The rest of the trip...

Well, we've been back for a couple weeks and have yet to update the rest of our trip to South Carolina. It's been a real busy August for us so far!

After the beach, we met some friends of ours who are living in Columbia, SC now. They drove down to Charleston and we went out to lunch and then downtown to walk around and see the sights.


On Monday, we met Rose for lunch before we left town early on Tuesday. It didn't take long in our visit for Brooklynn to recognize all the new faces she had seen and warm up to them when she saw them again. Rose and Brooklynn enjoyed playing "Patty Cake" over and over (and over...)


I love this picture of Brooklynn sitting next to Nancy in the booth at the restaurant.


By the end of the night, we were exhausted and so Brooklynn and I headed to bed while Nancy squeezed in a little more visiting.


We had to be up and heading to the airport by 4:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. And that was eastern time! I don't think my body ever left central time the whole time we were there. Brooklynn did great though. She slept the whole way from Charleston to Detroit. Once we got to Detroit, we got delayed and eventually realized we were going to miss our connection in Indianapolis. So, Nancy got off the plane and asked what our options were. The gate agent found a direct flight from Detroit to Austin that would get us home about an hour later than we were originally scheduled. But they only had 2 seats left...and they were first class!

Well, by this point in the trip, Brooklynn was a seasoned flyer, so she was ready for the upgrade to first class. She greeted everyone has they walked on the plane and made them feel welcome.

Once everyone was on board, she got comfortable in the plush leather seats. It's so roomy in first class.


Of course, Brooklynn fell victim to the classic rookie first class mistake. When the drinks are free, you've got to pace yourself...


We made it back safely and we were so proud of Brooklynn. Grandma Coco was there to pick us up and Brooklynn was excited to see a familiar face again.

5 Months

What an adventure Brooklynn had leading up to her 5 month birthday.  Nancy and I made plans to visit some close friends of hers that she knew while she lived in Charleston, SC.  Nancy hadn't been back to Charleston since a few months prior to our wedding and I had never been at all.  This would be Brooklynn's first airplane ride and we had no idea what to expect.

The route we ended up with was not what we would have chosen, but due to the rising airline costs, there was a big price savings if we flew to Indianapolis first, then to Detroit before finally heading down to Charleston.  3 takeoffs and 3 landings for Brooklynn's first flight was going to be a test by fire.  Brooklynn took it all in stride.  For those of you that spend a lot of time with her, this probably doesn't come to much of a surprise.  She often just goes with the flow and quickly adapts to her changing environment.  Plus, she's a complete ham to anyone that shows her attention, so the more new faces on the planes and airports there were, the better.

We left Austin at 2:00 p.m. CDT on Tuesday for our first leg of the trip.  Once we were in Indianapolis, we were able to visit with my Mom for about a half an hour or so. 

Our next leg was a very short flight which left us with an hour and a half layover in Detroit. After having some dinner, we left Detroit around 9:40 p.m. EDT and made it into Charleston just  a little before midnight.  Brooklynn slept most of the way on the third leg since this was around her normal bedtime.  Once we finally landed in Charleston, we felt so relieved that we weren't that family with the screaming baby on the flights.  Of course, I guess there's always a chance on the way back!

Today, we went to the beach and Brooklynn got to see and feel the ocean and sand for the first time.  I always think it's messy to go to the beach and you get sand everywhere.  Well, my experiences are nothing compared to bringing a baby to the beach.  Talk about sand everywhere!  And it's not as easy to clean her up as it is yourself.  Fortunately, the pictures make it look like it was no trouble at all and it did capture the enjoyment of watching Brooklynn see everything for the first time.  It makes you wonder what she must be thinking..."This is the biggest bath tub I've ever seen!"

By the end of the day, the sun and activities wiped everyone out.  Brooklynn was the first to go.

But on the ride back, she was quick to tell us that she gives Charleston two feet up!