Hi Friends and Happy Monday! Sarah and I are so glad you are here! If you shared about your weekend, link up with us below...we want to hear all about it!
Here is what our "long weekend" looked like
Thursday
After getting Diana home around midnight from her amazing trip to California where she sang at Disney, had fun at the parks including Universal and toured the Dolby Theater and Hollywood...she got a mere three hours of sleep before our alarms went off at 3 am! We were up and out of the house by 3:45 and drove to Woburn to catch the Logan Express Shuttle. We jumped on and headed to the airport.
Our flight to Charlotte NC landed around 9:30 and then we made our way over to our rental car booth...grabbed our car and drove down to Columbia SC. We had a little time to spare before tour #1 so we stopped for lunch at Iron Hill Brewery. Highly recommend- great pizza and nachos and I enjoyed a fabulous Peach Margarita!
Then we headed right over to the University of South Carolina for our first tour. Diana loved it. We all liked it (but I still liked Georgia better- but I bit my tongue- I am learning not to say a thing- this will be her decision)
The campus was in the middle of another city but completely protected and just beautiful. We are becoming fans of the old southern charm for sure.
Sample Dorm Room- Pidge was impressed ;)
She asked, "when I visit Diana at college, can I take some classes too?" She kills us
We even bumped into some old dance friends from LDA!
After the tour, we made our long drive (2.5 hours) to Conway South Carolina and checked into our hotel. (Side Note: We had planned on visiting Clemson during this trip too however, right before we went, a friend advised us that it would be too much driving and she was right so we cancelled our Clemson plans)
When we got to our hotel, we checked in, quickly freshened up and headed out to dinner.
I made us some reservations at the Crooked Oak Tavern in downtown Conway. It was such a quaint area. The restaurant wasn't fancy but had some local specialties. We took advantage of the wonderful weather and ate out on their patio. We loved our server. She was actually a fellow New Englander from Connecticut! Her recommendations were fantastic- food was fab and her service was amazing.
The Crab and Pimento Cheese Dip- so good!
After dinner, we walked across the street to Stella's Homemade Ice Cream- so good! Then we CRASHED HARD
Funny Note: We got back to the hotel at the same time that a college baseball team was checking in and as we were walking to our room, Pidge claims "I love baseball." We were all HOWLING- ha ha!! The way she said it was just so unexpected and funny :)
Friday
We were up bright and early and after showering and getting ready, we headed out for the day. First up, breakfast at our hotel. Then we drove the five minutes over to Coastal Carolina University or CCU.
Friends- this was another beautiful southern campus but much more modern than the other schools we have seen and Diana loved it. She said she felt that she belonged there.
We thought it was beautiful and bright and cheerful and the kids there looked really happy.
During a stop and conversation on the tour, we stopped in front of the education building and Rob and Diana saw a cardinal there. We thought it may be Grammy watching over Diana :)
It was a success!
Then it was time for the "surprise" that Rob and I planned. We drove to North Myrtle Beach and met up with our besties. We successfully surprised the girls with this quick visit. We headed to the beach for the afternoon and it was simply luxurious.
We then headed back to their condo to freshen up...
and headed over to this beautiful little area for an awesome dinner at Taco Mundo and then some walking around exploring.
Though it was quick, we made the most of our time together and the girls had a complete ball.
Saturday
We slept in and then headed to a local diner for a lovely little southern breakfast.
After that, we headed back to our hotel, packed up and checked out.
Then we took our time getting back to the Charlotte airport. We stopped at a souvenir shop and took our time. It was about a three hour drive.
Snapped this pic and sent it to Lea..brought back memories of our road trip to PA a few years back. You can read about that and Rainbow, of course, HERE
Saw so many beautiful farms along the way...
We got to the airport around 1:30 and killed some time with a late lunch and walking around.
We were scheduled to leave at 7pm and then our flight was delayed until 7:30pm (not bad...or so we thought). Due to thunderstorms and rough weather up and down the east coast, our flight was cancelled. That has never happened to us. We were in a panic.
We headed over to customer service and they put us on standby for a flight that was boarding that very moment SO what did we do? We ran!! We almost died but we did it. We got to the counter and they rudely told us there were no seats and we probably wouldn't get on BUT with the power of prayer, several people did not show up and we got on a flight that ended up leaving an hour earlier than our original flight. We were all stressed and praying hard and God heard us apparently.
We landed in Boston around 9:30pm. Our flight was diverted once because of weather but we were grateful to be safe and get home on Saturday night.
Sunday
It was about unpacking, laundry, meal planning, groceries, mass, a birthday party, work for Diana, cooking and getting organized for the week.
Did I mention Remi is on Cloud 9 that we are all home? Papa Bob did a great job of taking care of him for us though :)
It was a quick and successful trip. All part of this college process- I am trying to enjoy it but at times it becomes overwhelming. Your advice is always much appreciated! So...what were you all up to this weekend?
15 comments:
How fun to include not just the whole family in the college visit but also friends! I love that Diana loved Coastal :). The campus is so pretty and I was blown away by all the neat maritime majors- something around here that no college has. So glad you got on the flight that you did to make it back home! Have a great Monday!
Wow! What a trip. So many beautiful campuses. Coastal Carolina looks so pretty. Eva’s baseball comment 🤣so great that you could squeeze in beach time
What a fun, busy weekend! I love visiting college campuses and glad these were both positive. The Carolinas are so pretty. I lived in Charlotte for 5 years and enjoyed visiting the area. The food all looked good that y'all had. We did a lot of pros/cons lists after college tours because some things became so similar. I am glad y'all made it back home to have a day before the work week begins.
You packed a lot in to a long weekend and how fun to see friends at the end. Coastal is pretty and not as large as some she's looking at so that might be a factor too. I'm sad you missed Clemson. It's a big school but very small town which appeals to people. It's all a lot to figure out, but your daughter can be happy and successful in many places so I'd keep that in mind. It's great you're seeing so many in person. So glad you got that flight home in the midst of bad weather. Enjoy your week!
I had a student who went to Coastal Carolina. I can't believe it's time for Diana to go through the process.
My advice is - if she felt like she belonged and fit in - go with that if you can. That is how I ended up making my decision. That's powerful!
But, consider the cost of her coming home and how hard it is to be so far away and really talk that out. She would always have to fly?
What a fun and full weekend! I'll be so interested to learn which college Diana ends up picking. What an exciting time for her...for all of you! I love that you met up with your best friends while you were there. I'm sure you all loved every second!
What a weekend! You packed in so many wonderful and memorable moments! I remember the college search experience with both of our daughters and I also remember (1) feeling exhausted and (2) seeing the excitement in their eyes when they found a place they truly connected to! It's hard as the mama to hold our views but you are so wise, it's their choice! Have a good week!
Looks like an awesome weekend! And I have to note that the Mexican food looks delish!
It sounds like Diana had a fab time at Disney! What a busy weekend for you! I am glad the tours went well. It is so hard not to make decisions for our older kids.
All of the food and drinks look so good! It looks like a really great trip!
Wow, what a busy weekend with college touring. Good luck with the process. It looks like you all had a good weekend. Have a nice week and a happy Mother's day Holly.
The college process is al;ways tiring but fun! One of mine did early admission to NYU as it was her only choice, and the other visited many schools and picked GWU in DC--ot was perfect for him. The shrimp and grits looked so delicious as well as the tacos!
What a fun whirlwind of a weekend! I tried not say much during the college tours either; except perhaps to ask a question here or there. But I found that both my boys seemed to naturally find that place that they felt most "at home" and I figured that was way more important than how I felt (though I loved that their top choices often lined up with mine too!).
I am so glad she is loving all the college visits.
Looks like a successful trip! What amazing and fun photos. So many places to see and such good food!
I’ve never been down that far south so I really enjoyed all the photos.
That was awful about the flight being canceled though! So glad you were able to get on one!
What an exciting weekend! I love all the college visits! One of my teacher friend's daughters attends Coastal Carolina! It's a gorgeous campus, and she loves it! Oh, and I love North Myrtle Beach! Barefoot Landing is a fun, little shopping and dining area. It makes me want to go dig my toes in the sand! Glad you guys made it home safely! We did have some rough storms come through.
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