This is the last post detailing my week-long Christmas road trip from Louisiana to Tennessee to North Carolina to South Carolina and back to Louisiana. Click here to read about my trip to Tennessee to visit Nina. Click here to read about my trip to North Carolina to visit Tyler.
It’s been way too long since I’ve been to South Carolina, but ever since I learned to drive, I never flew there; I’ve always driven. I actually enjoy the long, peaceful drive. It gives me time to think, try random food on the road and listen to audio books. When I was in middle school, I lived in South Carolina, and it’s definitely one of my favorite places to live. It’s so beautiful, and plus it was right by the beach. My dad’s side of the family lives in cities and towns outside of Charleston, and I’m pretty sure I hadn’t seen most of my extended family since high school, so this was an extra special trip for me.
Wednesday, December 23, 2016
I left Wilmington a little before noon after treating Tyler to breakfast for his birthday. It was only a four-hour drive, so I was in South Carolina before I knew it. My dad lives in Goose Creek, and I met him at his place and got settled in before we left to meet my step-mom for dinner. We had sushi at a restaurant called Miyabi, and it was so good! I had a spicy blue crab roll and a miyabi roll.
After dinner, my dad and I stopped by my sister, Vanessa’s, job to say a brief ‘hello.’ I was just so excited to see everyone that I couldn’t wait. She, my step-mom and step-brother were also leaving the next day to go spend Christmas in Georgia, so I wasn’t sure if I’d get to see her before I had to go back to South Carolina. Luckily, we ended up seeing each other again, but more on that later.
After visiting with Vanessa for a few minutes, my dad and I headed back to his place, and we watched TV, and I ate too much of the chocolate he had in his candy bowl.
Thursday, December 24, 2015
I woke up early-ish on Christmas Eve to have brunch with Sammi, my best from middle school. We met up at The Daily, and I had a bacon English muffin with a hot chocolate. That English muffin was the best I’ve ever had, even though it was super messy. As always, catching up with Sammi was amazing. Since we were born exactly two weeks apart, we’re both Sagittariuses and somehow seem to be living parallel lives right now.
When we were leaving the Daily, we noticed that the High Wire Distillery next door was doing a $5 tour and tasting, so we decided to make a spontaneous trip over and try some of their spirits. It was so fun to chat and catch up. Sammi and I have one of those low maintenance friendships where we don’t talk all the time, but when we get together, we pick up where we left off. We somehow manage to see each other at least once a year, and I will forever be grateful that she’s in my life.
After leaving Sammi, I drove to my brother’s job to visit with him for a bit. We talked for about twenty minutes before he had to get back to work, and I loved being able to catch up with him.
When I lived in South Carolina, my friends and I always ended up at Towne Centre, and I couldn’t resist making a trip there even though I knew it would be super crowded since it was Christmas Eve. I went to Palmetto Moon and went a little crazy. I bought a postcard for my collection, an ornament for my travel tree and a few other things.
On Christmas Eve night, my dad and I went to his friends’ house because they were cooking dinner for us. They made shrimp and grits, and it was so good! They’re from a town right outside of New Orleans, so they definitely did the dish justice. I loved getting to meet my dad’s friends. They were so hilarious and fun, and made me feel like part of the family. They exchanged gifts, and they got my dad the 50 Shades of Chicken cookbook. The recipes and photos of the chicken were very risque. I loved flipping through it! I also have to mention that they have a dog, two snakes, two gerbils, a beta fish and eight cats. Yes, eight! I’m not much of a cat person, but a lot of their cats were actually really sweet, and I loved their puppy.
Friday, December 25, 2015
My mind and body were still in the central time zone, so I slept in till 11 am, and it felt amazing! Once dad and I were finished getting ready, we went to my Aunt Brenda’s house for Christmas dinner. None of them knew I was coming, so it was so fun to surprise them. It’s been years since I’ve seen all of them (maybe high school?). I didn’t know half of the people there because many of my cousins got married and had children, so it was a mad house of Christmas crazy, and I loved it!
My aunt organized a white elephant game, but no one knew the rules, so it was confusing, but still very entertaining to watch. I walked away with some quality hand sanitizer that I accidentally left in my dad’s car, but it’s okay because I have way too much hand sanitizer already.
The food was delicious, as expected. My Uncle Soyla made his famous chewies, but he clearly didn’t make enough. I only got to have one, and when I went back for more they were all gone. There were a few people that said they didn’t even get any because they disappeared so quickly. Those chewies are so dang good. I don’t even know what’s in them, but holy crap, my mouth is watering just thinking about them right now.
When we left my aunt’s house, we went to another one of my dad’s friend’s houses, and I drank a glass of wine, was “force fed” a shot of fireball, had a slice of chocolate pie and ate way too many cream puffs. Those cream puffs were so dang delicious. I wish I could eat some right now (along with some chewies, of course).
Saturday, December 26, 2015
This was the last full day of my trip. My dad and I drove to Mount Pleasant to meet Vanessa and her boyfriend for lunch at Page’s Okra Grill. Chris was supposed to meet us too, but he ended up sleeping in a bit too late. I had some fried flounder with a few sides, and everything was so good. I was also really excited to be able to spend some time catching up with Vanessa and meeting her new boyfriend!
After lunch, I met Courtney at Starbucks. Courtney and I were friends in middle school, and I always try to see her when I visit South Carolina. It had been so long since we’d seen each other last, so we had a lot to catch up on, and it was so much fun. She’s an absolute sweetheart, and I always enjoy our visits.
For dinner, we went to my dad’s friend’s house again for dinner. This time, Ro made us spaghetti, which is her favorite food. I had two servings if that’s any indication of how good it was.
I ended the night by watching a few movies with my dad before heading to bed. I woke up around 6 am the next morning and drove straight through back to Louisiana. I was so excited to get home and see my puppies!
What did you do over the holidays?
