7.29.2016

Florida Georgia Line…

With summer winding down and Trent due to be back at work full time the following week, we decided to have one last hurrah before all the hecticness of life (also known as college football) is back in full swing.  We decided to head south to Savannah, Georgia and then on to Jacksonville, Florida for a little R & R on the beach.

I have never been to the Atlantic side of Georgia or Florida and Savannah had always sparked my interest.  Without much planning we jumped in the car early Wednesday morning and slowly, but surely made our south towards Savannah.  Emerging in southern culture was top priority so by the time we were south of Atlanta we had already stopped for Zaxby’s chicken.

Wednesday night we stayed in Savannah’s historic district. It was late and dark when we arrived, but we still managed a walk along the riverfront.

DSC07112

Thursday morning we began exploring the historic district of Savannah.  It stretched from the riverfront to Forsyth Park.

DSC07113

Along the way we visited the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist…The original cathedral was mostly destroyed by a fire in 1898.  The cathedral was rebuilt the following year.

DSC07114DSC07123DSC07127

Spanish moss for days…

DSC07130

We visited two cemeteries in Savannah.  I find cemeteries to be quite interesting.  There is so much history.  I find myself wondering about the people and what they were like when they were living.  I look at the dates.  When were they born?  How old were they when they died? 

DSC07134

We also visited the Wormsloe Plantation in Savannah.  The drive was lined with live oaks with Spanish moss hanging from the trees.  It was like a scene right out of a movie.  Literally.  As soon as we pulled up I wondered if part of The Last Song with Miley Cyrus had to be filmed there.  And it was.  As were about five other popular movies. I couldn’t take enough pictures of the trees with Spanish Moss hanging from them.  

DSC07136

Exploring the backside of the Wormsloe Plantation…

DSC07137

In the midst of the live oaks there were plenty of palm trees and more tropical plants… 

DSC07140DSC07141

Seriously…more pictures of trees.  As I walked up to take a picture of this red cedar the ground began to move before my eyes.  Hundreds of crabs had emerged from the ground and were scattering about near the tree.  I was so surprised that it took a minute to even realize that they were crabs.

DSC07147

After we finished exploring Savannah we drove a little ways south to Saint Simons Island, Georgia.  There are several islands in this area, nicknamed the Golden Isles.  It was a charming little town with beautiful beaches and a quaint little atmosphere. 

DSC07152

The original lighthouse on Saint Simons Island was built in 1810.   The original lighthouse was destroyed by troops during the Civil War.  The current lighthouse a Saint Simons Island was constructed in 1872.

DSC07159

DSC07154

We started by taking a nice long walk along the beach.  We saw some people fishing and while we were nearby they caught two stingrays.  I was tempted to take a picture because I have never seen a stingray in the wild, but decided that might be a little strange…

DSC07155DSC07156

Toes in the water, toes in the sand.  Not a worry in the world, flip flops in my hand…

DSC07157DSC07162DSC07166

Over the course of Thursday and Friday some major steppage took place.  According to my FitBit, I had nearly 24,000 steps on Thursday and almost 18,000 on Friday.  I think I earned a nice cold glass of sweet tea for all those steps!

DSC07180DSC07184

Trent’s Uncle Tim passed away several years ago.  He loved the outdoors.  To remember him, his family created these stones to be left around the world on travels.  Saint Simons Island seemed like the perfect place.  I didn’t know Tim well, but I do know that he would have loved it there.

DSC07187

My name is Megan and I like long walks on the beach…

DSC07200

Trent enjoyed using Ben’s boogie board to catch the waves.  The tide was really high that day and there were some gnarly waves.  There were quite a few surfers out hanging ten or maybe just catching some waves.  (This is my best attempt at surfer lingo).

DSC07206

Naomi loved strutting around and dancing to the live music.  I can’t remember the song now, but the way she was patting Trent on the shoulder and strutting fit perfectly with the music.

DSC07208DSC07211DSC07213DSC07216

Sunsets on the beach…

DSC07217

We got to see the Atlantic from both sides this summer.  Once where the sun sets over the Atlantic (Africa) and this time where the sun rises over the Atlantic (except we were on vacation so I didn’t actually see the sunrise).

DSC07218DSC07222

I’m so thankful for good friends.  Coaching opens the door to many new friends.  The drawback is when those friends move away.  However, the plus side is getting to visit them at their new home in Florida.  So happy to see the DiSandros again for a few days!

image (25)

On our last night I sent this exact picture to my mom and told her that I wasn’t coming back.  Seriously tempting…

Our trip was a bit of a whirlwind.  In order to make it back in time for work on Monday we spent 15 hours in the car on Sunday.  After spending four days in the true south I was all things sweet tea and country music.  It only seemed appropriate. 

Now, summer is majorly beginning to wind down.  Trent is back to work full time (or maybe double time).  I really don’t want to know how many miles I’ve put on my car this summer.  I do know that since the beginning of July I have put more than 3,500 miles on my car.  That is a lot of miles!  So thankful for the opportunity to jump in the car and make all the trips we took this summer.  I’m also so happy for a summer vacation that didn’t involve camping.  I love the outdoors and the mountains, but it was so nice not having to sleep in a tent and use a “vaulted toilet.” 

Many, many memories were made this summer and of course it isn’t even August yet.  I do have one more little trip up my sleeve.

Until then…

 

{The Launes}

7.19.2016

Staycation Twenty Sixteen…

Last weekend we had a little staycation in the St. Louis area.  St. Louis is great because so many attractions are free.  Trent’s sister Naomi and her three kids, plus Trent’s parents and his youngest sister Kirsten made the trek to Greenville for the weekend for a vacation of their own. 

We started the weekend out with pizza and fishing at Patriot’s Park.  Landry loves to fish.  Or at least he likes the idea of fishing.  He has a little trouble watching his lure and those darn fish steal his bate.  Thankfully they didn’t all get away and they were able to reel in 5 fish!

DSC07050DSC07059

A teeny, tiny catfish…

DSC07064

We hiked to the other side of the lake…

DSC07070

Then we played at the park for a little bit…

DSC07074

Bright and early Saturday morning we headed into St. Louis for a trip to the zoo…

DSC07075

Aren’t those sunglasses absolutely adorable?  In case you can’t tell, they’re pineapples…

DSC07076DSC07082

These monkeys had lots of fun…

DSC07089DSC07091DSC07095

After the zoo we went to Fitz’s to cool off with ice cream floats.  These are seriously the biggest floats you have ever seen.  Andof course I ate every last bite of mine…

DSC07096DSC07100

Finally we hit up a new splash pad in Edwardsville on the way home.  Who needs a swimming suit?  Not these kiddos!  It was the perfect was to cap off a long and hot day outside.

DSC07103

After a busy, busy day out we headed back to our place to grill some burgers for dinner.  Our big grill went out of commission after a big gust of wind took it last winter.  We’ve been getting by this summer with a mini charcoal grill from Dollar General.  Unfortunately, the grill has seen better days.  Eight burgers plus three hotdogs was just too much for it.  As Trent carefully went to remove the food the entire grill collapsed sending every last piece of food on to the pavement below.   Immediately I was thinking that it was time to go order pizza.  The entire site was quite humorous as every adult stood around unable to do anything but laugh.  Laughing way beyond the five second rule, the burgers were eventually scooped up one by one, placed on a plate and later consumed by eight of the nine people.  Landry got a fresh cooked hotdog in the microwave.  Making memories every step of the way.

It was a jam packed, exhausting and fun weekend.

Tonight, as I am writing this and preparing for yet another road trip I am panicking a little as I have not picked any snacks up yet.  Snacks are a must in any road trip I take.  Storms moved through tonight so it was either go without, or rush out into the pouring rain and lightning to pick up a few necessary snacks.  For now I am going to hold off.  I might regret it after ten minutes on the road tomorrow.

Stay tuned.

Florida or bust…

{The Launes}

7.18.2016

Summer Lovin…

Summer has been in full swing at the Laune household for over a month now.  Summer schedules (aka Trent) are a little more flexible so we have to cram all of our travels for the year into about six weeks. 

After sticking around Greenville last year, we decided to head back to Nebraska for the Fourth of July this year.  Time with family is never a bad thing!  It was a whirlwind of a trip as we also made a quick trip up to Okoboji with Trent’s family.  We basically had a vacation in our vacation. 

image1

We arrived in Ashland and hit the ground running.  First stop was Ellie’s t-ball game.  Bright and early Friday morning Jamie, Audrey and I headed out to my mom’s house for some quality time.  And coffee. 

image2

IMG_1632

Landry now matches Uncle Trent with his belated birthday Greenville Pampers (Panthers) hat…

photo (8)

Paco and Audrey celebrated the 4th in style at Jamie and Brian’s annual party.  I was sad to miss it, but sure enjoyed the pictures…

DSC06984

DSC06989DSC07013DSC07017DSC07018DSC07021DSC07024DSC07035

Okoboji is perfect for boat rides, long walks, swimming, laying in the hammock and fishing…

image3

Visiting Grandma Mason…

DSC07039

Jamie and I also took Audrey on her first splash park adventure.  She was a little hesitant at first, but warmed up to it. 

DSC07041

image4image5

She loved filling her cup with water and trying to dump it on our toes…

Like I said, it was kind of a whirlwind of a trip.  I got to see lots of family and a few friends.  After about 24 total hours in the car roundtrip we were back in Greenville and back to our regular routines….for a little while. 

Until our next adventure…

{The Launes}