I took Lydia to Charleston, SC for the weekend. Charleston is one of my favorite places of all time, and I have such great friends there so I knew we would have a good time. Brooke went with us, and we left after school on Friday. We stayed with my friend Caroline at her house on James Island.
On Friday, we went to dinner at Vickery’s downtown. It is one of my favorite restaurants, and I figured it has such a vast menu that Lydia would find something
‘’light” that she was looking for. There were five of us at dinner: Lydia, Brooke, Caroline, Maura and me. Lydia and Brooke shared two dishes (the sharing is rubbing off on her); as we ate our meals, Lydia said, “this is not eating light. If I was at home, I would eat a lemon.” We all laughed at the different definitions of “eating light.” After dinner we headed back to Caroline’s to get to bed as we were all tired.
Saturday morning, we woke up early to meet my parents at SeeWee Outpost to take the boat to Bull’s Island, a barrier island that is owned by the federal government as a wildlife reserve. It is truly a beautiful island, and I had not been there for many years. We left early to try to beat the rain that was supposed to move in later in the day. We picked up Maura at Starbucks and headed to SeeWee Outpost, a country store near the boat landing. Lydia and I grabbed ham biscuits there for breakfast, and we waited in the rocking chairs for Mama and Dad to arrive. Once they arrived, we headed to the boat landing and put the boat in. Then we were off. It was a beautiful morning and a great ride to Bull’s Island. Once we docked the boat, we began the walk through the woods to the front beach. It was a great time, and we stopped to take pictures at an enormous live oak. Lydia was amazed at the size of some of the trees and even more impressed when she learned that they were hundreds of years old. It was great to have Mama and Dad along as they had so much knowledge about the island and the wildlife. Once we got to the front beach, we began walking toward Boneyard Beach, an area that is filled with old trees and driftwood. I think Lydia was in awe of the beauty of the beach, and we all really enjoyed witnessing her first time experience with the beach and Atlantic Ocean. We pointed out different shells including conchs, sand dollars, starfish, etc. It began drizzling, but even the rain did not dampen our spirits. After a couple of hours, we made it to Boneyard Beach and got out our picnic lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, pretzels and FULL SIZE Snickers bars. It was so great as the rain had stopped. After lunch, we made our way back to the trail. On the way back through the woods, we saw a baby alligator, some deer and lots of birds. I think Lydia really enjoyed being outside and seeing all that Bull’s Island had to offer. The rain picked up again, so the boat ride back to the landing was cold and prickly. It was getting close to low tide, so Dad had to really navigate the middle of the channels.
After the boat trip, we headed to SeeWee Restaurant across the street. It is a local place that has delicious fresh seafood and great southern cooking. We had a wonderful meal, although Lydia still has not eaten any other seafood other than fish. After lunch, we said goodbye to my parents and headed back to Caroline’s for a much needed nap. After the nap, we got ready to go see The Blind Side. The movie was awesome, and Lydia really liked it especially when she found out that it was based on a true story.
Sunday we ate breakfast at the Variety Store at the Ashley Marina and then headed back to Columbia. Lydia said she had a wonderful time seeing another city in South Carolina. I had a wonderful time showing her the city. One the way back, we discussed how involved our federal government is as well as comparing weddings in the U.S. and Uganda. Lydia is very progressive for her country, and I am not sure what she feels when she sees the equality and freedom that women in the U.S. have. Uganda is still very steeped in the patriarchal society, and Ugandan men are very slow to change. This is frustrating to see as an American female because I know the wonderful power that women have and how good that power would be for their country. Hopefully with programs like Invisible Children, while the change may be slow, it will come nonetheless.
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