The Most Magical Week

Unlike most other times we’ve gone to the Georgia coast, this one was drama-free and downright magical. Also, there were no plane crashes or celebrity deaths (that I’m aware of).

There are so many things that happened this past week while we were in St. Simons that rendered the two of us speechless. Signs and confirmations that we’re doing what we’re supposed to do and we are where we should be were hiding around every corner.

We drove straight into Tropical Storm (or whatever they were calling it) Beryl knowing that our first two days would be full of rain but didn’t care one bit. In spite of my horrible fear of bad weather and knowing that Jim Cantore was on the Island with his “oh shit” crew and jacket, the peace we all felt driving over the causeway was the precursor to a wonderful week.

Staying at The King and Prince brings back so many memories of my childhood, staying there with my grandparents when the hotel was simply the Historic Hotel part. None of the villas or oceanfront rooms were there. It was small, simple, yet grand. And even with all the additions, it still is.

On Memorial Day, I took myself out into terrible weather to get a glimpse of the hottie extreme-weather-chaser and succeeded.

Later that night, Henry called us out onto the patio to see the most amazing double rainbow I’ve ever witnessed.

The week continued to get better.

From the perfect sand dollar we found when we walked out onto the beach, to the family portrait we took in the spot where Jason and I got married almost 14 years ago…

To the fabulous yellow bag and angel I bought from my friend Marti at Two Friends and the sweet potato ice cream from Moo Cow…

and to the fishing trip Jason and HL took with the singular goal of catching a shark, that ended with Henry having caught three sharks by himself and three being filleted to bring home with us, the week just got better and better.

We were having such a great time, we added a night.

We enjoyed two meals at Bennie’s Red Barn… the first one was so good we had to go back for more (per Henry’s demands). Chip, from Alfonza’s Supper Club where we had our rehearsal dinner, sings in Bennie’s now. The first night we were there, he sang “Butterbean” to another table and tears welled up in our eyes. The second night, I talked to him and told him he sang at our rehearsal dinner forever ago. He gave me a big hug and said he’d had another table request “Butterbean” so we got to hear it again!

The last night, we surprised Henry with putt-putt. On the way from Bennie’s to The Village, I got an email saying I had been chosen for BlogHer’s Voice of the Year. To say I was floored is an understatement. I may or may not have squealed and cried a little. We celebrated with drinks from the bar at the King and Prince when we got back to the hotel. (My hand has been forced by Jason and I’m now going to BlogHer in NYC in August.) Here’s the post if you want to read it!

And as always, when I’m on the Island, I’m reminded of what an amazing experience it was being a nanny for two summers for an amazing family. They are my Island Family and we always jump at the chance to see them. If only Haley weren’t on the other side of the country, we could ALL lunch together. Instead, we had to just talk about her at lunch and wish she was with us!

We’re home now. Summer vacation is in full force. There will be camps and Bible Schools and two blog conferences and fun. But we’re all refreshed and ready to take on the summer with a renewed sense of purpose.