Random May Things

 

The month of May brought warmer weather, perfect for sitting outside and enjoying our freshly power-washed patio.

Kade’s 5th grade class had quite an adventure during their overnight field trip at Blue Jay Point in Raleigh. Over the course of two days, the students enjoyed scenic nature hikes, hands-on outdoor learning (dissecting owl pellets!!), and lots of fun with friends.

Making tacos for forty people was quite the experience! The class settled down witch a showing of The Lorax and enjoyed s'mores before heading out on a night hike down to the lake. I"m so glad I had the opportunity to chaperone, but I was exhausted afterwards and needed a full day to recover! 

Brock enjoyed another year of chess club with his middle school - and took home a silver trophy from the end-of-year tournament! 

The boys decided to join forces and make pancakes & sausages for my Mother's Day dinner - all by themselves! It was delicious and it was lovely to see them understanding how much work goes towards dinners! 

A fun Thursday hangout with Papa - dinner at Salem Street Pub and ice cream at Fresh - with construction going on downtown Apex. 

Now that both Brock and Moose are a little older, we trust Brock to take Moose for walks on his own. He knows how to handle encounters with other dogs and understands the responsibility that comes with carrying the little green bag!

Brent also celebrated a birthday, enjoying his favorite - vanilla bundt cakes for dessert!

Yay for May!

Savannah/Charleston Spring Break Trip - Part IV

 

Our last full day of our Spring Break trip started just 10 minutes away from our Vrbo at the Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. One of the oldest plantations in the South dating from 1679! It’s a beautiful place to wander, take in the scenery, and reflect on the history of plantation life. 

Brock and Kade said they enjoyed the bamboo area the best! 

Spanish moss! 

Photo credit to Kade - he wanted to capture the dragonfly!

Also on the property are five cabins restored to different time periods representing how enslaved people continued to live here - ranging from 1850 to 1900.

What did Brent spot??

That's an alligator!

The Magnolia Plantation is also home to non-releasable animals in their Wildlife Center - animals that cannot be released back into the wild due to injuries or being orphaned too young. 

A much bigger alligator than we saw in the pond! 

Followed by a "baby" alligator (probably 2 years old)! 

We came, we explored, and by the end, we were more than ready for a good lunch and a relaxing afternoon nap.

Riding on our second wind, we got dressed up and headed back into downtown Charleston for dinner. We had a little time to explore South of Broad before our reservation, starting with the Pineapple Fountain along the waterfront.

My handsome boys!

Just a few blocks and we arrived on Rainbow Row!

We made our way down Broad Street and wandered into a fascinating historic cemetery tucked behind St. Michael’s Church. The current church building dates to 1761, but the site is even older as the site of the very first church in Charleston, dating from the 1860's (destroyed by fire). 

Two co-signers of the US Constitution are buried here - John Rutledge and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney.

We enjoyed Steak dinner at the Oak Steakhouse with a very Charleston view! 

The Eason Family all decided we were ready to sleep in our own beds and made the crazy decision to head out after dinner (instead of one more sleep) and so departed at 7:30pm from Charleston, South Carolina, making one coordinated stop at the infamous Buc-ee's Travel Center in Florence, South Carolina (53,000 sq ft travel center with 120 fueling positions!!) and arrived back in Apex, North Carolina right at midnight! 

The trip was memorable learning about Southern history! I know it may not have been the boys’ first choice for spring break - there were definitely a few disappointed comments about not being back in the Dominican Republic - but I think they’ll come to appreciate trips like this just as much (like when they're our age!). There were several moments when they connected what they’ve learned in school to what we were seeing firsthand, which was a neat thing to see! Overall, grateful for all the family time and shared experiences.

Savannah/Charleston Spring Break Trip - Part III

Surprisingly, Savannah and Charleston are a two hour drive apart. With a gap between our Vrbo Check-out/Check-Ins, we had just enough time to stop at the Angel Oak Tree - a huge Live Southern Oak tree estimated to be 400-500 years old. 

I mixed up my numbers on the video - the tree is 28 feet in circumference and 66 feet tall! 

Brent waiting with Moose for his turn to check out the tree. 

This Vrbo was a completely different vibe—set in the suburbs and much more modern. I couldn’t find a three-bedroom, pet-friendly place downtown Charleston that wasn’t triple the price, so this ended up being the best fit. After unpacking and letting Moose explore yet another fenced-in backyard, we headed to the nearby Tanger Outlets for some shopping. Kade, who’s currently obsessed with Columbia, had a great time on a shopping spree with Dad (you’ll spot him in his new green jacket below!).

Our only early morning of the trip had us heading downtown for a 9:30 a.m. departure to Fort Sumter—and Charleston traffic did not make it easy. Brock and Kade picked out these front row seats for the boat ride over to Fort Sumter. 

Busy harbor - a huge container ship passed by! 

Fort Sumter - the site where the American Civil War began on April 12, 1861. 

This is most definitely more Brent's passion and I loved hearing him share his military knowledge with Brock and Kade. 

We worked up quite an appetite after the tour, so we headed to Lewis Barbecue for lunch. Highly, highly recommend! It’s such a cool setup: you order right at the counter while they slice and portion everything in front of you. Brent, Kade, and I went with brisket sandwiches, while Brock opted for pulled pork (North Carolina style actually!).

Look at that meat!!

Found an outside table and enjoyed our spread! We also ordered french fries and a mac & cheese side - everything was delicious!

We headed back to our Vrbo after that amazing meal and all needed a little downtime. Low-key night of pizza and watching basketball was a perfect ending to our day!