Our few days at the beach sure came and went quickly!  I was pretty tempted to just ditch the rest of our destinations and stay there for another week, but my conscience got the best of me since there were still more people and places to visit.

So we loaded up the car (again) and hit the road (again).  By then, I was feeling pretty old hat about driving for hours and hours alone with two kids.

This time, we headed up the Interstate and into a large city.  I was so thankful that we were going on a Sunday, because you’d have to be seriously committed to BRAVE that traffic on a weekday!

My grandfather and aunt live in a nearby town, so we spent Sunday evening/Monday morning with them.  My grandfather drove us around some wooded areas at dusk so that we could see if any deer were out (we saw 12, including 2 babies), and all Emma could do was scream, “TREES!  TREES!”  I had never really thought about it, but trees where we live don’t grow as big and tall as they do there.  She had never seen such large trees in her little life.   Note to self:  Take her to Redwood National Park to really blow her mind.

The next morning, we headed out of town, but stopped to visit one of my dear blogging buddies for lunch.  You may know this gorgeous lady.

I got to see the house that she’s remodeling (OMG, it is AMAZING!  She’s really talented, y’all!) and we went to a cute little sandwich shop for a bite to eat.

While we were there, Emma managed to empty an entire shaker of salt (Salt! Salt! Salt! If you get that reference, you and I are kindred spirits) on the floor while we were visiting.  Awesome.  I did my best to clean it up and the employees were dolls about it – another reason why I love the South.

Any guesses as to where we were?  The largest nearby city is a good enough guess for me.  😀

After we left Destination #2, we had another day long drive to reach Destination #3.  By this time, I was  feeling very well acquainted with my friend Janice (Yes, I named the voice in my TomTom GPS.).  In fact, I was so well acquainted with her that I found myself talking to her.  That meant it was time to stop for coffee.

Janice got the kids and I to our destination in about 8 hours, including stops.  It wasn’t a bad trip, and we actually did a lot of backtracking from Destination #2 towards Destination #1.  We were glad to get out of the car, and the kids were ready to play.  I mean, I don’t blame them.  This was our backyard.

My mom and dad met us there, and we spent a few days laughing, relaxing, and eating.  There were also many, many hours spent with my glittery toenails in the sand.

Each night, I went to sleep with the moon shining in my window and the sound of the ocean waves rolling in.  And each morning, I woke to one of the most beautiful sights in the world.

We never “co-slept” with either of our kids when they were babies, but Emma always seemed to find her way into my bed while we were on our road trip.  I loved every minute of it (although she is such a bed hog for such a tiny human!).

Of course, we couldn’t leave without having breakfast at one of our favorite joints.  This “little” beach town has grown over the 35 years I’ve been visiting, but it’s always refreshing to know that as some things change, some things remain the same.

For those of you who have been here, I know that last picture totally gave it away.

Any guesses as to where I was?  Remember, there will be an opportunity for you to win a HUGE Bag of Swag at the end of my Destination reveals.  I promise, you aren’t going to want to miss your chance to enter to win it!