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| Thursday, July 28, 2005 |
| birthday wishes |
Love, Keli |
posted by Keli @ 7/28/2005   |
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| Tuesday, July 26, 2005 |
| personal note |
Hey Chad - I updated Syndei's website with her latest pictures.YOUR BLUE-EYED BABYLove, Your Little Sis |
| posted by Keli @ 7/26/2005 |
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| Monday, July 25, 2005 |
| we're back! |
Hello all!
We made it back from sunny Jekyll Island in one piece, tanned, and happy! We had a blast at the beach, but we were both ready to get home and see our girls.
I'm having a little technical difficulty with the pictures, but I'll try to get Ken to help me get all of those uploaded today so that I can get a recap out to everyone really soon.
In the meantime, here's a picture of Sydnei and Chad: I'll be back soon with a complete vacation recap with tons of pictures.
FYI: all pictures will be "thumbnails" - so click on each picture to see it full-size.
Love,
Keli |
| posted by Keli @ 7/25/2005 |
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| Vacation Recap - Part I |
Saturday - July 16, 2005
We left Greenville around 12:30 after getting all of the dogs taken care of, and then headed out in Ken's tightly-packed 350Z. But we figured - you can't take a beach vacation in a sedan, right? We stopped in Columbia and had lunch and also bought the new Harry Potter book as well as the audio CD's. However, they only had the unabridged version, so we'll finish it sometime in 2008.
The rest of the trip went by quickly, and we entered the gates into Jekyll Island around 6:15pm. The marshes were amazing, and the view was breathtaking.
We paid a weekly parking fee and then found our house, where my family was already waiting. I got out of the car to the sound of a precious little girl saying, "Kiki, Kiki!" and giggling. Mom made her delicious spaghetti, and after unpacking, we all sat down to a wonderful dinner to start the vacation off right. |
| posted by Keli @ 7/25/2005 |
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| Vacation Recap - Part II |
Sunday - July 17, 2005
We all woke up fairly early (before mom!) and drank coffee, read the paper, and relaxed in the beach house. When mom got up, she made biscuits, scrambled eggs, and bacon for breakfast. Delish!
After breakfast, we all got dressed for the beach and headed down there to let Sydnei experience her first time on a beach. It took her a little while to warm up, but she came around.
After a little playing, daddy did a 3-minute sermon about God's love and how we should love one another, and then we all played in the water. The water was almost too warm - not really that refreshing - but we still had a good time. After about 10 minutes, we all decided to get water shoes since we kept stepping in "slime" and goo.
The water at Jekyll Island is brown - but not because it's dirty. It's called the "tea effect" which comes from the fact that Georgia waters are rich with plankton and detritus, which cause the water to turn brown. It's hard to get used to, but it's not because of dirt or mud like Lake Hartwell.
After spending a little time at the beach, we had baked ham sandwiches for lunch. After relaxing for a bit, Ken, Daddy, Chad and I rode our bikes several miles down to the fishing pier. We saw a dolphin out in the water, and Ken was able to get a quick video of that. [videos will come later] We spent a little time on the pier, enjoying the sites, and then we started our drive home. Chad and Ken drove off and left me (wink), so I turned around and did a little sight-seeing with Daddy. Chad and Ken came back to look for us, and we all took our bikes on the beach for the rest of the ride home.
After dinner, Mom, Daddy, Ken and I went to the beach for a nighttime stroll. We kept seeing little "bugs" darting all over the sand, and after seeing a few "crab-hunters" we figured out that they were hermit crabs. Boy those suckers can move! Ending the day with a walk on the beach was heavenly. |
| posted by Keli @ 7/25/2005 |
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| Vacation Recap - Part III |
[warning: this is where it starts getting a little picture heavy]
Monday - July 18, 2005
Woke up, drank coffee, read the paper, and ate breakfast.
Sydnei wanted to help with the biscuits ...
Hermit crab in his shell:
Also ran into a few baby alligators:
After that fun excursion, we drove over to St. Andrews Picnic Area for a bit. And then it was time for lunch and Sydnei (and Chad's) daily nap. So Ken and I headed over to the Jekyll Island Landmark District.
"The richest, the most exclusive and most inaccessible club in the world."
This proclamation, by Munsey's Magazine in 1904, summed up the renowned status of the Jekyll Island Club. Founded in 1886, it was the winter retreat for some of America's most elite families. Club rolls included such names as Morgan, Astor, Rockefeller, Vanderbilt and Pulitzer. Here, on this small barrier island off Georgia's beautiful coast, they shaped a private world of grand cottage residences around a Queen Anne-style clubhouse.
Much of that world has been carefully preserved and faithfully restored in the Jekyll Island National Historic Landmark District.
This 240-acre, riverfront compound is one of the largest ongoing restoration projects in the southeastern United States.
The "cottages" were unbelievable!
Cherokee Cottage - built for Jay Gould
Crane Cottage - the most expensive and expansive cottage on the grounds - built in 1917 by Richard T. Crane Jr.
DuBignon Cottage - John DuBignon is the one who sold the island to the Jekyll Island Club for $125K back in 1886
Goodyear Cottage
Even the walkways had an "old money" feel to them:
Indian Mound Cottage - the funny story about this is that it's original spot was supposedly built on an old Indian burial ground, so it was rumored to be haunted. However, after it was moved, it was discovered that it was actually built on top of a dump.
Indian Mound Cottage - built for Gordon McKay and also owned by William Rockefeller
View from front porch of Indian Mound Cottage
Mistletoe Cottage - owned by Lord and Taylor
Moss Cottage - owned by Macy
Sans Souci - America's first condos
I don't know what this was before it was a Sweet Shoppe - but they had great ice cream!
Villa Marianna - built by Jay Gould's son (Frank) and named after his daughter
And finally, Villa Ospo
Will have to come back later tonight and finish up Monday! |
| posted by Keli @ 7/25/2005 |
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| Vacation Recap - Part IV |
Tuesday - July 19, 2005
We decided to go back to the Historic District and take a tour, so the family loaded up and off we went. This time, we took a guided tour in a horse-pulled carriage.
(ours was actually the white carriage in the background)
Chad and Sydnei getting to know Skyler
After drinking some of Papa's orange Fanta, Sydnei was ready to go!
Ken and I waiting for the tour to start
Sydnei and Kiki in the carriage
Sydnei with Muggs and Papa
We saw many of the same houses that we saw the day before, but this time, we got to hear the stories, which made it so much better.
Faith Chapel
The gargoyles are exact replicas of the gargoyles on the Notre Dame
Married servant quarters
Single servant quarters
Villa Marianna
Villa Ospo
Back in the day, they covered the sides of this laundry pit with wood
so that people wouldn't see the ladies skivvies hanging out to dry
I still can't get over how beautiful the Jekyll Island Club Hotel is
Mom and Dad treated us to lunch at the hotel,
and it was so good!
Mom and I have a tradition of splitting desserts,
so it was no surprise that we ended up with a piece of key lime pie.
After lunch, we were able to go up to the top of the club house tower.
The views were amazing.
Mom and Dad on the tower
Ken and I on the tower
Daddy enjoying the sites
I can't remember what we did that night, but I'm sure it involved some time on the beach and relaxation. |
| posted by Keli @ 7/25/2005 |
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| Vacation Recap - Part V |
Wednesday - July 20, 2005
We all spent some time on the beach that morning, picking up shells, digging up sandollars, trying to pick up the slimy "tongues" that were in the water. That afternoon, Ken and I had a dolphin tour to attend, so we headed over to the Jekyll Island Club Wharf to have lunch first. After lunch, we loaded up on the boat and off we went.
Jekyll Island Club Hotel from the boat
While looking for dolphins, we saw a few neat things. For one, this private island.
A buried shrimp boat on the beach
A bird that flew alongside our boat for quite a while
Little St. Simons Island
A rather large sandbar in the middle of the water
And then *finally* we spot a fin!
But no matter how many fins we saw, they wouldn't stay around for very long.
Until finally - we got a winner!
He was so cute swimming around for us and smiling at us.
We had to leave right after that to get back in time for the next tour, but it was a lot of fun.
After our tour, we went back home and got ready for dinner on St. Simon's Island.
The beautiful suspension bridge between Jekyll Island and St. Simons Island
Chad and Becki on the bridge
After a delicious dinner at Mullet Bay (no jokes, please - it was good!), we went for a walk to see the St. Simon's Lighthouse. The views were amazing.
On the way, we passed under a huge live oak tree
And then daddy noticed something strange hanging in the tree ...  Can you see the tennis shoes?
I tried to find something on the internet to explain it, but I have no idea what the tennis shoes signify. I do know that there were some nice pairs hanging in the tree --- very odd.
Jekyll Island - it really is an island!
A weird mermaid carved in stone
Sculpture of North Atlantic Right Whale
Plaque explaining the significance - they are becoming extinct
The water came right up to the rocks off the edge of the island - not swimmer-friendly
Family (and almost family) pictures
A mighty fine house right on the water (I think it was for sale - any takers?)
St. Simons Lighthouse
After an ice cream stop at Bruster's, we headed home and went to the beach for our nightly walk.
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| posted by Keli @ 7/25/2005 |
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| Vacation Recap - Part VI |
Thursday - July 21
We played on the beach that morning, trying to learn how to "skim board" (no luck here), and then Ken and I rode our bikes to a secluded beach to get some pictures.
While we were there, a bunch of little crabs were running around.
But this one kept chasing us - and we noticed that he had a big claw.
 No wonder he was so tough.
A panoramic view of St. Simons Island
Afterwards, we went to the big sand bar that was right below our house.
When the tide is all the way out, it goes out into the ocean 3 miles!
We were amazed that it was bumpy and squishy. To be honest, it wasn't much fun to walk on it.
We saw a fairly large horshoe crab buried in the sand.
 Ken couldn't even get his hands under him to move him to water.
After our trek onto the sand bar, everyone went to the water park. We went at 4pm to get a cheaper admission fee, but it was still fairly crowded. It was fun, though. Until that last slide that went straight down - I think the whole water park heard me screaming. I still have a raw place on my back from tunnel burn. Besides that, we had a blast! Sydnei thoroughly enjoyed the kiddie slides, which is funny since she doesn't like water in her face. Chad, Muggs and Papa had a good time playing with her. |
| posted by Keli @ 7/25/2005 |
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| Vacation Recap - Part VII |
Friday - July 22, 2005
We spent a little time at the beach and then decided to go see the USS Elrod. Originally, we wanted to get there in time to see it come in, but they must have brought it in a little early, because by the time we got to the port, it was already there. We were disappointed, but I guess they can't stick to a certain schedule when they're bringing in a Navy ship.
We had a little over an hour to waste, so guess what I did? Pictures!
And of course I got tons of pictures of Sydnei
Playing some of the interesting "musical instruments" we found
Trying to get some shade in the intense heat and humidity
Big grins
Where are your teeth, Sydnei?
Drinking juice-juice
Eventually, it got too hot for Sydnei, so Chad and Becki took her home while we continued to wait for the boat tour. And we finally got in!
Pictures coming up in the next post ... |
| posted by Keli @ 7/25/2005 |
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| Vacation Recap - Part VII (cont'd) |
Friday - July 22 (cont'd)
After the boat tour, which was amazing, we passed by a manatee watch area, so we pulled over and went out to look for manatees. But no luck.
When we got home, my mom asked me to take Ken away for a little bit while they decorated for his birthday dinner. (My family is awesome!) So we decided to drive down to the picnic area and walk down teh beach to get some shots of the buried shrimp boat we saw while on our dolphin tour. It was a lot farther down the beach than we thought, but worth the walk.
We're still not convinced that there's an entire shrimp boat under the sand
As you can see, the storm clouds started rolling in
It was already raining over the ocean
Looks like a little bit of heaven shining through the clouds
Since the rain was coming, we hurried back down the beach to the car
Saw a crab inside a shell
Unfortunately, we did get rained on a little bit for the last 1/2 mile, but the pictures were well worth it!
After a delicious steak dinner with cheesecake for dessert, we started packing up to get ready to leave. Ken and I left around 9:30 on Saturday morning - we couldn't believe the week was already over! It was a great trip, and I'm so glad we got the chance to go and hang out with my family.
Thanks, Mom and Dad for everything! I love you! |
| posted by Keli @ 7/25/2005 |
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