On Monday we gathered our things to fly out to South Carolina for a visit. We had an evening flight. When we got to our gate and found four seats all together, not a minute passed before Henry asked me to pick the cat he was thinking of. I looked up at the wall across the way and saw a display of many waving cats. I took a moment and said, Second row, number eight. Henry paused and said incredulously, Yes! That was a quick game.
Henry used the facilities in-flight and when he got back to his seat, he poked my arm with a big smile on his face. I just did squats in the bathroom at 30,000 feet. Henry loves his exercising. He was doing push-ups in the hotel the next morning.
Todd booked the hotel months ago in Clemson. When we went to the lobby for breakfast Tuesday morning, it was a sea of orange. Everything in Clemson was orange. It seemed like everyone was wearing orange. There were orange paw prints everywhere.
That day, Todd took us to his new university. We walked around campus and we went from a very flat Houston, TX to an incredibly hilly South Carolina. The only flat areas were the parking lots. It was wonderful. The weather was unbelievable, too. When we left Houston on Monday, it was so hazy that it looked like a foggy day. The heat index was 110°. South Carolina was a good 20° cooler and very low humidity. We actually got cool in the evenings. It was glorious. Henry was gung-ho to play basketball. We went to play every day.
At dinner that evening, we learned that Henry and Caroline did not know what shower gel was. Curious, I asked them how they cleaned themselves in the shower the previous night. Henry let the shampoo from his hair cascade down his body. He called that good enough. Caroline washed with shampoo. She thought the shower gel was to clean the shower itself. So now they know.
Tuesday evening when we arrived back at the hotel, they had a table out with many packets on it - it was clear they were welcoming a group. We soon discovered it was the Vanderbilt baseball team. When we went to breakfast Wednesday morning, the sea of orange had changed to grey and black. Now everyone was wearing Vs on their shirts. Unbeknownst to us, Clemson was hosting the Clemson Regional Opening Round of the College World Series. The Vanderbilt players and coaches were staying at our hotel. It was pretty cool. We saw them quite often coming and going.
On Wednesday morning, we had an interview at the kids' new school. It is a classical Christian school. Only about 75 kids make up the upper school, so it is nice and small. We were under the impression it was a family interview, but when we arrived, they said the kids would do a math assessment in another room while we spoke to the principal. Oh. The kids grumbled a few words under their breath as they walked to the conference room. The interview with the principal seemed to go well and he took us on a tour of the building. Afterwards, we found a hole-in-the-wall sandwich shop that was frequented by the locals. Josiah ordered his usual chicken tenders and with each bite they climbed up his ratings scale, settling into first place of all the chicken tenders he's ever eaten before. He says he will be frequenting it again when we move. It was a very low-key place. Paper plates and plastic silverware.
Thursday morning Todd had a doctor's appointment so the kids and I hit the hotel pool. It was only in the upper 70s that morning, so it was a little chilly. Henry wasn't sure he was going to get in at first, but the temptation overcame him. They spent a good 90 minutes in the pool.
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On Friday, the first baseball game was played. Vanderbilt went up against Coastal Carolina and Vanderbilt was expected to win. We watched the Vanderbilt players on ESPN2 and we kept recognizing so many of them. I just shared an elevator with you earlier today. It was so crazy to recognize so many of them, as well as the team manager. Unfortunately, they got whooped 13-3. Not long after it was over, Josiah wanted to walk around the hotel, so he and I headed downstairs. Josiah punched the elevator button on our floor and a minute later, 7 or 8 Vanderbilt players, still in uniform, came pouring out. They were quiet and stone-faced. They were not happy. It was so crazy because we were like, We just saw you on TV?!! Josiah and I made many laps around the hotel. Each time we made our way to the front, the freshly showered Vanderbilt players were emerging one by one. Most were chatting on their cell phones, but one player came out with his fishing pole and headed to the water across the street. Country boy blowing off steam.
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| The Blue Ridge Mountains from the plane. |
Early Saturday morning we flew back to Houston. This was the most turbulent flight we had experienced. The pilot warned us before we ever took off that we would be experiencing turbulence. It took an hour into the flight for the flight attendants to even be allowed to take the drink cart out. They took it to the front and would barely make it a few rows of serving before the pilot would get back on the intercom and send them back to their jump seats. This happened at least four times and the last time the pilot told them to get back immediately. They hustled as best they could with all the bumpiness. We were really getting tossed around. It didn't get to the point of scary, but we were moving in our seats. Towards the end of the flight, they made an announcement that we weren't going to get our little Chex mix-like snacks. So sad. Caroline made it through the flights though. She's still not a fan of flying, but the trick of starting the anti-nausea meds 24 hours beforehand seems to keep her well.
We were not home for long before Henry and I went to get Benson. When they brought him out, he was sort of quiet and subdued even when he saw us. His tail wagged, but there was no big reaction. However, the second we stepped outside, he went crazy happy and was jumping around. I think he was just making sure he was really getting out of there. Unfortunately Houston experienced storms the week we were gone and Benson really doesn't like thunder, so he may have had a rougher than usual experience. He always comes home from the kennel exhausted. This time was no different. Caroline made popcorn, which Benson loves, but even that he slept through.
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