter from the rain and eat delicious seafood. I had shrimp, fried clams, and grits. After a little more shopping we headed back to the condo and took naps. Let me tell you about this little condo- it had only one bedroom, and two teeny-tiny bunk beds built into the hall! But it was nice for us- it had a kitchen and was right on the beach with full ocean views. Anyway, after the naps we went out for a walk on the beach at night. I'm a big scaredy-cat when it comes to beaches at night, only because any little thing I see I immediately believe to be a crab or giant squid, all preparing to attack me, of course. The girls couldn't believe I was so jittery, especially since the walk was my own idea! After we got back we played Scattegories and drank ChiChi's cosmopolitans.

Monday was devoted to the beach. It was a sunny day (finally), but the wind was relentless. We lay on the beach for a long time but were covered in sand the whole time. There was sand in my ears, sand creased into the pages of my book, sand in my hair, sand in my bag and wallet... Tess and I went for a quick dip and then walked to the end of the island. Then we all went to the hot dog stand nearby for lunch. More reading on the beach (but we had to move up to do the dunes because the tide was coming in), another quick dip, and then finally back to the condo and into the shower, because I was sick of sand. After showers and lounging (and a short nap for me) we got dressed and headed back to Charleston for dinner. Then we were exhausted and went to bed.

Tuesday I woke up early and went for a walk on the beach by myself. Finally there was no wind. Then we had to pack up and be out by ten. We loaded the car and drove to the aquarium in Charleston to check out the sea turtles, sea otters, sharks, alligators, and sea horses. We then grabbed some lunch and went for a walk along Rainbow Row and the Battery. One last stop near the market for ice cream, and then it was time to hit the road. This time the drive only took about four hours and wasn't scary.

So the trip was fun. We were all still a little tense when we got there because we weren't used to schoolwork being over, but the beach and Charleston were relaxing and we had a great time.