There is no such thing as a vacation

Ok, lets face it. When you have kids, there is really no such thing as a vacation. It is just same stuff, different place. The kids will still get up at the crack of dawn (sometimes before that), they will still need to eat three regular meals, still need to take naps (and fight me about them), still need to be watched ALL the time. The hardest part is that we won't be in our familiar surroundings. I can't just tell them to go and play in the backyard or in their rooms and know they will be safe.

But, saying all of that, I really can't wait for our trip. We will be heading to Isle of Palm SC next week and we are renting a house near the beach with my three siblings and their families and TTG's youngest sister. There will be 13 of us in all. Some combination of my family has been going to IOP for the last 12 or 13 years. It is a great little island off the coast of Charleston. It is about 98% residential property which really makes it an ideal place for families. There are really no forms of entertainment (Well except of course, the beach). There are a few playgrounds for the kids, a marina, a very small grocery store and one or two restaurants. When we have gone in the past we spend most of our time on the beach, and generally hanging around the house playing cards or reading. We don't go out to eat much and just cook meals at the house and eat as a family. One or two nights we go out to eat at the same places every year. We usually make a trip into Charleston to eat at Hymans Seafood. Our family really enjoys eating there because the place originated as a dry goods business owned by a Jewish family. If you know my family, you may understand the similarity/significance. They eventually turned the dry goods business into a great place to eat. Hmm, Silver Dry Goods: the restaurant, it could happen!

We also like to eat at place called Sticky Fingers which serves great bar-b-cue.

So, knowing my family, we will probably do the same things that we always do and have a pretty good time doing it. Of course we will probably be sick of each other by the end of the week but, hey, its family, you understand!

If you know me, you know how important my family is to me. So no matter how crazy the kids get, how smelly the bathrooms get, how sick we are of each other by the end of the week, I just can't wait to be with my family.