I been everywhere man..oh yeah, I been everywhere.

Maybe not everywhere but it sure feels like I have been on a marathon trip. It all started when Polly called me at 10:30 PM on Saturday night to let me know there was a change in our plans and could I come up to Benson, NC to pick her up on Sunday morning instead of her driving to Myrtle Beach. Of course I can. Oh...did I mention our final destination on Sunday was Edisto Beach? So I left Myrtle Beach at 7 AM and arrived in Benson, NC about 10 AM. Polly and I visited with Naomi for about an hour and then we headed to Edisto Beach, SC. In case you don't have a map handy...we passed Myrtle Beach (second time that day for me) at about 2 PM. Poor Matthew was about to starve to death so we made a flying loop through a McDonalds and snagged a box of Chicken McNuggets with ranch dressing. I was sitting in the second seat with Matthew and we put his chicken nuggets and ranch dip on the middle fold down seat. Matthew was saying the blessing when Mario "Polly" Andretti hit the gas and sent the nuggets and ranch flying into the third seat in the van. Sooo, Matthew and I gathered up the nuggets, scraped up the ranch dressing and had lunch. HEY...sometimes you have to make sacrifices on road trips. By the time we got to Charleston we decided we had been in the car long enough and it was time for a break. We parked at the Visitors Center and walked down to the old slave market...hot, oh my goodness was it hot. We took the horse and carriage history tour and saw all the beautiful antebellum homes along The Battery and enjoyed the breeze coming off the ocean. Well, two of us did, Matthew slept the entire time. We continued our journey on to Edisto Beach and arrived about 7 PM. We arrived just in time to have dinner with Barb, Rich, Jerry, Janie, Sue, John, and Janie's daughter Kirsty. The condo they are renting for the week is very nice and has a pool right outside the front door. Barb, Rich, Polly, Matthew and I shared a room and Matthew thought that was the greatest thing EVER! He loves Rich and Banana Barb. We read a few stories and then Matthew wanted to sing Old McDonald before we went to sleep. We would all sing the Old McDonald verse and take turns naming the animals. Poor Richard was eliminated because he repeated the same animal....not once but twice. Matthew was very disappointed in Richard's performance and it showed in his voice when he told Richard that he couldn't play anymore. Richard was quite hurt because he didn't know there were rules for Old McDonald. Matthew fell asleep with one hand in his mothers hair and his other hand in mine. He was a happy boy.
We spent the morning playing at the pool and Barb brought us ham sandwiches with her homemade mustard and of course salt & vinegar chips. After lunch Polly and I thanked our hosts for their gracious hospitality and headed back to Myrtle Beach. Polly was driving and we came through one of the worst rain storms I've ever been in. We would drive out of it and then it would catch us again. Matthew was so tired from swimming that he slept all four hours coming home. About the time we hit the edge of Myrtle Beach Matthew sat up and said, "I want schetti." Polly and I decided that sounded good to us too so we ate at Villa Mare. Matthew had his schetti while Pol and I had the best lasagna that I've put in my mouth. The garlic bread was also very good. We stopped for milk at the grocery store and finally got back to my house about
7 PM. Morty and Ginglebelle were so glad to see us! Matthew played with them until we went to bed. Polly was laying on the couch watching TV and Ginglebelle jumped up to lay beside her. Well, Morty The Psycho couldn't stand that and he bristled up, ran across the room and ran Ginglebelle away from Polly. Morty didn't want up there but that doesn't mean he wanted Ginglebelle up there either. That was the first time Polly thumped "poor Morty" on the head. Matthew and I slept great but Morty moved his indoor play ground to the guest room. Apparently Polly didn't sleep as well as Matthew and I. Personally I think Polly is just a big old tattletale AND a whiner.