Back in Baltimore

The rest of our South Carolina trip was just as nice as the first few days.

On Sunday, DJ was up at 5:30am. Mommy and Daddy on the other hand, were not, but awake we had to be else DJ would have woken up the whole house with his wails. We never figured out what was waking him up so early; it's not like the sun had even risen over the horizon yet! We brought him to bed with us to try and get him to settle down with us for a little while longer but that was a futile effort. The Wiggle Worm lived up to his name. By the time the rest of the house was awake, I know I looked as bad as I felt... bad. DJ took an early nap, thankfully, and I lay down, too.

Meanwhile, Mike, Andy, Damian, Jenn, and Leo started a road trip to see the Battery in Charleston. When DJ woke up, we hopped in the car to follow them figuring we'd catch up at a playground there. Unfortunately, the wind was really whipping off of the Cooper River (neat bridge!), so the first crew called us to let us know they were going to Fort Moultrie instead.

Steve wanted me to see the Battery so he drove us through there as a detour. Talk about some ENORMOUS houses. Holy cow... clearly they were old but beautiful. What a neat area. As Steve put it, on Saturday nights, the Battery is where the teeny boppers and the motorcyclists go to be seen. Steve also recognized some of his favorite restaurants on Battery Street, and filled me in on a little history. I'm glad we detoured... what a really neat place.

We joined the rest of the crew at Ft. Moultrie, and DJ got to see the fort from up high, thanks to Daddy. Mike and I were sitting in the grass taking in the sun and some really nasty burrs, apparently. OUCH! It's not like you could SEE them on the ground, so I had no idea until I sat down. But the sun was warm, the breeze was gentle within the protection of the fort's walls, and the sky was cloudless. Truly, it was a perfect day.

We found lunch at an Italian restaurant, and DJ heartily shared my spaghetti and meat sauce. The boy takes after my own heart. :-) Sunday afternoon was spent with most of us catching a nap in a sunbeam. We brought dinner in that night, and we spent the rest of the night packing and cleaning the house in hopes of leaving on time on Monday.

DJ apparently wanted to go home early because once again, he was up at 5:30am. Brutal!! But this time, when we brought him to bed with us, he didn't wiggle. In fact, he stayed curled up with each of us for about 20 minutes apiece. He didn't sleep, but he wasn't wiggling, talking, or fussing. He was just playing with his pacifier and I guess enjoying our company (we were certainly enjoying the cuddle time and extra "sleep"). At 6:30, it was time to get up i.e. DJ was done with cuddling with us. ;-) We got a head start on getting our sheets washed and cleaning our room and bathroom because of DJ.

DJ's breakfast was notable because I don't know where he put it all. He had a full bowl of oatmeal, a smaller bowl of yogurt, and 2 whole pieces of raisin bread. Yikes! While DJ was eating, we helped finish cleaning the house and doing the laundry. At 9:30, we were ready to depart.

The ride home was about as uneventful as the ride down, except that we turned DJ around for the first time during one leg of the trip. He LOVED it. He was so excited that he was waving his arms around and talking a mile a minute. It was so cute! But it was so exciting to him that he couldn't fall asleep when it was time for his nap. So at the next rest stop, we turned the car seat back around. Within 3 minutes of the car moving, he was out like a light. He had his next taste of fast food, this time Wendy's grilled chicken and oriental noodles out of my salad, and some chicken nuggets (sans the breading we could get off) from Chick Fil'A.

At dinner, Damian offered to drop Mike off at his house since we had much further to go than everyone. That really was a blessing. DJ only fussed for 10 minutes after dinner in the car, and then he was quiet the entire rest of the way. I'm wondering if because he was alone in the back, he didn't fuss because there was no one to fuss to! Whatever the case, he was an ANGEL. We got to my parents' house to swap back cars at 8, and we were home by 9. DJ was in bed by 9:15, and we were in bed by 9:45.

It was a long day and drive, but I'd do it again because we really did have so much fun with everyone. This trip also showed me that we'll be able to drive down to Wrightsville in July and that DJ will do just fine.