We shall form a Family Band

July 27

We awoke in our luxury hotel and enjoyed the first continental breakfast that actually deserved that title. There was coffee, tea and juice, along with bagels, muffins, and cinnamon buns. But what really impressed us was the real southern biscuits and gravy, which K was thrilled to see.

Before we continued on our trek north, we took a little tour of the City of Savannah. We wound our way through the cobblestone streets to the riverside. We parked the car and strolled through the tree-lined streets of the historic city. We found several candy stores with free samples of pralines and cookies. K took two samples of each. We considered buying some pralines, but discovered that is was $17 a pound!

After we finished our snacking, we hit the road, heading towards Wilmington. On the way we passed through South Carolina, and unknowingly North Carolina. We missed the North Carolina sign, but not to worry! We snagged a shot the next day when crossing into Virginia (using South Dakota-style photography, see blog post: “The Day of the Biggest Mistake Ever”). We arrived in Wilmington to C’s Aunt Judy and Uncle Joe’s house. When we walked in we were greeted by her Aunt and Uncle, her cousins Anthony and Gianni, and the first home cooked meal we had had since Austin! It was delicious! Chicken cutlet, penne à la vodka, scallops, and salad. Tasty good.

After dinner we went for a walk down one of North Carolina’s sandy beaches and dipped our toes into the Atlantic Ocean (no, C, not the Gulf of Mexico!). Upon returning to the house, we were treated to the deluxe version of s’mores involving a fire pit, metal skewers, and an easy burn log that B stared at in awe – imagine how much easier fire-making would have been with that handy companion! This experience was a far cry from our poor man’s s’mores at the Grand Canyon (see “Disclaimer: No C, B, or K was injured during this event”).

Finally, it was time to participate in the family tradition of a Rock Band jam session! (Yes, Gianni, we know it is actually Guitar Hero!) For those of you still sitting in the dark, Guitar Hero is like Karaoke for guitar but in video game form. The band version of the game includes bass, drums, and a mic for vocals as well as a guitar. For beginners it can be a little overwhelming because while the song is playing color cues for each note fly towards you on the screen. The better you do, the better the band does, however too many missed notes means the band gets booed off the stage (nooo!). Needless to say, the CBK band feat. Gianni and Anthony never quite made it through the intro to Blondie’s “One Way or Another.” We still had a lot of fun trying different songs over and over and even held a tribute for C’s brother with “La Bamba.” Playing long into the night, we wore ourselves out and when it was time to retire we crashed hard like true rock stars.

Mileage to date: 8,519

States visited: Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina

Yellow car count:

C – 343

B – 367

K – 395

Anthony – 1

Highs and Lows:

Group high – Guitar Hero/Rock Band

Group low – Missing the sign

C high – Seeing Family!

C low – No Angie!!! L

B high – “La Bamba”

B low – Expensive Pralines

K high – Having fun with Caitrin’s family

K low – Not getting to see much of Savannah