Day 5 of our Trip

After a three week break its time to continue the family trip log. We left our hotel and headed to the beach near Palm Coast.

We headed to Jacksonville and through the city.  I did not get very good pictures of the city since I was driving that day. 

We headed to north to Georgia and to Savannah to see some of the cobblestone streets and homes in the city.



We left Savannah and headed to South Carolina and to Charleston.



Outside of Charleston we headed to Boone Hall Plantation.  This is called a working plantation because it is old but is still being farmed today.  It was a verying enlightening experience to learn about the past with the slaves and crops that are still grown today.  We took a bus ride around the plantation where you could see the different crops that had been grown and what is grown today. 

We got to go into the mansion and see a few of the rooms.  It is still used as a home today with a brother and sister staying there on the second floor when they come to visit.  We could not take any pictures inside the mansion.

These are live oak trees that are very old and strong.  It is amazing how far the branches can grow out from the trunk of the tree.

This area is also a salt water marsh with the tide coming into the plantation.



There were 8 slave cabins where you went from cabin to cabin and saw and heard about the slave trade and how they lived and survived.  It was very sad to think that some people treated others so poorly. 

This was the lane leading into the Boon Hall Plantation.  This is one of the most filmed views of the live oaks anywhere.  You can see the Spanish Moss hanging down from the trees.   Thank you Janeen for researching this particular plantation for us to see.

We wanted to go to Fort Sumter, but did not have the time to get there.  We headed to Columbia for the night.  Before we got to our hotel for the night, we saw the captial and the University of South Carolina football stadium.  Like the other nights, it was late before we got to bed.





Our 18th Anniversary

Today is our 18th anniverary.  It is hard to believe that we were enjoying our 17th anniversary with a quick trip to Lagoon a year ago.  This was right before Katie started to have the pain and lose of movement in her left arm.  I will be forever grateful for that very fun and happy time together.

My thoughts go back to our wedding day and all of the family and friends that shared it with us.  I have read our journals from this time and it brings back so many wonderful memories. 

I am grateful that I am still happily married to Katie even though we are temporarily apart from each other.  My love for her continues to grow.  I love you honey.

Day Four of Our Trip

Day four started by heading to Tallahassee to see the state capital building and Florida State University.  The capital building was not a dome, but a sky scraper like the one in Baton Rouge. 

I have to say that most of the college campuses we saw were very beautiful, with buildings that had brick that matched.  Even the outside of the stadiums were brick to match with the other buildings.  Florida State was very impressive. 

We headed to Gainsville and the University of Florida.  They  had a Hall of Fame complex built right into their stadium.  We got to see the Heishman trophies and National Championship trophies as well as their championship banners.  Most of the stadiums we went to allowed access to the stadium and some to their fields.  We wondered why BYU could not do the same.  I love Lavell Edwards stadium, but after seeing these other stadiums, there is no comparision. 

We also got to see the basketball arena, but could not get a full view because of trees.  We also saw a historical marker stating that it was at the University of Florida that Gatorade was developed.

We headed to Orlando to see the temple and also the Disneyworld complex.  We could not get a good look at most things because each area has it own entrance and the trees obstructed the view. 

We then headed to Kennedy Space Center.  Along the way we saw part of the huge ranch the church owns in Florida.  There was an article about it in Mormon Times or the Church News about a month ago. By the time we got to the space center it was dark and we could only tell by the lights where the Space Shuttle used (the last launch was in July) to be launched from. 

We then headed up along the coast to see where the Daytona Speedway was.  We stayed overnight in Palm Coast.